Political Poseur - Pretending to be a Republican in Blue California. By Richard?Rushfield: "I live solidly in 'Blue' to-its-core Venice, Calif., a neighborhood so left-wing that anyone spotted in a Bush button is more likely to be a costumed trick-or-treater than an actual GOP voter.
As a political and journalistic experiment, I decided to see how people who live in primarily one-party areas would react when faced with a living, breathing member of the opposition."

I'll be doing a similar experiment in Berkeley with my GOP hat on November 2. I would wear a Bush-Cheney shirt but I have no idea where I would get one. I think that campaign buttons and t-shirts are tacky, but I am curious to see how hostile the reactions will be. I've been wearing a custom made GOP hat since the 1994 election. I was not able to wear it in 1996, though it was not very close. (I realize that my lucky hat can't possibly account for much more than 2 points in the popular vote and 3-6 in battle ground states). 2000 went well, then I had a new GOP hat made on Telegraph Ave. and in 2002 the Republicans beat the precedent and gained seats in the House and Senate. I'm not sure about wearing my lucky hat to class though; should I risk my grade to express my support for the Republican party? Should I censor myself out of fear of academic retribution from intensely anti-Bush professors and GSIs? Principle or pragmatism? I would appreciate any advice...even a 'yea' or 'nay' in the comment block would be nice.  ¶ 10/23/2004 04:38:00 AM