October 31, 2004
A PARTISAN COSTUME BEFORE A POLARIZED ELECTION
by Gus Stevenson
Last Halloween, I decided that I would dress up as George W. Bush for Halloween every year, until he is out of the White House. After all, with his doctrine of endless, costly war, tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthiest Americans, failure to effectively stimulate the ailing economy, assault on civil liberties, deregulation of environmental laws, and constant refusal to admit making mistakes or to accept responsibility for any of the debacles of his administration, what could be more frightening than to have George W. Bush running our country?
Last year, I carried a double-bladed battle axe that I dubbed the "Axes of Evil." This year, I carried a cardboard sign that read, "Crawford Texas or Bust."
Donning my sign and mask, I hit the town.
I stopped at a bar that is a frequent hangout for some friends of mine. On this particular night, as is yearly tradition, they held a costume party.
Until he saw my sign, the doorman was particularly worried about my costume. "This is a democratic bar," he said. "No problem," I replied, and promptly presented my ID--that is, my DNC membership card.
My ensemble got mixed reviews. I got several pats on the back, but at least one guy had a violent reaction to it. "That's the gayest costume I've ever seen!" he shouted. Perhaps he didn't notice that the girl sitting next to him was really a guy in drag.
Soon, it was time for the costume contest, and I was nominated as a contestant for "funniest costume." I wasn't surprised. After all, this was a "democratic" bar. Little did I know that I was being set up. As I took my place on stage, every Bushie in the bar pushed their way to the front. Through my "hard-to-breathe-in" Bush mask, I could hear someone whisper, "Okay, when they call Gus's name, start chanting 'four more years'."
Four more years. Can't Bush folk come up with something more original, like, say, "We wanna Dubya!" or "More Bush, Less Brains!"
Anyway, when I was called, they indeed started chanting, "Four more years!" in addition to a lot of booing. I put up two fingers, and began my own chant to remind them that the election was in only "Two more days! Two more days!" (I felt like Michael Moore.)
Soon after this fiasco, the DJ said, "All right, Bush, you lost. Get off the stage." I'm sure we both knew that he was referring to another contest, at the end of which the American people would be able to say, "All right, Bush, you lost. Get off the stage."
At least, that's how I hope it turns out. If it doesn't, at least I've got my Halloween costume planned out for the next four years.
