Newt Gingrich? The politician who was run out of the House of Representatives in shame back in the 1990s? They guy who blasted Bill Clinton for lying about cheating on his wife, while he himself was lying about cheating on his wife?

Some people in South Carolina seemed to want to vote for Newt Gingrich because Gingrich has the ability to be visibly angry during a political debate. Let’s get some perspective, though. This is a presidential election, not a boxing match.

The last thing we need in an American President is anger. Newt Gingrich has a nasty habit of flying off the handle. Is that really the kind of person we want to be in charge of America’s nuclear missiles?

It’s time to step forward and cut out the Gingrich cancer in our culture before it spreads too far. Florida is the next presidential primary election state, and this bumper sticker is for voters there – get together with Florida Against Newt Gingrich – and stop Gingrich before it’s too late!

Allen West, the Republican Party nominee for Congress in Florida’s 22nd District, has made a speech publicly railing against the idea of coexistence:

As I was driving up here today, I saw that bumper sticker that absolutely incenses me. It’s not the Obama bumper sticker. But it’s the bumper sticker that says, ‘CoExist,’ and it has all the little religious symbols on it. And the reason why I get upset, and every time I see one of those bumper stickers, I look at the person inside that is driving. Because that person represents something that would give away our country. Would give away who we are, our rights and freedoms and liberties because they are afraid to stand up and confront that which is the antithesis, anathema of who we are. The liberties that we want to enjoy.

Watch the video of these remarks and you’ll see that Allen West makes these comments without the slightest sense of irony, which is quite sad. The “rights and freedoms and liberties” that are the foundation of American society are found in the Constitution. The very first freedoms are written in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

In other words, Government shall not be used as a cudgel for one group to dominate another, for one belief to suppress another, for one religion to eliminate another. The central idea of the U.S. Constitution, which is the Supreme Law of our Land (Article VI), is CoExistence of different people, of different religions, of different expressions, of different ideas.

The GOP’s new nominee Allen West stands against CoExistence.

Allen West stands against the idea of America.

If you are for the American value of coexistence, be against the election of Allen West this November.

It’s time to take that back, and reclaim the local identity as a relevant force in national politics. That’s one of the reasons the Irregular States catalog was created – to bring items like campaign bumper stickers to people that connect national issues to local identity.

Too many people grab a generic Barack Obama bumper sticker with a message that could apply anywhere. They put it on the back of their cars, and if you didn’t see the car’s license plate, they could be from anywhere.

It’s essential to remember that though the position of President of the United States is national, the election is actually an affair of the states. Unless a constitutional amendment is passed some time in the future, the Electoral College will be the group that actually elects the President – and delegates to the Electoral College will be elected in statewide popular elections.

That makes a statewide focus especially important, and state-level bumper stickers important too. Thus we see that bumper stickers like this one, proclaiming Florida is for Obama, may not be as prevalent as other Barack Obama bumper stickers, but they pack an extra punch.

Let’s take this localization of politics one step further, then. If the state level, Florida for instance, is what establishes the Electoral College vote, then it’s the local neighborhood that actually facilitates the Electoral College vote on Election Day. People don’t all go to one place in Florida to vote, after all. They go to a designated polling station in their city or village.

If you live in Miami, say so. Display a Miami for Obama bumper sticker.

So, support Barack Obama nationally, yes. Support Barack Obama in Florida, sure. But also support Barack Obama in Miami… or in whatever state and town you happen to live in. Focus the lens of progressive activism to affirm where you are in 2008.