Road to Emerald City

A Democrat and a Republican were traveling to the Emerald City in a brand new 2001 automobile they owned jointly. Before they started, the Democrat filled the car with gas --- indeed, he put a spare can in the back full of gas – and off they went.

At a fork in the road, the Republican driver took an abrupt turn to the right.

“Wait just a minute,” said the Democrat, “I don’t think you should go that way.”

“Never mind,” said the Republican, “I know what I’m doing.”

“Don’t you think we should stop and study the map; maybe there’s a better way?”

“Don’t need to, I know where I want to go.”

“Well, at least, let me see your map.”

“You should just trust me. Besides, I don’t need a map," said the Republican. "See, we’re already there,” and he pointed to a sign, Mission Accomplished.

“Uh, wait a minute,” said the Republican driver, “some of the locals are taking it down and packing it up. Well, they’re probably moving it closer to Emerald City; let’s just keep going.”

But the trip took longer than expected. The Republican driver soon ran out of gas. He used all of the fuel in the spare tank, and had to stop frequently to buy more gas at an inflated price from foreigners he had never met. Some of them even appeared to be Chinese, but the Republican paid their high price and kept the car rolling along.

Pretty soon the road became rough and bumpy – and filled with potholes. Sure enough, they hit one, blowing out a tire.

The Democrat says, “We’re in luck, there’s a Democratic repairman by the side of the road who will only charge $20 to repair it.”

“No, that won’t do,” says the Republican, “I have a Republican friend up the road who will do it for us cheaper.”

Well, they finally found a Republican to repair the tire (and they checked his credentials to make sure), but he charged them $30, not $20! When the Democrat complained, the Republican driver cut him off, “Sure he charged us $30 but he gave us $20 back, here’s $5 for you, $15 for me. That’s cheaper, isn’t it?”

“But,” protested the Democrat, “I heard him mutter something about sending us another bill later.”

“No, I didn’t hear that,” said the Republican.

On they went. The road didn’t get any better. “You better let me drive,” said the Democrat. “Oh no,” said the Republican, “I’ll just follow the road I can see in front of us now, no need to consider other options.” The Republican would not listen to the Democrat’s pleas for a change in plans. And now there were plenty of people yelling from the side of the road. Indeed, more than 70 percent were urging them to turn back or at least make a change in plans. “My friend,” said the Democrat to the Republican driver, “Most of the people want you to take a different course.” The Republican driver responded, “So?” The driver continued ignoring all entreaties to change his course.

Eventually, the Republican lost control of his ‘01 car on a figure 8 curve. The car flipped over 8 times, slid down an 8 foot embankment and was smashed to 8 smithereens. Battered and confused, the Republican crawled out of the wreckage, not sure of what hit him.

He looked at his Democratic friend, who had been thrown clear, unharmed, and said with a shrug, “Oh, alright, you want to drive so badly – here.” He handed the Democrat the steering wheel he now held in his hand – the only part of the ‘01 automobile still intact – and said, “You drive.”