No Flu Shots For You!

In an apparent non-sequitur, "Houston stopped offering free flu shots at early voting sites as Republicans charged it was a ploy by the mayor to turn out more Democrats," so reports Friday's Wall Street Journal (World-Wide, pg 1, 11/03/06).

Got me thinking: why would the shots disproportionately bring out the Democrats? Following are a few shots in the dark, but I'm open to hypothesizing:

1. Dems are perhaps cheaper or poorer than Republicans
2. Accustomed as they are to big-box shopping excursions, they like the one-stop shop idea
3. They are more aware that their health is at risk (and coming to a voting station particularly puts them in mind of this eventuality)
4. They are more vulnerable to catching a bug, stressed as they are over the misdirection of their country.
5. Republicans are hoarding the flu shot supply, and the largely Democratic base of the more deficient HMO's are not ordinarily privy to this flu protection. (This would be a particularly nefarious hope on the part of the Rep's that flu would lay these unvaccinated voters low by voting time.)
6. The Democrats are so aware of the tainted nature of the election booth today that psychologically, the gift of the protective flu shot operates like an antidote to this pathogenic exposure.

Well, on it could go, and I'm certainly not privy to the learned connection that the Republicans drew. I just find it curious.

--Lisa