Rockefeller Republican

Who uses it: Political historians
What it means: American voters who are socially liberal but fiscally conservative and in favor of national security. So-called after Nelson Rockefeller, former Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States (see also: Earl Warren Republican, Jack Kemp Republican, Sam Nunn Democrat).
How you can use it: To protect an endangered species.

Mom was a Rockefeller Republican, though she'd never have called herself that -- particularly not after the former Vice President's undignified death, in the company of a woman who was not his wife. But she did believe that it was the responsibility of the government to defend those incapable of defending themselves, which strikes me as the essence of social liberalism.

Today would have been Mom's 65th birthday. I usually sent her flowers, because it pleased her so much to get them, and I always got something signed especially for her at the Festival of Books. I thought about sending flowers to her grave, but that strikes me as gratuitous; she's not there to enjoy them. I should have sent someone else flowers today, in her honor, but I didn't think of it in time. I did have a couple of books signed for other people, in her absence.

Churning through a list of tasks today, and feeling the usual anxiety about being three hours behind the east coast. Tomorrow morning I leave Los Angeles at the crack of dawn, so won't post until late in the day.