A day in small town Indiana, with a Democrat I voted for.
Look, I’m a conservative. Generally I prefer GOP voting records to DEM ones. But the odd thing is, I like Democrats better (personally) for some reason. I honestly don’t know why that is. My favorite politician will likely always be Jim Marshall. But there are a few others like Chet Edwards, Stephanie Herseth, Mike Michaud, and Brian Baird who I always liked, often despite their actual votes. (In fact, I’d be hard pressed to come up with any reason to vote for Baird other than that he came around on Iraq after talking to the troops.)
So last week I got a call at work from John Gregg. Most of you won’t know who he is, but any Hoosiers will remember him as the dude with the moustache that ran for Governor. Now, he lost, but it was significantly closer than most suspected. I told him when I met him that I would vote for him because he seemed such a nice guy, but I also told him that I had nothing against his opponent, Mike Pence, who is now our Governor. In fact, one time I was seated next to Mr Pence on an airplane flying from DC out here, and he was a wonderful, cerebral sort of guy. Plus, he was sitting in economy, which pleased me. Not exactly setting the world on fire with his charisma, but seemed pretty solid.
Anyway, Mr Gregg let me know that the First Christian Church of Sandborn was having their 100th anniversary, and asked if I wanted to come down. Now, some of you may remember the search for the family of Richard Owen. For those who don’t remember that one, a Salvation Army in upstate New York found a Purple Heart citation for Sgt Richard E. Owen and wanted help returning it to his family. It took months, but we finally located a relative and returned it. But one of the things about Owen was that his Dad was the pastor at FCC of Sandborn, and they dedicated a new building there in June of 1913. The Pastor’s wife was at that time 7½ months with the future paratrooper who would serve with the Band of Brothers, Easy Company, 2/506 PIR. Richard Owen would die with his boots on, when stick 66 crashed in France on D-Day.
So, as part of honoring brothers who went before me, I went down to spend the day with Mr. Gregg, who is actually a member of that church. I had some coffee with Mr. Gregg’s parents and friends, and enjoyed an excellent spaghetti lunch spread the church put on. I’ll have more on that later, but it got me fairly philosophical about elections. Specifically, do you guys vote for the candidate who you think will vote more like you, or the one you personally like?
Mr. Gregg’s voting record might be a tough sell here. It’s tough for me at times to reconcile it. I’m fine with most of his liberal social stuff (except Planned Parenthood funding) but I support Right to Work, free trade, etc.
Anyway, I was watching this video of his campaign this morning, and although my GOP bona fides might take a substantial hit, I’m glad I voted for him.
Again, I have nothing against Pence. It wasn’t like my vote for Mourdock in the primary against Senator Lugar. Now there is a dude (Lugar) I have a VERY healthy dislike for. And if Mourdock had faced Gregg in the Senate race, I would have had a tough time. But more so because Senate races to me are more about the party than governor races. Every time I consider voting for a Democrat for Congress, I have to factor in that a vote for them is a vote for Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi. Most times a good Democrat in one of those races will result in my sitting the election out. I’ve voted once or twice for a Dem for Congress, but it takes some pretty amazing stuff for that to happen.
Anyway, do any of you ever vote (D) based on personal affinity for the person running, or am I some sort of party traitor? And am I the only one left in America who actually likes the talk about running positive campaigns? Granted, they never seem to work out that way, but so it goes.
(BTW- I should note that I voted for our GOP Mayor here, and if he’d ran on a platform of spending city money on contacting aliens I probably would have voted for him because the Dem candidate was such a horrid candidate. Even my wife started to dislike her based exclusively on her commercials where she came across as shrill and angry. It helps though that our Mayor, Greg Ballard is a former Marine and one hell of an awesome dude. I can’t wait to vote for him for something down the line.)
Category: Politics
I have always voted an independent floating ticket. If I could cast separate votes for Pres and Veep, that would make me happy.
Lately, my vote(s) been cast for someone in order to keep someone else out of office. The only time of late that I’ve voted for someone who both represented my political views, and who impressed me as a candidate was Sarah Palin for President.
Yeah, McCain’s name was the one I checked, but I was hoping that the two would get into the White House, then he’d kick the bucket pretty quickly and leave the country to Sarah. That would’ve been wonderful for both our liberty and our economy.
Ah well. Because of the rash of lousy GOP candidates I removed myself from the Party and had myself enrolled on our voter lists as independent/unaffiliated. I’m a Conservative, TEA Party type of fellow, and that is where my votes will be going until we can gain control back of this nation and start to undo the craptacular crap that’s been going on since 2006 When the Dems took over both houses of Congress.
That first Michaud race up there was still the weirdest one I’ve ever seen. The Dem (Michaud) was pro-life and pro gun, against a pro-choice, anti-gun GOP candidate. Can’t remember that guy’s name, but I think it was Raye or something like that.
Just an odd race that one was.
I would have though a libertarian Republican might do well there. Especially in the northern Maine district.
I wish that we could do that as well Ex. Imagine an Obama- Ryan Pres-VP match in Congress had we been allowed to do that this last election.
The number of Senators having a stroke at the thought of Ryan casting the deciding vote in a tie would almost make Obama palatable (if I was in a coma of course).
I never vote based on the D, R, I, or whatever else they have for party affiliation, but on the issues. I’m already planning to vote against Ayotte based on her recent ass-hatery. I can only hope that the Libertarians in NH toss up someone worthwhile. I’ve also known politicians when I lived in Massachusetts who were great to hang out with in a bar, but there was no way in hell that I was going to vote for them.
“Anyway, do any of you ever vote (D) based on personal affinity for the person running”
No-starve the beast. If I can’t stand the Republican (and in the last election this was the case in two races) I vote for the libertarian or write in someone else.
A few years ago Erskine Bowles made a campaign stop in his Senate race in my hometown and he was very likable and convincing, but ultimately the left stands counter to all that I believe in and his election would strengthen their position-couldn’t do it.
@6 – Yeah, I really liked Bowles too. He was pretty good about the Clinton Impeachment thing when he basically said he wouldn’t defend Clinton on this one. Certainly didn’t help him in the eyes of the party, but I respected him for it.
Which is not to say that the Pubbies are anything more than slightly less worse than the Dems, but there it is.
No, TSO, you are not alone. But I will admit that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find D candidates for whom to vote. Even so, I refuse to become so jaded as to seriously consider voting a straight party ticket. There is always someone D who has earned my vote and some R who has not.
I have a hard spot simply checking the box behind the name without understanding their positions.
That being said, I’ll vote for the (R) candidate about 90-95 percent of the time simply because they more closely represent my views.
The other 5-10 percent I’ll vote for the Dem or just leave it blank if they’re both idiots/crooks.
@10, I may have to research mine, but I would guess I hover around 75 GOP, 15 Dem, and 10 third party.
Bobo–good luck getting someone to go against Ayotte in the primary, and besides, she isn’t up until 2016.
Shaheen, OTOH, has GOT to go. So does Shea-Porter and Kuster. They’re all a bunch of moonbat idiots.
Sadly, putting Bass back in is almost as bad as Kuster. I don’t know why Jennifer Horn doesn’t try one more time in 2CD, or O’Brien can give it a go. Guinta would be fine in 1CD, but he had his shot.
The only thing the Libertarians are good for in NH is voting for Ron Paul and pushing the Free State Project so they can pass more idiotic dope laws in Keene. Hence why I call the ones here “LIBERAL-atarians.”
Like TSO, I am generally conservative and a GOPer. However, living in NYC I on occasion vote for a Democrat based on specific issues. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, we need to vote for the issues that make our communities, states, and Nation better. Checking the box based on party affliation is dangerous … case in point … look at the current Executive Branch and the associated leadership … voted and appointed soley based on party.
Master Chief, considering that Nanny Bloomy CLAIMED to be a Republican at one point, that’d be one case where I’d automatically rip the lever out of the booth voting for the Dem.
I can think of several others in that category too.
So did the Governor of Rhode Island, Chaffee. The dumbest man I ever met. Was GOP, then IND, and now DEM.
But back when he was GOP I loathed him.
TSO–I regard Chaffee and Bloomberg along with the late Senator Specter, Bob Barr, and yes, Ron Paul as the same kind of political animal, DCian Whorimus. Before you lump guys like Senator Lieberman in that same group, while he did become an independent to retain his seat, I don’t think he ever strayed from his core beliefs or “gave the people what they wanted to hear” so much as the others did.
He’s close to that crowd, but I’m not sure he actually went full ri-tard, either.
I always vote based on a few factors
1) Their stated goals and solutions to problems (when they can answer the problems, often they all pussyfoot around it)
2) Past voting history, if any
3) Anything they are truly passionate about
4) Whether they talk about real issues or just PC/PR talk their way thru a campaign
5) Whether they turn dirty or liar in attack ads
I often end up holding my nose and voting half GoP and half Dem depending on who’s running. I also try to find out what I can about all the candidates down to school seats but it’s not always possible, so I don’t always vote every contest
NHSparky – Shaheen was a piss poor Governor, and somehow managed to get past the fact that she kicked the can down the road on the school finding issue to be elected to the senate. I’ll vote for the Libertarian and let the kids in the lesser state school of Keene smoke their pot if it means that I can maintain some possibility that someone will vote against the federal stupidity.
I had to hold my nose back in the early 90’s and vote for a Dem for Governor in Washington (Gary Locke) The woman that was an R was an extreme Christian fundamentalist. She was not only whacked out with religion, she was an idiot! The party got hijacked that year, they favored Pat Robertson, it was a friggin disaster that has haunted us ever since in Washington State. We have had a couple good R candidates but they have lost close elections. I long for the days when our Dems from here were like Scoop Jackson but those days are long gone.
This is a guy I d vote for in a heartbeat despite his party affiliation. A true patriot, one who gives back to the troops and doesn’t flaunt his office. Very similar to Gowdy… If these two ran on a ticket I d die a happy man
Shaheen and Shea-Porter are both living proof that BDS is alive and well in NH. If either one of them had two functional brain cells to rub together, I’d be surprised, because in my correspondence and personal encounters with them, they’ve never shown it.
Especially Che-Pelosi. That woman is so dumb she needs an extra staffer to water her twice a week.
I always liked Jeb Bradley up there. One time I testified before his sub-committee, and afterward he took me on a personal tour of the Capitol. He didn’t need to. I didn’t ask for it, and he could have handed off to a staffer, but he clearly was proud of what he was doing and wanted to show me around. Really nice guy.
back in 07 or 08 (i cant remember off hand) former congressman wes watkins was trying to get his hand picked protege elected to the oklahoma state house. i met the guy, real pretty and said the right political stuff for my extream conservative (boardering on anarchal) views. when i had a chance to talk to him personally, and introduced myself (i did a lot of work on coburn’s campeign and have many friends in Oklahoma City offices) he actually gave me his views. i was told that if i actually believed my political stances, i was an idiot. a politician must embrace what will get him elected and keep him in his seat. that guy lost what should have been an easy election ( a republican in oklahoma will always win) by 7 votes. i can promise i convinced atleast that many not to vote for him. that is the only time i have ever voted for a democrat. i will always vote for someone that truely believes in their convictions over someone that just wants to be a politician. cant remember that kids name, he actually got fired not long after this from the community college he was teaching at for getting one of his students pregnant
My state rep was a dem. I liked her and talked to her several times about a lot of things. I voted for her every time, because we discussed at length the issues and she was very well planted, common sense wise. The problem she ran into was with her own party, because she didn’t vote down the party line on every issue. Sure, there were a couple of things we didn’t agree on, but they were minor compared to where we did agree. They eventually made it tough for her and she ended up not running, again, because of the flack she was getting from her own party. It’s a shame, because she was very good and and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.
@17 Here in the PRM (people’s republic of massachusetts) being a liar is completely acceptable for Democrats. In fact our last 3 house speakers have all been indicted by democratically appointed prosecutors…you have to be a complete sh1tbag for your own party to prosecute you.
Additionally one of our recent speakers became president of UMass after leaving his position in the house under some controversy. His brother is now on trial for multiple murders and racketeering.
The “Elitist Liberal Bastion” of Massachusetts is as corrupt through and through as any Mid Western African nation, think Sierra Leone or The Congo, or any number of others…it’s quite an eye opener that all these smug pr1cks keep electing liars and crooks and don’t seem to mind…no wonder this state is maintaining a nice negative net population migration…
VOV–and the Republicans there aren’t much better, witness Gabriel “I’m less Republican than Markey!” Gomez.
TSO–that’s what I like about Bradley. Shea-Porter gives lip service and makes her bones on the backs of veterans. Bradley actually gives a shit. The whole VFW-PAC thing where they endorsed her over Bradley then Guinta STILL leaves a bad taste in the mouths of vets here.
@26 At least he was actually a SEAL…he’s honest about that, and honest about his leftist political leanings…but that makes him a sort of younger, not yet corrupt Markey….that’s a no win choice…
In Texas we elect judges in partisan elections (which is stupid because it should be a non-partisan job), and if I know a judicial candidate is good I’ll vote for him/her without hesitation regardless of party, so as a result I do vote for a fair number of Democrats. I don’t vote for too many Democrats in non-judicial elections. One exception is that I did vote for Bill White for governor last time; I’ve become disillusioned with Rick Perry and White seemed fairly moderate, so I went with him. I guess personal regard for a candidate could tip the balance for me if the candidates are fairly close together, but if a Dem is a raving lefty I can’t see voting for him even if I like him as a person.
I live in Baird’s old district – he was pretty good, but caught the “I work for the PAC’s, not for you” disease (and was called out about it in a public meeting by a former serviceman. Later found out that he liked to take “fact finding missions” to exotic places with his wife and a few friends. Now he’s up in Olympia as an adviser to the governor.
Usually vote on the person and how they see the issues, but too many of them from both parties blur the lines (and their message) in the process on issues, or in the case of the military and veterans, talk out of their rectal sphincter when it comes to doing the right thing.
@25, you’re referring of course to the Bulger brothers…
I’d happily vote for Jim Webb if he ran for national office. Not a surprise that he got fed up with Washington and retired after just one Senate term.
I am of a dying remnant of Pennsylvania Democrats with a primary love for organized labor, which still crosses party lines in our sphere, but feel left behind on many other matters important to the national and state Democratic platform, but are largely irrelevant in rural/suburban Central PA. Most of my political concerns seldom bubble up beyond the state-level, though, because that’s where the rubber meets the road so often, in our state legislature. It’s also getting harder and harder to be a die-hard Zionist within the Democratic party.
My Guard unit was deep in Pennsyltucky, though, and subsequently, I get on better with die-hard conservatives than I do with Dems. Plus I like this site and the views of this site and its commenters, even on the rare occasions that I disagree with something.
can i go on a rant about organized labor?
See, BK, that is what makes you someone with whom I would gladly share a sudsy mug or some other adult beverage. While we may or may not agree on a lot of things, you show a willingness to look at those things about which we do agree, and rationally examine those things about which we appear not to agree. Thank you. I really miss the old days when such conversations were the norm instead of the exception, at least in my part of the world.
Party trumps person, unless it’s at a local level where party isn’t much of a consideration, like city council.
The only thing that matters are votes and if the candidate has enough personal integrity to stick to his/her convictions and not go along to get along. and by votes I mean voting in line with what the Constitution actually says.
Ted Cruz is, so far, my perfect candidate, except for his lack of military service.
The left has gone so far off the deep end of socialism that I’m hard pressed to think of a Democrat that I can stand being around for any length of time, and that includes family. It’s just a black and white view point when it comes to honor, personal integrity, truth, and the Constitution. If you can support someone like Obama, as my sister-in-law and her family does, then you are either a socialist or ignorant and naive. Since my sister-in-law is quite academically intelligent, as are her children (all adults), then it can’t be ignorant and naive. I prefer not to hang out with socialists who want to take everything I earned and keep it for themselves. It comes down to a power struggle between right and wrong.
@ NH Sparky … I know what you mean.
I think if some of you dickweeds here would fall out of your recliners if you knew who I was voting for in NYC Mayorial race … and you would visit me in the night and take me away forever … never to be seen or breath again.
But this is NYC and quite frankly … I will never change the politics of this town … but what I can do is vote for one of the only NYC pols who supported a parade up the “Canyon of Hero’s” for the all returning Irag War Veterans … USA, USMC, USN, USAF, USCG …
I vote on a persons record and what they say not on party affiliation. I can only think of one democrat I have voted for, however as most seem to be heading towards Pelosi and Reed’s wacked out stances.
A nice smile, funny joke, and firm handshake. Why is it the same qualifications for Walmart Greeter are the primary qualifications for non-coastal Democrats? And it works!
@Common Sense, plenty of people are academically intelligent, even very intelligent, yet still ignorant and/or naive. Colleges are full of these people, and even the current President is one of them.
And I like Cruz a lot….although if he mounts a serious Presidential campaign we’ll get to hear all about how every single conservative believes Obama was born in Kenya and is therefore a hypocrite for supporting Cruz.
@35: Please don’t tell me you’re voting for The Wiener!?!? That’s about the only one I could think of that would cause the reaction from us that you describe.
When people try to peg me as a republican, as a sort of derisive remark, I calmly explain to them that I’m a conservative with a libertarian streak and not a republican. They, meaning the drooling moonbat leftists, don’t get it that we don’t all fit in some labelling system that they came up with. They, meaning both parties, don’t understand that there are a lot more of us than they want to realize. They don’t understand that we do vote for the republican more times than not, based on the fact that our ideals align more closely with republican than democrat, but that doesn’t mean that we just pull the lever for the republican no matter what. No, they have to earn our vote and we have no problem not voting for them. Our vote has been taken for granted and it’s time they realize it’s not a lock (you’d think they would have gotten the hint after the last 2 national elections).
@ Old Trooper … nope … Quinn!
@ 40 … Although Weiner has thrusted himself deep into the mayorial orifice, his long record of almost flaccid results would preclude me from such a vote!
I recommend a reassessment of your self-identification as a conservative. A true conservative would not vote personality over conviction.
The only reason Chet Edwards stayed in his seat as long as he did was because he was a Former Student. As soon as a competent Aggie (Bill Flores) ran against him, he was toast.
No, I’ve never sold out my fellow citizens because a candidate seemed like a nice guy/lady that I’d like to hang out with.
I’ve been an Independent for a long time. I always look for how close do they line up with my core values, but sometimes, it’s a simple matter of voting to keep someone else from winning – like McCain ’08. He REALLY needs to retire, but better him than what we got. Alas …
As for voting personality, that is seriously unwise.