Story time: ........in 1981 I had a conversation with Roger and Tony VanGennip during which Roger introduced me to his cousin Tony and explained I was his Democrat friend..... That shocks the hell out of you, doesn't it?
Can you imagine me as a Democrat? Hard to do isn't it.....but it is true, I identified as a Democrat until 1988. When Tony spoke he asked, are you a Conservative Democrat? To which I replied, yes... "Good," Tony said, "......I can't stand those dumbass liberals...."
I should mention Roger and Tony VanGennip are life long friends....
Why was I a Democrat....? The answer is because I loved and idolized my dad (hardcore GOP card carrying member). Wait, what did I just say, my dad was a Republican, and I idolized him and that made me want to be a Democrat...... how is that possible?
In 1976 I was a 9 year old kid that watched the news with my dad. The news introduced me to a farmer from Georgia running for president..... Jimmy Carter was like listening to my dad, when he was elected president it felt like my dad won the election! Sadly, I was a dumbass 9 year old, there is a reason we make citizens be at least 18 years old to vote.....
In 1988 I as 21 years old (well almost) and living with the lie my parents taught in our home. My parents believed you should vote for the man, not the party. My parents would listen to the candidates, form an opinion and then back their candidate. I have heard countless people express the same logic.... still do, it is a common theme at times...... and one of the dumbest things in the world!
In 1988 I was working as a paid staffer for a person running for election. I was just a grunt, passing out flyers and asking people to vote for a certain candidate. The person running for office was a good, god fearing man that my family had known and supported for years. On the day of the primary I was working beside an old lady..... she seemed ancient, probably in her 70's but I had yet to turn 21 so 70 something seemed like 100.
As the day wore on we began to talk, she wanted to know why I was a Democrat and I explained including believing you should vote for the best person...... That old lady wasn't having that at all.....she asked me if I was a Cardinal fan, of course I was..... Then she asked me this question, when the Cardinals play the Cubs, who on the Cubs team do you cheer for?
As you might predict I claimed I would never cheer for a Cub!!! She then said, "......but what if your best friend joined the Cubs.....would you cheer for him?" Hmm, that was a hard question to answer, honestly I could never see myself cheering for a Cub's player.... The old lady then went on to explain there are probably some really good people on the Cubs, but they are trying to defeat our team, the Cardinals. So wouldn't it be crazy to root against our team? She went on to say it is the same way in politics, the parties have different platforms...... when push comes to shove candidates will back their party's platform. So even if the Democrat is a better person than the Republican running for a certain office....the good Democrat is not going to help accomplish the Republican platform.
She gave me a lot to think about..... we then starting talking about the national platforms.....by the time the polls closed that day I realized my beliefs were much closer to the GOP, in fact.....very little the Democrats stood for was something I could get behind! I became a Republican standing outside a polling station in Dexter, Missouri talking to an old lady about politics.
Since 1988 I have never voted for a Democrat (though I have dated a few and almost married one). But...... But....... damn, this is a big but I have worked for a few Democrats. In 1992 I spent nearly 2 months in Little Rock, Arkansas working for the Rose Law firm.
Our firm was primarily working for Union Pacific.....but the Rose Law firm was also one of our clients. There were 28 women that it was believed could damage Bill Clinton's reputation when he ran for president. I was assigned to bounce off the Union Pacific cases and secure as much dirt on the 28 women as possible. I was young, 24 years old and getting paid to party. It's been 34 yes...... OMG, I just realized I'm talking about 28 ladies that are probably someone's grandma..... I was living on the company credit card and life was good, I have a vague memory of having 7 of those giant margaritas one night with the girls....Bill Clinton was a lucky man.
I remember dealing with some high level executives back in 1992 and telling them Bill Clinton will never be elected president, ".....that man has too much dirt in his past....." If half of what I was told and saw got out, no one will vote for him. Well, I was wrong wasn't I.......
By 1992 I had been elected to serve on a county Republican committee, but.....I had yet to come to grasp the party first belief system. I had been blessed to get some choice assignments, I did a lot of work for the Attorney General.....why? Looking back I think the experienced guys didn't want the drama, or maybe they fear failure..... or maybe they were just to smart to get wrapped up in the bad stuff..... Who knows, but I was young, cocky as hell and didn't think I could die. I worked heavily on a case that took down Bill Webster. When he ran for governor, I refused to support him (seems I didn't remember the talk with the old lady from 1988....or maybe I did) If you do the research you will see Bill Webster got 1 less vote for Governor in 1992 than George H.W. Bush got for president in our county....I did not vote for anyone for Governor because I couldn't vote to hurt my party,....but I could not vote for a man I knew would be going to prison (I worked on the investigation against him).
Are there good Democrats? Heck, yes.....there are some great men and women in the Democrat party.....I have loved a few (well, at least 1) But a corrupt evil bad Republican is a better choice that a Sainted Democrat at least for the goals I want to see accomplished........
Did you recognize the picture of the man with this post? .....he was the last Democrat to be President of the United States that was truly a conservative Grover Cleveland he left office in 1897....... Cleveland was an average president at best, but at least he was a conservative.
What party do you identify with? Or are you still voting for the "best man?"
I have talked with a lot of people that do not understand what party best represents their personal beliefs. In the 1990's there were a lot of old farmers in Southeast Missouri voting Democrat, and had been since the days of FDR. But if you asked them questions, they backed every single leg of the GOP platform.
It may not be as bad today.... primarily because a lot of people are good people at heart, and could careless about politics. If you are basing your vote on sound bites....if your news comes from late night comedians or the old men in the barber shop..... chances are your opinions are wrong. In the words of Dr. Charles Sharp, "......voting is hard work. You have to do your homework to understand what a person believes and stand for......."
Will I ever vote for another Democrat.....not even for Dog Catcher. Or as Tony VanGennip once said, "......can't stand those dumbass liberals!"
