Posted on 04/09/2025 7:18:17 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
With increasing polarization in the U.S., political discussions between friends and family members from different parties can be fraught. But how do these political factors influence people’s love lives? We know little about how often people in romantic relationships have political disagreements and whether political differences affect couples’ happiness, or whether some couples navigate these differences better than others.
To address these questions, we surveyed over 4,000 people in the U.S., including more than 500 couples. Political differences in our large sample of couples were relatively rare: Only about 23% of couples belonged to different parties, and fewer than 8% were made up of one Democrat and one Republican. Other measures of political agreement, such as asking people to rate themselves on how conservative or liberal they are, showed a similar pattern–most couples tend to agree about politics.
For the few people who do end up with a partner who has different political beliefs, does this spell disaster for their relationship?
(Excerpt) Read more at spsp.org ...
After years with me he started coming into my office (we work from home) and saying, "I see what you're saying now. This is how they portrayed this issue." He began "hearing" the slant, their angle, omitting stories. You know all their tricks. Same with cable.
He sees it now. Voted for the Donald AND got me a Trump mug for Christmas. :)
I cannot imagine dating a liberal, let alone marrying one
Maybe it will be OK. Some men love women who aren’t smart and who don’t have a grasp of logic.
It’s easier to cheat and play tricks on them
.
Probably not. I would not choose to marry a person who is unable to see what a criminal enterprise the democrat party is.
Your anecdote reinforces my strong belief on why a man should never date, let alone marry, a liberal woman. However, it may work if a conservative woman dates or marries a liberal man.
You are much more likely to break through and reach a liberal man through reason and logic, assuming he isn’t a wide-eyed radical, than reaching a liberal woman who invests her entire emotional soul into liberalism and tends to emotionally rage against any perceived intrusion into her emotional firewall.
Agreed not to vote.
Watched each other like hawks on election day.
It took three chicks from the Society for Personality & Social Psychology to write this ...
Carville’s wife ended up looking just like him.
yes they look like twins ...
My dad was a Republican and my mom (a teacher) was a Democrat. My dad always said that he had to vote in every election in order to neutralize my mom’s vote. I never heard them discuss politics together. They must have had a mutual silence pact on politics. My mom once, and only once, participated in a picket line during a short strike. She came home and commented “I don’t understand why people were honking their horns and swearing at us”. I could, but didn’t tell her that. I guess that was part of my “mutual silence pact”.
My sister has talked to me, but puts multiple daily posts on her FB page, clearly expressing her anger at anyone who helped Trump to be elected. Then 4 more of my siblings, as well as a few cousins (among others) all “like” and comment on her many posts. It is clear that I am seen by all of them as some kind of evil monster, as well as STUPID (a word frequently used against all Trump supporters).
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If you’re unmarried and not wealthy, you might have to seek a more tolerant spouse abroad, as several of my friends have done.
The consensus (possibly based on data, I’m not sure) was that it’s overwhelmingly liberals who refuse to date or have contact with family and friends who overtly support conservatives candidates and causes; not so much the case with conservatives.
But, then again, conservatives aren’t known for burning down cities and vandalizing cars, either.
I just turned 78 last Friday. I have outlived most of my extended family.
Makes holidays a lot quieter and less argumentative.
I’m a conservative married to a liberal woman. We met at a rugby club Halloween party, where I was dress up as Antoine the homeless man, (From In Living Color), complete with my pickle jar and floating pickle, (AKA my bathroom).
This blonde bombshell walks in with her friend and was NOT in costume, when I approached her and told her costumes were required to attend, she pointed to the sticker on her jacket that read, “Costume Judge” and she asked what I was supposed to be, (as if it wasn’t obvious), but I played along, “I’m Antoine, the homeless man!”
She looked me up and down with look of disgust on her face, “I’m Becky, and I volunteer at the homeless shelter.” (which was true)
That was the end of that, until two weeks later when she walked into MY local Irish Pub, with about 9 dudes surrounding her. I slid my way into her sanctum and reengaged her, (she clearly had no memory of who I was from the Halloween party). We talked and I asked for her number, and she replied, “I live with my mom and dad.” I said, “Well do they have a telephone?” They do, My dad’s name is Tom Johnson, and it’s in the phonebook”, (Hey this was 1996)!
The next day, I grabbed the phone book and flipped it open to Johnson, there were two and a half pages of ‘Tom/Thomas Johnsons’. No worries, a pot of coffee, a highlighter pen, and a ruler and I started calling. I was about a page in when a lovely voice answered the phone and I asked if I could speak with Becky? “I’m sorry, she’s sleeping, can I take your number and have her call you back?” her mother asked.
Suffice it to say she called me back and I asked her to dinner. We went out to dinner, argued about politics the whole meal, and man was she passionate! Taxes need to be paid, the government is a force of good, abortion needs to be legal, blah, blah, blah!
We dated for the next two years and then were engaged. We’ve now been married for 27 years and have two beautiful children who are both in college now. We don’t discuss politics too much, but she’s forced to do so with our children, who are BOTH conservative and who BOTH voted for Trump, (Winning!)
Only when our children corner her on issues does she cast a look of angst in my direction! Example: She was discussing Kamala versus Trump with my 18 year old daughter, and expressing why she was voting for Kamala, and why my daughter should as well. My freshly minted 18 year old voter looked her dead in the face and said, “Mom! Kamala and Joe Biden have lost track of 500,000 kids in their border trafficking scheme, how could vote that way and have a clean conscience?”
I could see my wife’s eyes welling up.
She was lamenting my influence on our kid’s political views later that night, whereupon I told her that I had a secret; I was part of the vast right wing conspiracy, and was assigned to her to keep a close eye on her! She was not amused.
My point is, I love this woman with all of my heart; she’s stunningly beautiful, smart, funny, makes way more money than I do, (though we both do just fine on our incomes), and is all you could ever ask for in a life partner. Politics aside, we live a very harmonious existence and have mutual friends on both the political left and right.
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I have zero regrets!
try to coexist with a raging liberal
It is a daily, minute by minute, challenge to sanity. Wife and mother in law in same household deranged by Covidiocy and Trump 2.0. These are supposed to be retirement years after 45 years of professional life in FL
Colorado scenery is amazing. But living here is worse than a daily challenge. I’m so weary of being the house negro. And i’m much too old to start over, so i reinvent things that are important to me
...only if the sex is still good...
I’ve tried, twice now.
The answer is no. Bad enough that women, let’s say, don’t cotton to logical arguments and tend to remain more comfortable interpreting most situations and issues through the lens of emotion.
This is further exacerbated by the entitlement we’ve societally engendered in women. No fear at all in imposing their worldview on you with the expectation that nobody would dare question it.
When you do, they take it as rejection, which most women don’t have much experience or training in handling, especially compared to men who have lived rejection through most of their lives.
It just doesn’t work.
👍
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