That all came to an end in June of 1992. I saw the rise of Bill Clinton, and was prepared to support him for President. I was somewhat uneasy, because he was clearly a smarmy operator and liar, but I thought that since he was in the same party, he was the best choice.
Then came the Sista Souljah speech. I remember thinking about how this was a transparent play for the centrist vote, and how nobody had ever heard of Sistah Souljah before, and that Bill Clinton was just abusing this woman to score political points. I expected to see a reaction in the press and editorial pages chiding Clinton for being so shallow and manipulative. Instead, I remember seeing opinion pieces about his brave stand against the NAACP and how wonderfully tough he was. Even after a week, people were only criticizing him in the context of how, although it was a shallow and cynical racial sell-out, it was a subtle master stroke of political genius.
At that point, I realized that there was no substance behind Bill Clinton, and that he would say anything to be elected. I further realized that the newspapers, editorial writers, and television commentators knew full well that this was so, but were going to say or do anything to make sure he was elected anyway. It was a stunning revelation to me, because I had been blindly believing such people all my life. I started to critically evaluate the candidates, began dismissing much of what I saw on TV or read in the newspapers, and wound up pulling the Republican lever for President George H. W. Bush that November, the first time I had voted for a Republican in my whole life.
And I never looked back.
Now...keep in mind I’m only 26 yrs. old. When I registered to vote in college, I registered Independent. I always had good common sense...I mean conservative leanings..., but I didn’t like the shenanigans of either major party.
I still don’t like the party powers, but I changed to Republican ealier this year for the sole purpose of being able to participate in the Presidential Primary, and cast a vote for the most qualified candidate, Duncan Hunter.
My dad’s story is a bit more interesting. Back as recent as the 70’s, when you registered to vote in Louisiana, you either registered Democrat or you weren’t going to be participating in many state and local elections. So, my father registered Democrat.
Then came Reagan vs. Carter, and the Gov. of Louisiana at that time, Edwin Edwards, went on TV and told the state’s voters, “If you’re registered Democrat, you vote Democrat.”
So, my father said, “to hell with that” and immediately changed to Republican.
I have always been a Republican and have never voted for one Democrat.....ever.
I was in seventh grade and the hostages were coming home from Iran.
Reagan helped me realize I was a conservative. Clinton,Carter and the rest made me realize I would never be a democrat and W and the current crop of so called republicans made me a “recovering republican” and pushed me firmly ino the party of “none of the above”.
I'm force to vote Republican, because Democraps are Anti-Christs first, Communists second and Degenerate Reprobates third!
I guess then I've never had a heart. I remember almost getting into a fistfight with an older kid when I was 14 over abortion (I was against it).
Anyways I'm not a Republican but I have always voted R, but I have always been a conservative, I believe, as a natural extension and expression of my Christian faith.
I had never been very political before that, being a "Rolling Stone Liberal" because it was "cool". After seeing the mess jimmuh created because naive nincompoops like me actually voted for him in 1976 (first time I ever voted), I started to give RR's message some serious thought and "woke up" so to speak.
I’m not a Republican. I’m a Conservative.
When I about seven years old I had a number of chores that generated revenue - 25 cents per week. My younger sister had some chores, too, but fewer, and less difficult. She got a whole dime. (I’m old enough that this was actually real money for a seven year old!)
My Father was either teaching or taking a course on Democracy and Totalitarianism. He described communism to me, and, with my head full of dreams of unearned largess, I said it sounded good to me.
He pooled my allowance with my sister’s and split it and kept the odd cent; I was out 8 cents.
I’ve been a no holds barred, capitalistic, running-dog, death to commies pinkos, socialists, liberals and other fellow travelers, Conservative ever since.
My sister, of course, is a commie pinko liberal.
I was in the military under carter.....that was all it took...
During a high-school lesson on our government, I learned that the “Democrat” party favored loose construction of the constitution and “Republican” party favored strict construction. I thought, “What the heck did they know 200 years ago?” and told my parents that I’d registered Democrat. My mother, aghast, said, “You don’t have a Democrat bone in your body!” Turns out she was right. (Again! Thanks, Mom!)
I’m from a family of fundamentalist, Southern Christian, Yellow Dog Democrats. My grandfathers and father were way more conservative than most of the crop of Republican candidates we have today. Most of the old Democrat politicians in the South were more conservative than todays Republicans. I registered Republican in the late 70’s but I’m thinking about registering independent soon. The Republicans have abused the loyalty of the rank and file in my opinion.
When I was about 8 years old, I asked my dear father what the difference was between Republicans and Democrats. He said, “Republicans believe ‘No Work, No Eat’. Democrats believe that every one gets to eat.” Well, that was simple enough even for a child to understand!
Being born in Massachusetts and actually meeting JFK as a young child, I suppose there was a measure of Democrat in our household, at least from my father. My mom couldn’t stand the Kennedy’s. And I never like Johnson. In 1968, I was 13 and met Richard and Pat Nixon. It was a different time but politics was something to be celebrated as an 8th grader. I felt the process was very exciting. As much as I was disappointed by Watergate, Nixon’s visits to China were much more impressive to me. I also liked Gerald Ford very much and wish he could have won the election (I was still too young to vote but I would have voted for him.) Carter was an absolute disgrace. I cast my first vote for Ronald Reagan and have never looked back. I don’t know if this ramble says I’m a Republican or not but I don’t think it simply coincidence that we’ve had the better candidates.
My dad’s mom lived (as a young girl) through the depression. She concluded that FDR was the most evil man to inhabit the White House, as he worked to turn the federal government into a mother figure for “the people”. There were 4 magazines in my house as I grew up: mom always had Reader’s Digest and dad always had National Review, Human Events, and MAD Magazine.
I was taught to value what was written, work to understand what the Word of God and the US Constitution say - not impose my desires or opinions upon them.
In Texas though, the former Dims became the Repubs of late. So I guess I understand my family.
September 11, 2001 turn me from an apathetic to a conservative in a flash.
“I like Ike”
(This is a snip-it from my FR Profile)
I AM THE ORIGINAL REAGAN DEMOCRAT.
THE FAMILIES DEMOCRAT ROOTS
I grew up in Tacoma Washington in a very typical Puget Sound area democratic family. My Dad worked for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and my mother was a homemaker. My Fathers family had a true Grapes of Wrath story. In the 1920’s his folks moved from Arkansas to California to get jobs on the orange groves and then in the late 30’s when my Dad was still a young lad, the family moved to Washington State, where my Dad later met my Mom. Now, remember people with southern roots in those days were mostly democrats, though very conservative by today’s standards. Because of this we weren’t liberal by no stretch of the imagination. The folks believed that having the strongest military in the world equipped with the most sophisticated and reliable weapons was the best way to keep America safe from the Soviet Empire. My parents, with five kids to raise and living from payday to payday, hated taxes being raised and would vote against every single tax increase that came up. But yet they would keep voting for those politicians who supported those increases. Go figure. My parents hated the long haired hippy anti-war protestors they saw on TV, and their thoughts on the Vietnam war was that we should “bomb the commies back to the stone-age, and if we would fight it like a war we would win in no time.” Not exactly liberal thought, is it? They loved JFK. I remember my Dad had a record album that contained his greatest speeches that he would often play. Wonder what I could get for that on EBAY today? My parents would preach to us the old mantra that republicans were for the rich and democrats were for the poor and the working class, and with only Nixon and Ford to be examples of republicans we had no reason to doubt them.
THE GREAT CONVERSION
If there was one single person who had the greatest impact on me turning Republican it had to be Jimmy Carter. When I was at age to start finding a part time job there was none to be had. I was very discouraged. I would turn in an application at the bowling alley, McDonalds, the supermarket, etc, and they would all tell me the same story, “we’re not hiring, but we will take your application.” And then it would be placed on top of a pile a foot high. I remember the malaise Carter spoke about. First came the energy crises. I still find it hard to believe he asked America not to put up Christmas lights one year. Young people today could not imagine having to be in a block long line to buy gas, and only if it was your day to do so. On the world front the Soviet military began a major build up and the Soviet communist were influencing governments in Central and South America and in Africa, making the world a much more dangerous place. Then there was the Iran hostage crises to top it all off.
I joined the Navy in 1977 right out of high school. I served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. This was during the time Qaddafi decided to extend the coastal claims of Libya to the waters where American naval maneuvers were conducted. The entire Gulf of Sidra, extended up to one hundred miles from Libya’s coast, and it was proclaimed by Qaddafi to be Libyan water, off limits to our forces. The Carter government meekly rescheduled our maneuvers to stay outside disputed area, ordering us to not cross Qaddafi’s line. True to form, Carter failed to confront Qaddafi over the issue even after a siege on the American embassy in Tripoli in 1979. Prior to the election an Admiral called all the sailors to the flight deck where he gave a speech on how important it was to vote for a President that would stand up for the military. I can’t remember if he actually used Reagan’s name, but we all knew he wasn’t talking about the peanut farmer. I’m not sure he was supposed to do this, but I’m so glad he did.
Within months after taking office, Ronald Reagan took a stand. He made it clear that American maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra would proceed as they always had before Carter. Anticipating trouble Reagan was asked by the Joint Chiefs what American pilots do if attacked? Would Reagan’s orders allow for “hot pursuit”? Reagan’s answer? “All the way into the hanger.” You know the rest of the story.
I voted Republican ever since and learned about the core values of the Republican party and found they were much closer to the values my family grew up with than the democrats. When I left the Navy in 1982 and returned to the Washington. I was able to find employment right away. The electronics revolution has started and strip-malls, video stores, restaurants, and housing developments were popping up everywhere. Help wanted signs were in store windows for a change, and things seemed so very different than the Puget Sound I left in 1977. All four of my brothers and sisters also changed their preference to republican during my absence. My parents however took a little longer to convert. Sensing Bill Clinton was a flim-flam man my parents voted for Ross Perot in 1992. Clintons two terms proved them right. This was also the time that conservative talk radio was taking over the airwaves, and my Dad began to tune in to this Rush guy and learn the truth about what his party was becoming. They have voted republican ever since. I lost my Father in May 2004, but when I hear Zell Miller speak I’m reminded of him.
When Bill Clinton declared himself the New Messiah in the 1992 Democratic Convention.
Clinton: “I offer America a new covenant...”
Bob Dornan (paraphrased from memory, expressing my reaction perfectly): “That pot-smoking, skirt-chasing, draft-dodging Marxist isn’t fit to be President; he isn’t fit to be commander in chief, and he sure as Hell isn’t fit to be my Lord and Savior.”
ummmmm... When I first registered to vote, 20 years ago, but I already knew who I was then.