My friend has never voted for a Democrat before today. Not in the 22 years he has been a registered voter.
But today he voted for TWO democrats; Frank Kratovil and Barack Obama. I hope for this to turn out to be a great day for all of us, but at least I feel one small victory and pride in seeing my friends becoming informed citizens.
My friend is a deputy with the rank of Corporal for a Sheriff's department. He is married and has two teenagers. While both he and his wife work, in the past few years they have been plagued by ever increasing bills, mortgage issues, concerns over costs of tuition.
This year he has decided to only turn the heat on when the temperatures threaten to freeze the pipes. His oldest has transferred from an expensive school on the Western Shore, to a community college on the Eastern Shore. He shares one car with his wife, and struggles every month to make payments on his mortgage.
When I first became friends with him three years ago he bought into the propaganda about high taxes that Republicans had spoon-fed him for so many years. But as I explained to him about who taxes benefit and who they impact he slowly began to change his tune. When I asked him about universal education and health care, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. And although he didn't care to read most of the information I gave him about Obama, the more he was exposed to the man's stances and speeches (mostly through the amazing ad coverage Obama's team has put out) the more he began to view Obama has a better candidate.
And the religious takeover of the Republican party seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for him. He views Andy Harris as an extremist supported by fundamentalists and does not want to see his country become a theocracy.
So he called me to tell me he had just voted for Obama and Kratovil, and I told him I was proud of him. I couldn't force him to make the decision, but he finally came to it his own way. And the final icing on the cake, he's registering as an independent for the next election.