It's pretty much a given that we're all on here to talk about politics. But reading the Reagan-survey diary it occurred to me: I really have no idea how most of you got interested in this subject. And I also realized that I have never related my slightly odd story of how I got into it. So before I ask you for your stories, I'll tell you mine.
My very fist coherent political memory was of seeing Michael Dukakis on TV as a little kid (I was about 5 at the time) and my parents telling me that we wanted him to win, and we wanted Bush to lose. Fast-forward to about 1990, and I had discovered my parents' collection of Capitol Steps tapes. I wanted to know what was so funny about them, since they mostly talked about people I'd never heard of. And through song parodies, I was given my first real introduction into political affairs.
Fast-forward again to 1992. I was in 3rd grade by now, and old enough to understand basic political issues. I'd never really paid much attention to the Democrat-Republican debate till then, and I was shocked at the lows that the GOP stooped to. I couldn't believe that George Bush, the PRESIDENT for heaven's sake, would try to insinuate that Bill Clinton, who seemed like a nice guy, was a traitor just because he hadn't joined the army at a time when an unpopular war was on. I also hated the Republicans' almost manic focus on taxes, since even at that young age it seemed almost like a kind of bribe. And when I learned that taxes paid for my school and the police, that sealed it, there was no way I was ever going to be a Republican.
I began wearing a Clinton/Gore button to school (much to the consternation of the Republican kids) and played Clinton in our simulated debate. I remember going to sleep on election night, and waking up to learn that Clinton had won. I'd had my first taste in politics, and I was hooked.
So when did I get REALLY active? I guess the Clinton impeachment (in 10th grade) did it to me. If those guys could pull that off, I reasoned, we Democrats need all the help we can get.
So that's my story, what's yours?