In the past year I have been reading more and more left leaning blogs like Daily Kos and I really enjoy most of the posts and articles. I gave up on MSM a few years ago and usually get my news from blogs, international newspapers, and websites.
My secret is that I am not a Democrat or a Republican. I am proud to say I am an independent. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I tend to lean left on social issues and to the right on money issues. For example, I personally don't like abortion. I would rather see money and effort spent on preventing pregnancy in the first place, but I would never wish to restrict a woman's right to an abortion. I believe that a travesty was done to a segment of the population when 11 states passed amendments prohibiting gays from being married. I also see the need for single payer health insurance.
I support strict separation of church and state. I believe, just as Justice Hugo Black believed, that the 1st Amendment's "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." means no law and that also means no tax money, no tax exemptions, and no other support from the government including government religious holidays.
I supported welfare reform back in 1996, even though my family spent time on welfare during the 1970's and 80's. I still oppose NAFTA but still would like to see more of a backbone to redirect government funding into social programs that can work and an end to all forms of corporate welfare. I support fair taxing where lower incomes pay less than higher incomes.
Every Presidential election cycle comes up and I have to remind myself why I am not a Democrat nor a Republican. It isn't hard really but I seem to always hold out hope that maybe I can finally latch on to a party.
The recent capitulations by the Democratic led Congress, the religious nut jobs in the Republican party, and the primary season, confirms my choice each time to not declare a party and remain independent.
It wasn't always like that. When I finally gained the right to vote at 18, I declared myself a Republican.
I grew up in the 4th Congressional District in Ohio and if you weren't Republican then you weren't any body. It was kind of ironic because one early childhood memory was sitting in the local Welfare office while my mom begged for more money to pay our gas bill and the case worker telling her "Mrs. Berger do you think money grows on trees?" The image of my Mom crying is seared into my memory.
I was seduced by Ronald Reagan. His flag waving, apple pie, and tough talk toward the USSR was intoxicating. I was a bit too young to see below the mask he put up and even now I kick myself for falling for it. If I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have drunk that Kool-Aid.
My political affiliation was also ironic because my Mom has always been independent. She said she would only vote for people she felt could do the job to her satisfaction. When I was little she would bring me in the voting booth with her and let me pull the levers she pointed out. By the time I took Civics in 9th grade I was the one of the few who knew how to use the old voting machines.
When I was in high school my easy access to her voting record ended. She would make me wait for her to vote and when I would ask who she voted for she would say "None of your damn business!". She stressed that voting was a personal and private matter. We would discuss politics but she would never discuss who she voted for or why.
I moved on to Ohio State and joined College Republicans. Most of my friends from Findlay were in it and it was cool. I remember crying while watching Bush Sr being sworn into office - not out of shame but patriotism.
There were three incidents that led me to drop the Republicans.
First was I became an atheist. After years of trying to find my own theology I just dumped it all. The religious right's tentacles into the Republicans disturbed me on many different levels.
Second was an incident during the 1986 Ohio governors race. Our group invited then Lt Governor candidate Bob Taft to speak at a meeting. During the speech a demonstrator pulled out a protest sign and held it up. He didn't shout slogans or try to be disrupted but some goons handling security were going to throw him out of the meeting. Taft told them to leave him alone. It was the only time I ever respected Taft but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a ominous sign of things to come.
The final straw was OSU College Republican's annual Reagan Birthday party. They had a big shin dig each year, sending out invites to a whose-who of state and local Republicans. They used it as a fund raiser for the group. Unfortunately I was conflicted. I studied history and the event seemed too much like Hitler's Birthday celebrated by Nazi adherents before and during World War II. Imagines of our "great leader" being worshiped just creeped me out.
I dropped out of the group and pretty much stopped supporting Republicans.
But I didn't go to the Democrats.
I didn't, because being a Democrat in college didn't fit my political views either. I hate campus speech codes and political correctness. I just wasn't liberal enough to accept those things. The kicker was taking diversity training as part of my campus job and being told I was bigoted toward gays because I said I wouldn't go to a gay bar alone. I had at least 3 good friends who were gay and I said I would not have a problem if they invited me to one of their favorite bars and in fact I did go once and had a good time. I like disco music. At the time I just didn't go to new places alone.
I also got upset with the constant victim hood treadmill carried on by the various minority groups on campus. One group would get something no other group would get - like a building or office, and another group would get pissed off and protest. The administration would give in and appoint some kind of task force who would issue some recommendation. Then summer break would come up and the issue would go away to be renewed in the fall when a new outrage would happen.
The one that really hurt me was when I worked on a task force looking at addressing concerns of Vietnam veterans on the faculty and staff. I was the student representative on the committee. My father died in Vietnam and those veterans who came home were of interest to me. One professor told us she put up a poster, on her office door, that asked for donations to the Nurses memorial that was planned to be built next to the Vietnam memorial in DC. Someone took a marker and wrote "Baby Killer" on it.
I hate wars. My Dad was killed in one, but the "Baby Killer" remark just wasn't cool especially on a poster about honoring combat nurses.
I came close to the Democrats during Bill Clinton's run in 1992. I didn't have any money to donate but I wore buttons and the like and I was pleased when he won. I voted for him again in 1996 and wished he could have run in 2000. I was mad as hell when the Supreme Court appointed Bush Jr to the office over Al Gore. I supported Gore even though I didn't like Joe Lieberman. In fact, I despised Lieberman even then but knew he would only attend funerals and smile in the background during state of the union addresses.
For 2004, I had some money and started donating to the Democrats and I loved Howard Dean. He was someone who was forthright and didn't hold any punches. I was very angry when Democrats let the media and Republicans take Dean out and picked Kerry. I still voted for Kerry but it was more a "Not Bush" vote. The guy bored me to tears and his campaign just didn't float my boat. He tried to be too bland.
The Democrats lost me finally as a potential party member in 2005 when they rolled over on the Judge John Roberts nomination for the Supreme Court and in 2006 when they forced up and comer Paul Hackett to drop out of the US Senate race here in Ohio.
Although the continued capitulations to Shrub makes it harder and harder to avoid apathy, I still feel Bush and the GOP to be the largest threat to our country since the threat of a nuclear war during the Cold War.
That is the only thing keeping me on the left side of the aisle.
Next time - Why primaries suck....