I was born in the beautiful Commonwealth of Virginia and have lived there for most of my life. Now that I live in California, I miss my family and friends, and I miss being in Virginia at election time. My family lives in the Charlottesville, VA area, in South Central, VA, and in North Carolina. We have a few Democrats in the family...my daughters, of course, and my sister. My brother claims to be an Independent, who leans to the conservative side. The rest of the family is staunchly conservative, because they are either church-goers, have been in the military or fancy themselves to be wealthy.
I don't really talk to any of the conservative side of the family about politics because they stubbornly repeat the "talking points" ad nauseum and there's no convincing them of anything else. It usually ends up in a big THING and I don't get to see them that often, so I try to play nice.
So what a surprise when.....
my brother, who lives in the Charlottesville, VA area brought up politics in our telephone conversation a few weeks ago. He said, "I just wanted to let you know that there's no way I'm voting for John McCain this year since he's put the "anti-christ" on his ticket. I wasn't excited by McCain to begin with, but he's NOT getting my vote now."
My little bro knew that Palin supports drilling in ANWR, which he and his wife have always opposed. He called her a religious freak and was very wary of her evangelical ties. He didn't know that as mayor of Wasilla, she inherited a surplus and left them with $22 million in debt. He didn't know that she is suing the Federal Government for putting polar bears on the endangered species list (his wife worked for the National Wildlife Federation, so I'm sure this wouldn't sit well with her). But he knows now!
Little brother believes that there was no vetting of Palin by the McCain team, and thinks it calls McCain's judgement into question. After seeing the interviews with Palin, he is dead-set against McCain/Palin, and calls me often to mock them.
My sister lives in Virginia, and when I told her about our brother's voting news, she told me about a retired military man who lives at the end of her street. He decorates his yard with American flags for Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, etc. He decorates his yard before election day with Republican candidate signs. This year, she says, he doesn't have a single sign in his yard. But he has an Obama sticker on his car. He's not openly advertising Obama, but everyone who has driven by his house all these years must certainly notice that he isn't backing a Republican this year.
I have a cousin in North Carolina (I know it's not VA, but the rest of his family lives in VA and he is very convincing when he gets behind an idea) who has asked me about politics because he said he knows that I pay attention (and frankly, I'm honored that he would ask my opinion). He has voted conservative in the past, and I'm not sure that he won't vote that way again, but at the very least, he has asked me questions about Obama. Specifically, he asked me about Obama's voting record in the Senate, and what bills he had introduced there. I happily sent him the information he needed. He hasn't brought it up again, but I plan to keep on sending information until election day. I have HOPE. I've sent links to the Palin interviews, which should convince anyone that she shouldn't be allowed near sharp objects, much less the Vice Presidency. And I send along opinion pieces that I find insightful.
EDIT FROM ORIGINAL DRAFT:
I started this diary a couple of weeks ago, but sat on it, trying to find more evidence that Virginia could go blue. I was rewarded today, when I looked at the Charlottesville "Daily Progress" online. Here's a link to an article about a 101-year-old woman who just cast the first ballot of her life.
At 101, Sarah E. Williams might just be the oldest new voter in Virginia.
Williams, of Albemarle County, has lived through 25 presidential elections — from William Howard Taft in 1908 to George W. Bush in 2004 — but had never once voted in her century-long life.
Williams registered to vote Friday afternoon at the Albemarle County Registrar’s Office and cast an early ballot for Democrat Barack Obama.
This part of the article is my favorite:
As for Williams, after she cast her vote for Obama on Friday, her granddaughter placed on Williams’ trench coat an American flag sticker that said: "I made freedom count. I voted."
"I’m so proud of you, Grandma," said Renee Neverson, a graduate student in Washington. "I’m going to tell my children about this one day. It’s amazing that I get to witness my grandmother going through this. I am so blessed."
As Wilson pushed her mother’s wheelchair out of the Albemarle County government building and into the parking lot, she reflected on how much things have changed in Virginia for a 101-year-old black woman.
"To be real frank about it, African Americans couldn’t vote legally in Virginia until [the ’60s]," she said. "I never pushed the issue of my mother voting. But I just feel that this year, it’s going to be a tight race. Every vote is going to count."
Yes, Virginia, you Can go blue. I'm rooting for you!