I have about an hour until my ride gets here and we head to Prospect Park in PA to do some canvassing for Barack so I thought I'd ask a question that I haven't seen asked over here.
I am a true blue progressive. I work hard towards electing progressives, and in the national races I'm pretty straight ticket unless I have a really good reason not to be. (Corruption, etc.)
But locally? Well, I live in Delaware and here, at times, we get a Democrat who is anti-choice/anti-gay rights against a Republican who supports those things. I'm sure this happens in other places as well, and I guess if you'll indulge me for a moment, how often do you find yourself switching sides? Do you just do straight ticket all the time, no matter what? I'll admit, when I don't know the candidates I always choose the Dem, but I make the effort before I go into the booth to know the positions - and not just the party - of the people I'm voting for. I've often been very surprised at what I've found.
When I was living in West Chester, I was a clinic escort. There was a Republican woman running against an vehemently anti-choice Democrat man who would show up with protest signs and I actually worked on her campaign.
There is only one race this year where I'm voting for a Republican and he is my local representative. He's also my neighbor, has an Obama sticker on his car, has supported expansion of same sex rights and is pro-choice. The person running against him is also in favor of those things and they are nearly identical with the exception that I know and like this guy, and he has not once, in all his years of voting, pissed me off. This says a lot.
So how is it in your hood? Are you punishing the GOP as a whole by doing straight ticket, or are you occasionally hopping in the sack with the other side?