I grew up in a household with two Reagan-loving Republicans as parents.
I remember very clearly the first Presidential election that I followed. It was 1980, and although I was only 8 years old at the time, I knew exactly who I wanted to win. I knew next-to-nothing about politics, but I couldn't understand why my parents voted for Ronald Reagan. "But Jimmy Carter is the President," I pleaded, "he's supposed to win."
Needless to say, I was disappointed when Carter lost. And he didn't just lose, he got crushed. Ronald Reagan was able to channel the frustrations of a populace faced with inflation, an energy crunch, and a seemingly never-ending hostage crisis in Iran (one that Reagan manipulated for personal ends).
I think it was in junior high school that I became politically aware for the first time. My history teacher had us write reports on the arms race and it was eye-opening to me how much money we as a nation spent on military weaponry. Then in high school came the Iran-Contra affair. As a member of the debate team, our focus area for the entire year was that the United States should adopt a policy to increase political stability in Latin America, so the Iran-Contra affair was one of the main topics. Being a member of any debate team forces a person to adopt ideas and embrace arguments that he or she disagrees with privately. It was a very instructive experience having to stand before a small audience and state that aid to the Contras was a good idea.
Privately of course, I felt ill about Iran/Contra. I really grew to despise the Reagan administration. I was well-acquainted with the term Rich/Poor Gap. But my parents, even though they did not approve of Iran/Contra, were still extremely enamored with Ronald Reagan. They loved his sense of optimism. To me, Ronald Reagan was like the character Pangloss from Voltaire's "Candide." He tried to paint a pretty picture of the status quo while homelessness was skyrocketing, the government was attaining record levels of debt, and the administration was selling arms to one of our enemies.
In some ways, I believe Reagan was worse than Bush. I mean, at least Bush never said things like, "trees cause air pollution." But I digress.
My dad thought George H.W. Bush was a disastrous President (at the time) and that Bill Clinton did a good job, though he was ticked off at him over the Lewinsky scandal. In 2000, my Mom voted for Bush, but my Dad voted for the Libertarian candidate. My Dad and I have always shared a Libertarian streak. When the Iraq War started, both my parents were on board, though my Dad was less so. He supported the Bush tax cuts, which I found surprising.
But the second my Dad realized there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that, by extension, we were lied into the Iraq War, he did a complete 180. He started buying books from liberal authors about the corruption of the Bush administration. For Christmas, I bought him "Blinded by the Right," by David Brock which he read in one sitting. And I also got him, "Lies, and the Lying Liars who tell them," by Al Franken which he enjoyed immensely. "Only the Bush admininstration could turn this family into liberals," he once said.
So in 2004, my Dad, my brother, and I all voted for John Kerry. I told my mother in a heated argument that I would disown her if she voted for Bush again. Of course, I didn't mean it, but nonetheless she managed to vote for Michael Badnarik (she refused to vote for John Kerry).
In the months and years after the 2004 election, the Republican Party continued to try and solicit money from my Dad via telephone and mailers. He would write back to them jokingly, "I would send you some money, but the Iraq War is costing my family too much money - so I don't have any more money for you."
Now my Dad receives mail from the DNC. My Dad generally supports the Democrats now. He adopts strong environmental positions, supports gay marriage, is outraged over the deficit spending of the Bush administration, desires a quick resolution to the ill-begotten war in Iraq, and is generally pro-union.
But my Dad still will not give money to the DNC. He says the Democratic Party still doesn't "get it." And quite frankly, after this latest fiasco on FISA, I kind of agree. People like my Dad who are angry at the Bush administration really want people to stand up for us little people.
The minute I heard that Barack Obama had announced his support for the FISA bill, I knew I needed to talk to my Dad. My head was swimming and I just wanted to vent or listen to a different perspective. You see, my Dad is a fellow Obama Maniac. He's just crazy for the guy. And I thought, my Dad will set my mind straight. He'll give me another perspective and will put me at ease.
But he didn't. He said exactly what was on my mind. That the Democrats failed again. That he can't understand why the Democratic Party can't organize a simple offense or defense, for that matter. When I expressed to him my disappointment over Obama's decision, he basically said, "This was the time for someone to take a stand. It was a huge opportunity missed."
What the Democratic Party leadership doesn't realize is that it is squandering the valuable political capital that is has over issues like this. Some of the most enthusiastic supporters of the Democrats now are recent converts and ex-Bush supporters.
And although, I realize that Obama wasn't even in Congress when Bush initiated the domestic spying program, I have to say I am disappointed in Barack today. It saddened me to the point of almost breaking down.
Naturally, I am not going to let this one issue stop me from campaigning for Barack. He's light years better than the other guy. His judgment on most issues has been pristine. He has a very solid progressive record.
But my Father and I share the view that Barack Obama has made an error in judgment at the precise moment when we really needed someone to stand up for what is right.
Bloggers have bemoaned other of Barack's shifts in opinion. The campaign finance issue: a non-starter for me. The perceived backtracking on NAFTA: a bit of an annoyance, to be sure. But this? This hurts. This really hurts.