Behind the Blogger, Part Four: The Politics Thing

This is the fourth part of my "Behind the Blogger" posts, and if you've read the others, you've seen that I'm at least doubly unlikely to fall in with the Republican or Conservative side of politics. That wasn't always the case. I was raised in an ostensibly Republican household. We even had a plush, star-spangled elephant hanging in our rec room for my entire childhood. He had a Nixon ribbon, and a "Nixon's the One!" button, but he outlasted Jimmy Carter down in our basement!

I think pretty much all of the adults in our smallish family were professed Republicans. Just the same, I don't recall very many specific issues being discussed. In fact, even Viet Nam was glossed over (though being a little kid, it may have been I that I was more interested in the Six Million Dollar Man or something). Yet, it was well known that we were GOP, right down the line, forever and always. I just wasn't all that clear on why. So, naturally, when I reached voting age, I marched right down and registered as a Republican. It was 1984, and I of course cast my ballot for Ronald Reagan. In 1988, I had no problem casting my vote for the first go around with George H.W. So far, so good. Then something funny happened on the way to the 1992 elections. . .

Now, remember the time. The 1991 Gulf War was a huge success. People wore Operation Desert Storm t-shirts, and desert camouflage pants were all the rage. H.W.'s ratings were sky high. No one could beat the guy. Until the Republican National Convention of 1992--It's Pat! Pat Buchanan was allowed a prime spot to speak, and went batshit on "teh gays." Absolutely, over-the-top, out of his head batshit. He wasn't the only one, but he was the one I remembered clearly. The tone of the whole event was just nasty. Add to this the tendency of our then Commander in Chief dropping by The 700 Club to chat breezily with "crazy Uncle Chuckles," Pat Robertson. Here's the math: The Religion Thing + The Gay Thing = Ain't no way I'm voting for this guy again. Particularly since there was absolutely no effort made by Bush Sr. to distance himself from any of the nastiness spewed by the Pats.

Clearly, I was not the only one who felt this way. Bill Clinton came out of nowhere, and H.W. was toast. I became a "Republicrat." I'd had my family's politics internalized, and for them "Democrat" was a slur. So I stayed registered as a Republican, but voted Democrat with the belief that I'd revert if they stopped the homophobia, religious fervor, and general mean spiritedness. To date, that hasn't happened.

From 1992 onward, I began to pay a little more attention to what was going on in the nation a little more closely. I read a lot more, learned a bit about how government works, and just generally got more engaged. I came to realize that my political identity had been rather hollow. I was like a Christmas & Easter Christian who doesn't know much at all about the religion, but professes it anyway (hell, I was one of those too, growing up!). There is much more that could be said here. My journey, after all, took me through two Clinton administrations, from Don't Ask, Don't Tell to the blue dress. Nevada's Constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage. Arguments with the family. The ensuing madness of two W. administrations. I think delving deeper into all that can wait for a while. For at least the next few posts, I'd like to get back to current events for a while.

Oh, one last thing. I registered as a Democrat for the first time last year.