The first president I voted for when I turned 18 was Ronald Reagan. Not caring much for politics and being the kind of daughter who liked to please her parents, I registered myself as a Republican. I admired my folks and thought they made sense when they talked about Republican policies, so I went along. I veered from my parents' political leanings soon after and registered myself as a Green. I was in my twenties, very environmentally conscious before it was trendy, and I liked being of my own mind. Then came the election of George Bush #1 vs. Michael Dukakis, and I hate to admit it, but that election I chose the older Republican dude because I just had this icky feeling about Dukakis. And I really felt icky whenever I saw Bentsen speak. I was a Green who voted Republican.
By 1992, I was thirty-one years old and newly married. My husband was a Republican, so naturally I was influenced by his political views and since I really admire the man, I re-registered as a Republican. But the independent thinker in me didn't go away. I did not like Bush #1 and I liked Clinton/Gore even less. A big-nosed Texas loud-mouth named Ross Perot seemed to be speaking my language. I liked everything he said, even if he was icky to look at. I jumped on the Ross Perot bandwagon and voted for him. I know in my heart of hearts he'd have won if he'd chosen a less idiotic running mate (have you seen the SNL parodies of him and Perot? They are hilarious!) Perot got so many votes that many have said that he cost the Republicans the election, as they were votes that should've gone to Bush.
In 2000, I voted Republican again for Bush #2 because I felt icky about Gore and Leiberman. I didn't like the way Gore talked down to us like we were all first-graders and Leibeman just seemed plain icky and insincere. In 2004, I voted to re-elect Bush because I hated that Kerry's wife was the heir to the Heinz ketchup empire and we all know what kind of a guy John Edwards turned out to be. Call it a gift, but I just knew he was too good to be true.
So then comes 2008 and a black guy with a Muslim name or a white dude I actually liked name John McCain. I was all-set and ready to vote for McCain until he picked a frightening idiot for a running mate, Sarah Palin. I thought, well, international relations are at an all-time low. Maybe a double minority leader would be a good thing? And although I wasn't crazy about Biden, it was the first time I'd ever voted for a Democrat. I have not regretted my vote since.
Now we have the re-election of Mr. Obama and a new very presidential-looking scary dude. They are calling this the closest race since Gore/Bush. Will we have more "hanging chads"? LOL Probably. But I'm digressing. Back to my point about being a swing voter.
I get that we have a two-party system, and to me, it sucks. Why do we have swing voters and why are there so many of us? Wikipedia states that "Swing voters are undecided about how they will vote. They are sometimes referred to as undecideds, undecided voters, or floating voter. They may be dissatisfied Republicans or Democrats who are open to the idea of voting for other parties, or they could be people who have never had a strong affiliation with any political party, and will vote depending on certain things that influence them - e.g. healthcare, benefits, election campaign etc."
Wikipedia also refers to swing voters as "low-information" voters. This is an insult. Ask any swing voter you know and I'll be we are just as informed as anyone else. I would say that for me anyway, being a swing voter is more about being passionate on certain issues as opposed to going-along-to-get-along.
For example, Romney scares the hell out of me because of his staunch right-wing Christian views on abortion and women's rights. When I heard him say he was going to stop all funding to Planned Parenthood and overturn Roe vs. Wade, that did it for me. I became enraged. Since when did the Republican party become the "Christian" party? And for a political party that boasts small government and no-government intrusion, how do they justify the intrusion into a woman's own body for God's sake?? How dare they take away a women's right to choose! Like Prohibition didn't stop people from drinking, the government may outlaw abortions but they'll never stop them. Do they really think it's a good idea to go back to the back-alley abortions of the past? Should women die because they have an unwanted pregnancy? Doesn't the man involved in getting her in that condition have any consequences? No, he doesn't suffer any. She suffers alone. Should she pay for it with her life? That is what will happen again if Romney and his buddy Ryan have their way. His economic policy falls on deaf ears for me.
Let me tell you a little story. When I was in my twenties and in college, working 3 odd-jobs at the same time, I had no health insurance. I went only when I absolutely had to and had to pay for it out of pocket. I also needed birth control because yes, I was having sex. (Big surprise---a woman in her twenties having sex). Planned parenthood was there for me. They treated me with utmost respect. I had my annual Pap and breast exams and a full year of birth control pills for $40. Where else could I get that kind of health care? Can you find anything wrong with this??
Romney has it in for Planned Parenthood because he disagrees with their ideology. Just because they also provide abortions doesn't mean they monsters. They provide low-cost health care to underprivileged women. In his perfect Christian world, women shouldn't be having sex unless they're married, and then they wouldn't need a place like Planned Parenthood. Really??? I was still going to them five years later married and before we started a family. Young and newlywed without health insurance, PP was there for us. In my opinion, any man running for the office of the president who thinks the government should force women to carry their pregnancies to term is one scary dude. And for me, any Republican who feels this way will never get my vote.
Wikipedia also says, and I quote," If a constituency contains a large proportion of swing voters it is often called a marginal seat and extensive campaign resources are poured into it." This is reason enough that something needs to be done about campaign financing, but that's for another blog.
In the meantime, we swing voters are not under-informed voters, we are frustrated voters. We don't identify with either political party and don't feel comfortable being boxed in. For me, I wish there WAS a third party because both the Democrats and the Republicans used to also have something called Moderates. Reagan was a Moderate. Romney reportedly voted Moderate as governor of Massacusetts. What happened to him when he became the Repubican presidential nominee?? He went over the edge. His "people" told him to go for the right-wing Christian slant and he took it and ran and honestly, it's working for him and it scares the hell out of me.
Bi-partisiasnhip has gone the way of the eight-track tape. Gone and never to be seen again. Each side is so damned polarized; it's about being right and not about what's best overall for Americans. If we get a Republican president and a Democratic congress, you can bet nothing will get accomplished, and vice-versa. If the candidate voted Moderate as governor, the opposition will use that against him in the debates. Since when is being Moderate considered a bad thing? The staunchness of the Republican party has swayed me over to the other side, but I'm not completely happy with the Dems either. I'm anti-union and anti-big government.
The sheer number of swing voters tells me, and it should tell everyone, that we are a disenfranchised lot. We are unhappy with the two-party system as it has evolved into parties of extremism.
Romney can yell all he wants to me as he stops here in Milwaukee this week about the economy, but I'm not listening. He wants to keep women pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen and take away our rights to our own bodies. Nothing, not the economy or foreign policy or the environment is as vital to my belief system as being owner of my own body. How dare any man, woman, or government force any woman to remain pregnant and carry a baby she doesn't want for 9 months, whether it was within the scope of a rape or not. How would this be enforced anyway? He doesn't want to pay for her health care to keep the pregnancy but he would not allow her to decide for herself how to live her life? Her baby has more rights than she does?? I will never agree.
I also believe very very strongly that gays should be allowed to marry and have the same rights as heterosexual couples. The anti-human rights policies of the "new" Republican party scares the bejesus out of me. When did Republicans get to be so hateful?
Maybe I should change my political party to Independent, or Libertarian, or go back to being a Green. I am seriously considering it. Until then, this Republican is ashamed of my own party and once again voting Democrat. Maybe, just maybe, next election will have a Republican Moderate who won't be ashamed to be Moderate.
Happy voting!
