I was raised Republican. My mom is from Indiana and was also raised a Republican (she said it has to do with policies that affected farming). When I was in college I was a Young Republican… until I got disillusioned with politics. Even though I decided to not be a loud and proud Republican (although I have always thought of myself as more of a libertarian), I still have a some residual issues when it comes to voting.
Since my split with the Republican party, I decided that if I did not like the Republican candidate then I just would not vote. What that means is that I have voted in a total of 2 elections.
When we had the last presidential election, I prepared myself to vote for a democrat for the first time in my life (mainly because I felt guilty about not using my right to vote every time I saw one of those “rock the vote”commercials). I really thought I could do it. I even told my Republican friends that I was going to vote for Obama and I may have posted a Facebook status on it…then I got there. I went into the little curtained voting area and voted on all the other elections, but then it came time to vote for the president. I had a mild panic attack. I clicked and unclicked my vote over and over again, but could not cast the vote. I knew the line was growing and so I just voted Republican. I beat myself over it for a little while, but then I remembered the state that I live in… and then thought my vote really would not have changed anything anyway. My state went red… and it was not even close.
So, I was not sad and did not get mad when Obama won. I try to stay out of politics. My husband is an independent and so we really don’t have any need to talk a lot of politics. Lately though, our kids are have been bringing up politics. My daughter loves Barack Obama. She is a one-girl campaign manager for him and is set on getting me to vote for him in the upcoming election.
The other day we had a conversation that went like this…
The Girl: Mom, are you going to vote for Obama?
Me: I have to wait and see who the Republicans nominate and then I will decide, but probably not (only because I decided I don’t need to have another panic attack or will just skip voting).
The Girl: Why do you only vote for Republicans?
Me: Well, your grandma has drilled it into my head that I can only vote for Republicans… and Democrats like to spend money [BTW the last statement was said in a joking manner].
The Girl: Oh, that means that Owen is a democrat. He loves spending money. He spends it the minute he gets it.
My mother in law and I busted out in laughter. I don’t think she quite knew why it was so funny. It was even funnier because my daughter declared my son a womanizer after I explained that a womanizer was a man who did not treat women nicely…. which now makes my son a “womanizing democrat”. Hide your 6-year-old daughters!
So, my mother-in-law had to return home today and she missed the next installment of my kids political discussions. Before she left she gave the kids $10 each… which meant that my son was chomping at the bit to get to Target.
As we walked by the card section, my daughter cried out (the way she does when when she sees a new American Girl catalogue). Why did she squeal out loud enough to turn everyone’s heads? A card with Obama on it.
The Girl: Mom! Look! It’s Obama!
Me: Yep, very cool.
The Girl: Mom, you have to vote for him this year. You know you can really vote for a Democrat, right?
The Boy: [pointing at my daughter] Oh! You said a bad word!
Me: What word? Democrat? [noticing all the people who have stopped shopping and were wondering if I have taught my son that “democrats” is a bad word]
The Boy: Oh, I thought she said “crap”.
Me: No, she was talking about Democrats.
The Boy: Yeah, like me!
This election cannot come soon enough… November come quickly!
domesticgoddessornot.wordpress.com 
As a former Obama staffer, it breaks my heart to hear we lost your vote. But whoever you end up voting for, it matters much more that you just go and do it. Even if the presidential vote stresses you out, there are so many other races going on, for city, state, and federal offices which have a direct impact on your and your kids’ lives. I understand that the political process can be disillusioning, and it’s frequently that way for the politicians themselves. But I hope this fall, you can show your kids that even when the decisions are tough, you still make them.
I usually do vote and my kids usually accompany me so that they are a part of the process. My daughter will be stoked that an ex-Obama staffer read a story about her.
haha, politics is a constant conversation in our household and my little ones are very aware of it. and anyone says something “who they want to be president,” they are quick to add who they think should be president. Loved this post!
It is amazing how much they take in.