I went to lunch today with a local Mom’s group, and I was talking with a friend of mine that hates Bush as much as I do. We normally try to watch who we confess this to, because you just never know how passionate people are going to be with their Bush love here in Texas. So I quietly said, “I didn’t watch the debates last night because I was afraid I might gouge my eyes out with a spork. Because … well, you know.” She knew, and admitted she didn’t watch for the same reason. The other woman asked me what I was talking about. Great. This is my first time around this group, and I’m about to confess my Bush sentiments. Big deep breath. I quickly and quietly say that I just don’t like Bush, and I haven’t since he ran for Governor. (If you want more of a scoop on why I feel this way, search the archives. It’s all in there.)
She asked me if I was going to really study the candidates and learn what they are about. I mean, would I really vote for Kerry if he wasn’t “for” the things I believe in?
That’s when I had to face the truth. Yes, yes I would. I would give Kerry my vote, no matter what. I dislike Bush so much, I could never vote for him. I lean Republican on some issues, but he will never ever get a vote from me.
But I don’t live in a “swing state” – we haven’t even really had presidental ads on TV here in Texas, it’s just a given that Bush will win here. I will laugh though if Kerry won out of the blue here. Wouldn’t that be a riot?
She was right though – you should educate yourself before you vote. Most of my education seems to come from
Mac and Chuck (who covers a lot of local election issues, more important to me because my vote in the presidential election probably won’t matter much.) There are a lot of other resources out there, so I want to encourage you to learn all you can about the candidates and then GO VOTE. Don’t think your vote is trivial and meaningless; if everyone voted, many elections would go a different way. Do your part. Do your civic duty. VOTE.
And if you’re not registered, don’t forget to do something about that immediately. The deadline is NOW. Visit Rock The Vote for more information on how to register for your state. 200,000 more in 2004!
10 replies on “I’m a Bad Texan…”
People in New Jersey are sometimes careful about talking politics in front of me because I’m from Texas. Once I establish that I’m not pro-Bush, they’ll say all kinds of things.
And, yes, I’m registered to vote in New Jersey, which is apparently a swing state this year. My vote counts.
I’ve lived in 4 states, and don’t ever think my vote for Pres has really mattered. Now that I’m in Cali, I’ve decided that I need to vote absentee back in my home state to keep my Bush vote from being lost in the Kerryflood. 🙂
I went to lunch with about 10 cow orkers today, and there was one Bush supporter amongst the 10 (the group included 1 VP, 2 managers, and 7 programmers all working for a major wall-street trade clearing software company). The Bush support was having a tough time of it.
It bizarrely reminded me of political discussions I used to have at my last job in Texas where I was the only democrat in the room.
Mind you, I would never ever chastise someone else for liking Bush. I definitely tried to keep it low-key and just pointed out that I personally could never vote for him. Fortunately, she took it pretty well, and I tried to apologize to Katy for “outing” her among the moms as being anti-Bush too. Hopefully they won’t flog us or anything like that…
I am a NY Democrat living in TX, so it is VERY hard for me here. I have to be quiet, but sometimes, it is very hard. I try to respect other opinions, but it is difficult when some are not educated opinions.
I am all for people voting, but I have done a lot of thinking about this lately. I only want people who have done some research on this to vote. I get scared that too many people vote one way or the other based on their parents or their spouse or not really knowing what is going on.
It would make my day if Kerry won in TX, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon 🙁
I’m of the opinion that your vote ALWAYS matters. Living in Texas and voting Democrat, your vote might not necessarily change the outcome of your electoral votes…but it definitely sends a message if the Democrat voter turnout is higher than normal. Of course, your message is sent, but the current President doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass about those who disagree with him. So I guess it’s a toss up. But your vote still counts.
I’m with Mac. Even if your vote for Kerry doesn’t make a difference in this presidential election, your Dem vote and those Dem votes in your district will be noted by your local Democrats. In the next local election they will be justified in putting some funding behind a Democrat running for mayor, or local rep, or sheriff. Texas USED to be a Democrat stronghold. There must be a number of you left. Stand up, be proud, and let your voices be heard.
I’m not a big fan of John Kerry, but since I hate Duhbya with a passion, he will get my vote.
Kerry will likely take Massachusetts, since he’s been one of our Senators for the past gazillion years. But I will still take the time to go and vote anyway…the way I see it, voting gives me another four years of *bitching rights*. I feel that people have no business bitching about elected officials if they do not bother to go out and vote!
I heard Bush speak several years ago. I made the mistake of taking my kids to hear him. I thought it would be exciting for them. After listening to him for a few minutes, I felt sick. Really sick! This year, I will be voting for Kerry!!
Haha, yeeeah….I’m a Democratic voter in Texas too. But I go to school at UT-Austin, so it’s chockfull of Democrats on this campus.
Home’s in Houston for me too! What part of Houston are you in? I’m from boring Sugar Land…blargh.