My Political Background

Introduction

Recently my dad commented to me, “I don’t know where you and your sister, but you especially, got your interest and concern for politics from.”  I honestly don’t know either.  Perhaps it is because my mom used to have the news on when we were getting ready for school every morning.  Maybe it’s because I enjoy a good debate.  Perhaps it is merely because as a Christian I believe that I have a responsibility to engage with the culture, be a participant in the world I live in, and seek to change the world through the saving gospel message of Jesus Christ.

My Diverse and Apolitical Upbringing

Politics was rarely a topic of discussion around the dinner table in my house growing up.  It wasn’t that politics was a taboo subject, or something we believed was a matter of private conviction and therefore not appropriate dinner time banter, but it just wasn’t something of great importance that anyone in my family felt the need to discuss.

Usually I would ask who my parents and grandparents were voting for in presidential elections, and usually they would tell me.  Again, not much discussion of issues or why my family members were voting the way they were, just simply a statement of fact as to which hole they would punch in the ballot come November.

I believe that it’s important to explain the political worldview in which I was raised to give context for my current views.  However, I didn’t ask any of my family member’s permission to talk about their voting history, so I will attempt to give some explanation, without revealing any personal details.  I know that at least one of my parents has voted for both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates in my lifetime and I believe the other one has primarily (if not exclusively) voted Republican.  One set of grandparents have voted for Republican and Democratic candidates, as well as a third party candidate in my lifetime.  My paternal grandmother would have no problem with me telling everyone (and would be happy that I am doing so) that she was a lifelong Democrat who never veered from the party line.

I wasn't raised to be a Republican or a Democrat.  I was raised to be a follower of Christ.  When it came to politics I was taught to look first to scripture and let the Spirit be my guide as I seek the proper course to take.  My next responsibility is to become informed.  To research the candidates and the party's platforms, and find out who the best person and ideas are, as they relate to scripture.  Too many people are raised on one side of the aisle or the other and only become informed so as to support their point of view, instead of letting their stance be determined by the facts.  I hope that my upbringing and an explanation of my voting history will show that I have always sought to be well informed and to let scripture and the facts guide my decisions, instead of the other way around.

My Voting History

I first became interested in politics in 1992 when George H. W. Bush (R) was running for reelection against Bill Clinton (D) and Ross Perot (I).  I was in first grade at the time, and my class ran a mock election for our school that November.  Our teacher asked us to break into three groups, one for each candidate, joining the one for the candidate we supported.  I joined the Bill Clinton group, because I had heard that he had wanted to become president since he was in the first grade, and I was in the first grade (a great reason to support a candidate, I know).  I became Clinton’s campaign manager at my school, and led my group in promoting the Arkansas governor in my school for our nation’s highest office.  On Election Day we staged an election in our school, and unfortunately for me, Mr. Bush was reelected.  While I was disappointed with the loss at school, I was excited the next morning when I learned that my candidate had won the actual election.  In 1996 I recall supporting Mr. Clinton again, though I still wasn’t really interested in presidential politics in terms of issues at the time.

My next moment of political involvement came while I was in the sixth grade when I wrote a multi-page letter to my state senator and state representative outlining why I believed the Ohio Proficiency Test (now called the Ohio Graduation Test) was unfair, unreliable, and why it should be replaced as a method of assessing how students were learning and meeting standards across the state.  I actually received a letter back from Jim Jordan, my state representative.  While he dismissed all of my reasons and ideas for change, he was very polite and it was nice to receive a response.

In 2000 I was definitely a George W. Bush (R) supporter, and was pleased both to see that Ohio had voted for him and that he ended up being the eventual president (ironic that I supported the son of the president I “campaigned” against in 1992 instead of the VP of the man I tried to elect).  I turned 18 two months before the election in 2004, and was excited to vote for the first time.  I voted for George W. Bush, and was a very strong supporter.  I voted a basically straight Republican ticket that year with one exception.  As a college student outside of Chicago, I registered in Illinois, and I voted for Barack Obama (D) for Senate.

By the time the 2008 election rolled around I had become pretty disappointed with where the Bush presidency had ended, but this did not mean that I had decided not to vote for a Republican again.  When the Iowa Caucuses had ended I was far more excited to see that Mike Huckabee had won the Republican Caucus than I was to see that Mr. Obama had won the Democratic Caucus.  As the campaign trudged on and as it became clear who the two nominees would be, I remained undecided.  I was split pretty evenly about which candidate I agreed with on various issues.  It wasn’t until about a week before Election Day that I made up my mind.  What made my decision was that I decided that I agreed with Mr. Obama on more of the issues that I felt were most important at the time (namely the economy).  That same year, though, I still voted a primarily Republican ticket.  Outside of the President, I’m not sure I voted for a single other Democrat.

Since 2008, I have continued to vote primarily Republican in most elections.  I have voted for Democrats when I felt that they were the best candidate or when they were the incumbent and I felt that they had done a good job and felt no need for a change.  I did vote to reelect Ted Strickland (D) for governor (mainly because at that point I would have rather had the devil I knew over the devil I didn’t), but I also believe that Gov. John Kasich (R) has done a very good job as our governor and I am likely to vote for him in the next Ohio gubernatorial election.

Since I turned 18, I have probably voted for Republican candidates 75% of the time, if not more.  There was even a time where I identified myself as a Republican.  Ever since the 2004 election I’ve identified myself as an independent because I realized that I don’t completely agree with either party, and if I don’t (and if I don’t plan on voting a straight party ticket) then I don’t feel I can identify myself as a member of one party over the other.  At this point though, I have moved from being a right leaning moderate to being a left leaning moderate.

Conclusion

Over the next few days I’ll explain why I have moved to the left (or rather, why I believe the left has come more in line with my religious convictions since I don't believe that my convictions haven’t changed much).  I hope that this post has provided some context for my current views, and I look forward to exploring these important issues in more detail.  I invite you to leave feedback here or on Facebook (although I’d prefer you leave your feedback here).

I encourage open and meaningful debate, and will not edit anyone’s posts because their opinion is different than mine, but if the conversation becomes too negative or if people begin making person attacks, outlandish statements, or simply saying things that are false then I will deleted your posts.  Please remain civil and respectful.  I’d also appreciate it if we keep the conversation to the topic of the post that day, and I’ve outlined the schedule of what I will be posting about in my introduction post.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read these blogs and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who is willing to engaging with me in this process.  I am both honored and humbled.