General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHave you *ever* voted for a GOP candidate? If so, why?
(Inspired by DUer Hubert Flottz' thread further down in GD.)
I did. Rudy Giuliani. Must have been his first -- unsuccessful-- (1989?) run for NYC mayor vs. David Dinkins.
Technically... I voted for him on the Liberal ( third party) Party line, which occasionally endorsed liberal/moderate Republicans. But he was running as a Republican.
I thought Dinkins was a machine DEM and probably therefore corrupt and at that point Giuliani had made a name for himself by indicting DEM party bosses for corruption. ( Most of them were RW, so I basically favored favored the prosecutions. Also, I thought they were guilty.)
Giuliani also lacked a clear ideology at that time . He had voted for McGovern in '72. ( Me too.)
As it turned out Dinkins was a good mayor... in some ways a GREAT mayor and I voted to reelect him in '93. ( Worked for him too.) Unfortunately he got relentlessly bad press coverage throughout his mayoralty from the megabucks media barons that run this town and he lost the '93 matchup to Giuliani by a narrow margin.
tjdee
(18,048 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,705 posts)I used to live in Seminole County, FL where the Democratic party was so weak at one time that they didn't or couldn't field candidates for every position. In those instances I voted Libertarian.
barbtries
(28,702 posts)some non partisan selections may have been republicans but knowingly, never. ever.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)No. Not even Arnold, when so many in California did.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)nt
Dannyteague
(51 posts)Never want to be called a "lever puller."
Ohio Joe
(21,656 posts)I voted for reagan his first term. It was my first election and I really knew nothing about polotics... I thought he was funny when I had seen him on TV so I voted for him. I started paying attention after that and went D.
get the red out
(13,459 posts)I went through an idiot period that shames me now.
chemp
(730 posts)A great man, a great Senator, and a liberal.
GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)The only time I ever cried when a republican died. If he was still alive, I am sure he would have done as his son did, and left the party.
County coroner*. I did so at the recommendation of his predecessor, my state's first female coroner, and good Democrat. She left office when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was he assistant. She trained him well. I'll happily vote for him again.
*If it were up to me, this wouldn't be an elected office, let alone partisan one.
no_hypocrisy
(45,771 posts)Marge was republican but not like today's brand. I adored her!
She was warm, intelligent, ready to negotiate, would listen to all opinions (even dems'). I'd vote for her again if she hadn't retired.
Scott Garrett is our present rep of the district. He was Tea Party material back in the Eighties. (P.S. Marge would NOT endorse Garrett when he ran the first time.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_Roukema
I also voted for Millicent Fenwick against Frank Lautenberg for Senate in 1980. She was the prototype for Lacey Davenport in Doonesbury. Like Marge, I adored her.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millicent_Fenwick
Not all republicans, esp. women, were like Clare Booth Luce.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)... on Book Talk ( CSPAN?) recently. If memory serves... she also ID'd Fenwick as the only GOPer she had ever voted for.
In which case... Hubert Flotzz has to share credit/blame for this thread w. Quindlen and myself.
RedSpartan
(1,693 posts)She was one of the good ones. Needless to say, after her, I did NOT vote for Garrett.
Now, due to redistricting, my rep has changed to Rodney Frelinghuysen, another moderate Republican:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Frelinghuysen
The only other Republican I have voted for was Christine Whitman in 1997.
leftlibdem420
(256 posts)The lunatic fringe did poorly. Good lesson for Republicans to keep in mind.
leftlibdem420
(256 posts)You're talking about the party of Abraham Lincoln, Fiorello LaGuardia (a staunch New Deal liberal and FDR ally), Margaret Chase-Smith, Robert La Folette, Jim Jeffords, Earl Warren, and Edward Brooke. Back then, a lot of Republicans found Bob Dole too conservative. Most would now found him too "liberal".
enough
(13,237 posts)This is where you know everyone personally.
formercia
(18,479 posts)so I could vote against Bush twice, once in the Primary and once in the General Election.
I know it didn't make any difference, but it felt good anyway.
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)Come up with their own candidates.
However what has happened here is that the Dems hold their caucus, and the Rep town leaders hang out after the event and convince the loser of the Dem caucus to run as a Rep!
That's when we have our caucus before theirs. If they have their caucus first, they put up the same people who just lose every time. Well, mostly every time any way.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)sufrommich
(22,871 posts)who have seen the light.
1GirlieGirl
(261 posts)Never have, never will. I registered to vote as soon as I turned 18 because I didn't want Ronnie Ray-guns to win a second term. I believe in voting as a civic duty. A lot of women fought really hard so that I now have the right to vote. But I would sit out an election before I would ever vote for a repub.
gopiscrap
(23,674 posts)goclark
(30,404 posts)WCIL
(343 posts)A family friend ran for county coroner back in the '80's. He lost.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)it's a judge's race. Prop 14 meant that the two top vote earners moved to the general. They both happen to be Republican. One happens to be a moderate republican, the other a hard core tea party judge, who has also done a few things in court that are questionable.
I hope that answers your question.
Fellow San Diegans, your choice is between Amador, a rational republican, or Miller, a crazee son of a gun.
demosincebirth
(12,518 posts)LeftinOH
(5,342 posts)It was my first time voting, age 19. I was a kid in college; in one of the classes that morning, someone blurted out "hey- did anyone vote for Mondale?" Everyone laughed (the presumption being that everyone voted for Reagan..which was generally the case).
1984 was a long time ago.
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)I NEVER EVER voted for Ronnie Raygun!
LondonReign2
(5,213 posts)'84, my first and only vote for a Republican.
My liberal education hadn't quite kicked in yet, but it would soon. I volunteered for Dukakis in '88. My transformation was rapid and complete, thanks to St. Ronnie's second term and Senior Bush's complete dickishness.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Kablooie
(18,571 posts)Dont think ill do that again.
I didn't vote for him the first time.
Chorophyll
(5,179 posts)Disliked Reagan from the first moment I heard him open his mouth, when I was 14. Felt I was being patronized.
But that's just me.
leftlibdem420
(256 posts)4/10 American voters voted for Mondale. Seems like a perfectly normal thing to have done.
Alduin
(501 posts)RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)On your point, in NY there were people who ran on the Dem, and Rep party line, and also ran on the Lib or Con line. NY always had a good mix. there were Lib Reps, Con Dems, Lib Dems, and Con Reps. There were just plain Libs and Cons, as there were Dems and Reps.
That all seemed to dry up after Raygun and his keepers decided to make "Liberal" a dirty word. The NY Liberal Party was once a huge party. It's now barely a shadow of what it once was.
I would wish I knew how I could resurrect it. I would do it in a minute. We need a Liberal party. A plain old Liberal Party.
As Kennedy stated in his 1960 speech, "What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.""
We need a strong Liberal Party like never before.
You can read the entire speech here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/jfk-nyliberal/
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)His RW mayoral victory in the DEM primary in '69 breathed new life into the Liberal Party.... which gave it a long second wind.
We need another Mario Proccaccino.
The LIB party also had problematic leadership. ( Eventually out for patronage only, not ideology; that pretty much killed it) But for a while it acted as a restraint
on the DEM party... i.e. keeping it from getting too anti-progressive.
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)So I don't remember much about his campaign.
I do remember that Lindsay had a better campaign, and won on the Liberal ticket. I guess that would bring life into any party.
But growing up, I remember all different stripes of Cons, Libs, Dems, and Reps running on multiple lines in NY.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)Didn't need GOP. That must have been 1970. 3 way: liberal repub, liberal DEM and big C Conservative.
The right invented the Conservative Party as a counterweight to the labor/left's invention of the Liberals. I giuess around 1960. They wished to skew the GOP right in the same way that the Libs wanted to pull the DEMs left.
Usually they cross-endorsed the big party pick but sometimes they'd run their own candidate.... usually sabotoging the big party ( GOP or DEM) for not nominating an ideologue.
Made for some interesting strategizing, as you note.
These days electoral politics ... at least in NYS... and ideology are almost completely distinct entities. Thus the preponderance of bland, finger-in-the-wind types like Cuomo, Schumer and Gillebrand.
Play it safe, kids, play it safe.
dembotoz
(16,737 posts)and sometimes i will vote in the thug races to just screw them up
IrishEyes
(3,275 posts)I was six and he was my dad. I appeared in campaign posters. The voters and the press loved me because I was coached to say adorable things. Dad won the election. Voters liked what a great family man he was. I don't remember it. I have never actually voted for a republican.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,161 posts)I voted for Romney in 2002. There was something about his opponent that rubbed me the wrong way. (I don't remember what it was, so don't ask) It became evident early-on the Romney was only using Massachusetts as a doormat and resume-builder for a White House run. I wish I could have retracted my vote.
Another old friend ran for some very insignificant local position every two years, and I'd throw a vote his way. Now he's gone to the teabagger side, and I don't even speak to him anymore.
I'd never vote R again, I don't care who it was that was running.
Screw the whole bunch of them.
On edit: I play around with the open primaries now and then, and that's only to help benefit the Dems later on.
stklurker
(180 posts)Because there are still idiots on both sides of the aisle and I vote based on the individuals and their actions, not necessarily the party charter. That being said I have voted (D) the last several elections, but as an independent I can tell you that its a lot closer this election and a lot of independents that were Obama supporters I knew from 08 are not nearly as enthused anymore. They feel he dropped the ball big time.. and blaming the republicans just doesn't cut it....what is he going to do DIFFERENTLY this time...?
The funny thing here is I think that Hillary could win in a landslide.. I really do.
maveric56
(137 posts)I was young! I'm sorry!
At the time he came across as a populist candidate. He surfed and told tales of protecting the environment. That all turned out to be bullshit.
This was a non-partisan election where both candidates (Hedgecock and Bill Cleator) were repugs.
eqfan592
(5,963 posts)There were non-partisan races I voted in back home where somebody may have been one, but that's it.
Progressive dog
(6,861 posts)I originally registered as a Republican, I skipped the 1968 elections because I didn't like either Nixon or Humphrey. I changed my registration to Independent before the next Presidential election. After that, I could find no Republicans to vote for except a couple in local races. I have been a registered Democrat since 1977 and have voted in every election since for the Democrat in state, national, and county races. I have become more liberal as I have grown older, which I attribute to the wisdom of age.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)... from Nixon. AFTER the primaries.
He sort of reinvented himself as a flower-power, peace-in-VN billionaire for the occasion.
What a strange time.
Progressive dog
(6,861 posts)Must not have voted for Rockefeller, but I did vote in the Republican primary in Mountain View, CA in 1968. Now I wonder who I did vote for. I know I punched the IBM card.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts).... was that he was winking at supporters around the country throughout the primary season while insisting that he would NOT be a candidate. The result was... if i recall... he WAS on the ballot esp in some late states ( i.e. w. June primaries.)
Good tactic. Creates a big media guessing game.
But he didn't formally announce til they were over. Or ALMOST over.
A lot of things these people do they do for attention. Rockefeller was like that. A bored Zllionaire.
ahg
(64 posts)I was 18, young and stupid. Never again.
virgdem
(2,119 posts)in 1988, while living in Connecticut, voted for Lowell Weicker, who was a very moderate Republican at the time and moved to Independent a few years later. He was running against "Joementum" Lieberman, who unfortunately won the race. Knowing what Lieberman morphed into in later years, I feel somewhat vindicated in a way that I voted for the only Republican I've ever voted for in my life.
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)I was just out of High school. There were many things I did not approve of about Clinton. Growing up in the Reagan era made me a "free market" (R) thinker.
The impeachment and all the negatives that were there was the first strike against Republicans in my mind.
The crash of 2000 and all the corporate fraud associated with it was the second.
The Supreme court appointment of a President was the third. Republican thinking was out.
Starting a war based on lies pushed me extremely left.
Patriot act.
Gitmo.
Rendition.
Warrantless wire-tapping of citizens
The list goes on and on....
kctim
(3,575 posts)Because I don't ever vote for the extremes on the far left or far right.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)kctim
(3,575 posts)I'd hate for anybody to think I was just another blind partisan cheerleader marching in lock-step with what I am told. Sitting around all day hoping somebody agrees with me, or says something I agree with. Mocking all who dare have their own opinions, values and beliefs. And, contrary to the facts, pretending my opinion is the majority opinion, day in and day out.
No, I prefer to think for myself, ask real questions, and rely on facts.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)Most here have used their reason and intellect and have taken the position of supporting those they believe in.
You cannot call others "blind partisans" using the same reasons they have to arrive at their beliefs, without being one yourself.
If you support and vote for Republicans, you therefore also support what they believe in.
You also must acknowledge that facts are meaningless to the members of the current Republican Party, yet you will vote for them anyway.
I just find it ridiculous to assume people who believe in a balance, moderates, have not used "reason" and "intellect" to hold the beliefs they do.
I call them blind partisans because they base their "facts" in politics, just like you did by saying facts are meaningless to Republicans, or that agreeing with Republicans on one thing, means you support all they believe in.
Neither Dems or Reps all believe in the same thing, nor do either of them have a monopoly on the "facts."
1GirlieGirl
(261 posts)Surely you recognize a troll when you see one. Don't encourage it. Ignore it and it will go away.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)Skittles
(152,964 posts)even if there's a halfway "decent" republican candidate somewhere s/he is with a party that endorses racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, etc.
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)I didn't, because I'm an adult.
xxqqqzme
(14,887 posts)I didn't. It would only encourage her.
ctaylors6
(693 posts)I've lived in some deeply red areas. At those times, I felt like I need to vote in the GOP primaries or have no voice at all in the ultimate outcome.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)Some DEMs that live in crossover states will vote in the GOP primary to help select the weakest candidate. ( The GOPers do the same to us).
In your case, though the situation is different. You're excused.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)catbyte
(34,170 posts)and all the schmaltzy "homecoming" stuff on the local news, etc. got to me so I started to feel sorry for him. Plus, Betty rocked.
I've regretted it ever since. That's my one and only time.
Diane
Anishinaabe in MI & mom to Leo, Taz & Nigel, members of Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division
"Dogs Arent Luggage Even Though They Are Lower Life Forms--HISS!
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)he would have won. He wasn't a terrible sort - moderate and pragmatic - and who knew that some of his staff would wind up morphing into monsters (Rumsfeld, Darth). Betty Ford was a treasure and I always thought the world of her - smart, independent, compassionate and very much her own woman.
xxqqqzme
(14,887 posts)It was when we were trying to save the Bolsa Chica Wetlands and the only candidate favoring it was a moderate among a sea of of 'pave it' mentality rethugs.
flamingdem
(39,304 posts)or Greeley
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,705 posts)He was one hundred percent committed to Reconstruction.
REP
(21,691 posts)He's an Independent now, but even as an R, he seemed to be a decent and thoughtful person.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)I vote for a common pleas court judge when his term comes up in a non-partisan election.
Before he ran for judge, he represented me as my attorney in a few matters.
He was a good attorney, and is an even even better judge.
He routinely gets high marks from both parties, and gets re-elected by a wide margin.
But I know that he is a Republican...but more like a Rockefeller Republican than anything.
He's the only one I ever voted for that I know is a Republican.
gkhouston
(21,642 posts)Freddie
(9,231 posts)He's an old-fashioned reasonable Repug and a really nice guy, I know him personally. He's retiring at the end of his term and I will never vote R again!
longship
(40,416 posts)One of the most progressive Republicans in recent decades. Always respectful and always respected. I had no problem voting to send her back to the Senate chambers.
She could not get past a primary today.
BTW, she has since married another well respected Republican senator Howard Baker. Not sure what they're doing these days. Seems like they've dropped out of public life.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)belcffub
(595 posts)in local elections political party matters little... so little that politicians often change parties when they see it as an advantage... I vote for the person who I think will do the best job...
people who vote straight party line every election annoy me... how little thought... heck about 20 years back the local democratic party endorsed all republicans in the county legislature over some spat about nothing...
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)past of the early 1980's. I actually can no longer name the exact candidates, but I do recall having paid reasonably close attention to the races in question and coming to the decision the Republican was the better choice.
At a presidential level, never. And in recent years, never at all places on the ballot.
quiller4
(2,467 posts)He was one of my college professors and I knew him to be an ethical and moderate man. I had served on a citizens licensing review panel. I was convinced that the Democratic office holder was involved in a kickback and extortion scheme. I tried to find a Democrat to challenge him in the primary. When I was unsuccessful, I supported the Republican challenger.
The Democrat won and three months later he was indicted, pled guilty and went to prison. I don't regret my support for the more ethical man but I doubt my old professor would feel welcome in today's Republican Party.
Comrade_McKenzie
(2,526 posts)I registered Republican and voted for him in the primaries. He mostly resonated with me because of his antiwar stance, but, naively, I took the whole package.
I skipped the 2008 election and registered Libertarian shortly after, but the more I experienced the real world, the more I started to renounce their ideals.
Then the day Gabby Giffords was shot, something happened to me and I started watching the President and those on the left quite a bit. I am now a registered Democrat and farther to the left than the President.
This will be the first Presidential election in which I am going to participate. This will also be the first Presidential election my dad will vote Democrat. We always go vote together.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)spiderpig
(10,419 posts)And I'm from Ohio.
cali
(114,904 posts)least bullshit men ever to grace Washington.
He's the one and only.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)But only if Sanders wasn't running agin' him.
cali
(114,904 posts)Vermonters loved Jeezum Jim.
DFW
(54,051 posts)It was in the Philadelphia mayoralty election of 1971. Republican Thatcher Longstreth, a decent guy, was up aginst Frank Rizzo, the corrupt, violent, oafish Commissioner of Police.
In their one TV debate, Rizzo thought (in a manner of speaking) he'd be cute and ask Longstreth stright out why Longstreth had called Rizzo all sorts of names in the past (like, buffoon, jerk, etc.)
Longstreth just said, "Well, if the shoe fits, Commissioner....."
I have never voted for a Republican since.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)... some of the old "liberal" repubs were to the left of the old-guard, pro-vn war, anti civil rights, usually big city ( Rizzo, Daley, Mario Proccaccino) clubhouse DEMs.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Done.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Look up the definition of a "wallmart republican" on urbandictionary.com. That pretty much described me to a "T" when I was growing up and in 2000.
[quote]Wal-Mart Republican (noun)
The illegitimate cousin of the Wall-Street Republican who based on economic circumstance should be a Democrat. But because of certain prejudices identifies with the GOP. These prejudices include, racism,bigotry,homophobia,religious zealotry and sexism. There is also a strong tendency to follow NASCAR, display the confederate flag and affix an NRA sticker on ones pick up even though the membership dues were never paid.
Larry:
Jim Bob, how in the hell can you be a Republican? You live in a trailer, have no health insurance and no savings or investments whatsoever.
Jim Bob:
That black ass, muslim, homo lover ain't takin' my guns away!
Larry:
Oh, I see. You are a Wal-Mart Republican!
[/quote]
I grew up hard conservative and I thought Al Gore was a POS. 4 years later I was hanging out in Iraq and I certainly didn't believe that anymore. It's amazing how your mind changes on certain things when you actually have to see firsthand how the policies or ideas you were, in part, responsible for setting in place are implimented and received on the ground. To put it simply, the war sucked and it completely changed my political outlook. I will never, ever, vote republican again.
I know. I completely deserve to be flamed on this and I'm willing to take it. I was 20 years old and I really was still under the influence of the values and thinking of my parents at that time. Please go easy on me!
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)ABSOLVED!!!!
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)As another poster said, "Go forth, and sin no more."
RagAss
(13,832 posts)He's ruthless.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)immoderate
(20,885 posts)In 1964, I was 17 and had just read the philosophical writings of Ayn Rand, and it all seemed real neat to me. I would have voted for Goldwater. It also fed into my rebelliousness, since my family was Democratic.
I was taken aback when I mentioned this to a beloved professor. He said "Ann Rand huh?" and I nodded. And then he said, "She's a flying hunk of shit!" and that took me aback.
Subsequently, as a "libertarian," I saw that Republicans offered no relief in areas of civil rights, women's rights, and ending foreign aggression as in Vietnam, and by the time I was old enough to vote, I held my nose and voted Dem, who had become too right wing for my taste. So I never actually voted for a Republican.
I was dangerous.
--imm
unblock
(51,974 posts)david silber was an insufferable autocrat and a mean, nasty man. absolutely loathsome. how he won the democratic nomination i have no idea.
i was young and foolish and thought that a seemingly decent republican might be better than a truly rotten democrat.
i was wrong.
the problem, of course, is that even decent republicans surround themselves with, let's say, more typical republicans, side with more typical republicans, and appoint more typical republicans to various positions, including some with life tenure.
that's a mistake i'll never make again.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)rox63
(9,464 posts)I couldn't stomach voting for Silber. Weld wasn't horrible as governor. But I voted for the Dem the next time Weld ran.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)because Silber was so loathsome. Weld wasn't bad although he was a bit of an embarrassment with his drunken antics. The Republicans who warmed that seat after him though were terrible.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)My repuke vote was for Weld. I'm not 100% sure it was wrong, though. If Silber (John, I believe it was) had won the nomination, he would have become head of the state party and reorganized it into something we wouldn't recognize today. He could have crippled the Massachusetts democratic party for a decade.
unblock
(51,974 posts)no idea why a thought it was david and to any david silbers out there, sorry for likening you to attila the hun....
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Thanks for posting. And I will never do it again.
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)But I was 18, and raised in a conservative family. Then I grew up and never voted repuke again.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Namely, my county commissioner is a Democrat but a major egomaniac who I believe is likely corrupt. Of course, he panders to the senior communities (a big voting block) so he essentially a shoe-in for re-election every time he runs. However, I just got fed up with him one election year and chose to vote for his Republican challenger strictly as a protest vote. Of course, he was re-elected, not that I doubted he wouldn't be.
I will say that in 2010 I voted for Republican-turned-Independent Charlie Crist in the Florida Senate race against Rubio over Kendrick Meek. I liked Meek but I thought Crist stood more of a chance at winning. It turned out, however, that both lost pretty handily unfortunately.
wilt the stilt
(4,528 posts)and her daughter is on Al Sharpton's show. Her name is Patricia Murphy and she is from Citizen's United. Her mother is in Gwinnett County and it is the only way she can get elected. She is quite moderate.
Outside of that never.
ann---
(1,933 posts)president or Federal office. I did vote once for the Republican running against Wilson Goode for Mayor when I lived in Philly.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)in his Senate race back in the late 90's ... before he left his mind.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Republican judges, yes, if they were sensible. I worked at the courthouse and knew who was sensible and who wasn't. In Texas, J.P.s, county and state district judges are elected.
geardaddy
(24,924 posts)but I could have seen voting for Arne Carlson for governor if I had to vote for one.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)Back in 1976 Mike Curb for Lt. Governor of CA. Brown went on an overseas trip (he was dating Linda Ronstadt at the time) and while he was away, Curb signed all kinds of right-wing legislation. Brown had to rush back to CA to stop him. That was the first and last time I voted for a Republican.
I feel so cleaned now!
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)I've always pulled the lever for Dems and I can't see a future where I'd ever pull one for the repubs.
yellerpup
(12,249 posts)I was planning on voting for George McGovern. It was my first time and I was always trying to build a better relationship with my dad, so when he asked if I wanted to go with him to vote, I said okay! When we signed in, I was so excited! Dad asked the elections inspector if he could go into the booth and 'show me how.' She said that was fine.
So we get into the booth, I flip the lever for McGovern and he stopped me. He said, "Hold on, you're doing it wrong." So I stepped back and he flipped the lever to Nixon and voted. I stepped up and said, "Okay, my turn," and started to flip the McGovern lever again. He pushed me back and said, "You already voted," and he voted for Nixon AGAIN.
Needless to say, we never shared another father-daughter moment together.
PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)My condolences.
yellerpup
(12,249 posts)Republicants have a sick sense of humor sometimes. I'm fine, but thanks.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)Also, it was only for a State Rep. position, and not a national office.
In Massachusetts, throwing one more Republican into our statehouse wouldn't have hurt or Democratic super-majority anyway.
The good news is, since that time, the Democrat has actually grudgingly (and with great indignation at how terrible the people on both sides of the issue treated her) come-over to the Pro-Equality side, AFTER the election.
Barack_America
(28,876 posts)If someone like Chafee were running against someone like Nelson.
KansDem
(28,498 posts)John Anderson in 1980.
woodsprite
(11,853 posts)They were both moderate Repubs. I always wished that Castle had switched parties. Especially after being done in by O'Donnell.
Up until last year, I was registered Repub. Other than in DE's closed primaries, I only actually voted for repub for Castle and Roth. If you know Delaware, that's literally been for YEARS. I've been a member of DU since 2004. I was devastated to wake up and find Bush still President. After I told off a repub running for office at the Memorial Day parade in 2010, I've known I had to switch. When I renewed my license, they asked me if I was happy with my party or did I want to change it. I jumped at the chance.
I guess I never should have registered Republican that many years ago. I made sure in primaries I voted for the weakest contender to the Dem candidate, except for Roth and Castle. Hubby is still registered repub. We'll both be voting in our particular primary on 9/11, and both will be voting straight Dem for the general election. We're also adding a third voter (our daughter) to our household voter roll this year! We both worked for Obama/Biden in 2008, and are going to do it again.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)I lived in Washington DC and voted for the woman who ran against Marion Barry. She had an R after her name but she was just about as liberal as any Democrat I've seen.
patrice
(47,992 posts)PCIntern
(25,346 posts)not "even" for Arlen Specter all those years he ran here.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)A conservadem asshole sandbagged Minnesota liberal icon Don Fraser in the Dem primary. Durenberger was more liberal so I voted for him. Never regretted it either after Durenberger became a big advocate for health care reform and a gigantic pain in the Raygun administration's ass over Central America policy in the eighties.
Interestingly, he's now a registered independent.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)Durenberger, Arne Carlson ...
dflprincess
(28,057 posts)and for the same reason. Durenberger was actually more liberal than Bob Short (owner of the Lemington Hotel) who had beat Fraser. (though if I'd know Short would die within 2 or 3 years I might have voted differently because Perpich would have appointed his replacement).
We also have Durenberger to thank for the VA hospital we have now. An "earmark" that was desperately needed - the old hospital was a disgrace - but today's Republican would never have fought for that.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)so I have voted in the Republican primary for local candidates. I haven't voted for a Republican over a Democrat though.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)cherish44
(2,566 posts)But that person was a friend of mine and not a rabid wingnut conservative. I'd vote for a Republican that has the backbone to stand up to crazy that's taken over the GOP party for sure.
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)I'm speaking of Senator Patricia Vance, Cumberland County, PA.
Other than that, only as protest votes. I'm registered as a Republican so I can vote in the primary and I wrote in Jill Stein (Green Party) on the Republican ticket. Obama wasn't contested and neither were any of the other contests on the Democratic primary ticket. It was a "none of the above" choice, but she is very closely aligned with my views so hopefully it will have registered SOMEWHERE. Our district really didn't have any significantly challenged races this year. If nothing else, a protest vote reduces the numbers for the vote ratio of the winning candidate.
movonne
(9,623 posts)not pay much attention to politics although I considered myself a Liberal...
Warpy
(110,907 posts)I've forgotten who his opponent was, but it was a conservative stiff. Brooke was the better choice. The next time he ran, he ran against Tsongas and I voted for Tsongas.
Note that this was before Reagan handed the party over to the religious nutcases. After that happened, it was all over for me, I'd never vote Republican again, no matter how good the guy was and what kind of idiot the Democrats had dug up. If the Democrats had dug up an antichoice idiot, I'd either vote third party or sit it out.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)He was a good man, very much the old school New England Republican - moderate to progressive. Minnesota used to have solid, decent Repubs like that too until they were all driven from or expelled from the party.
bigtree
(85,917 posts)never
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,276 posts)I think many years ago I voted for one for something local - but I don't quite remember who, or why. Might have been something like mayor or city council, and I think it might have been because the Dem was either an idiot or a crook.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)It was for Chip Rodgers. Mainly because of his stand on animal cruelty. He managed to pass dog fighting laws.
lastlib
(22,981 posts)There was no Dem opposition to Obama, and I wanted to f*ck with the repigs. I *ALMOST* voted for Icky Ricky just to REALLY f*ck with 'em, but decided I just couldn't live with my conscience if I did, so I went with NOTA, which actually worked out better.
When I was just getting started in politics, I worked for MO Senate candidate Jerry Litton, who won the primary but was killed in a plane crash the night of the primary. His replacement on the ballot was a nasty piece of work neither I nor anybody else trusted, so I wound up casting my vote for John Danforth, who wasn't bad for a Repig. He won, but I NEVER voted for another Repug.
northoftheborder
(7,566 posts)Solly Mack
(90,740 posts)Mz Pip
(27,404 posts)I voted for McCain. I knew Gore would be the candidate and that I would vote for him in the General regardless of who the Republican nominee was. I couldn't stand Bush, even back then.
CBHagman
(16,968 posts)Last edited Fri Sep 7, 2012, 09:50 PM - Edit history (1)
Mind you, I had just turned 18 when I cast a vote for Ford, and the gulf between the two parties wasn't as wide. And I had a lot of growing up to do.
In the next presidential election, I voted for Carter, and I've voted either a straight Democratic ticket, or close to it (See below), ever since.
As for the vote for Connie Morella, I can offer in my defense that she used to side with the Dems on most things, and so received bipartisan support in a reliably blue state in a reliably blue county. In fact when I had seen the light and was making GOTV calls for the Democratic Party years back, encouraging people to vote for our then-candidate, Terry Lierman, I'd get arguments that "Connie is not a Republican."
Morella finally was unseated by Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) after A) there were some changes made to the 8th Congressional District in Maryland ) and B) she went negative in the campaign.
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)I was so uninformed back in those days. I also considered myself a moderate repub and was in the Army.
It was later when the contract with America came out that I left the repub party and went Dem. Haven't looked back.
Iris
(15,632 posts)Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)Doesn't tell you what they really think.
Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)The candidate was a friend of the family and not at all a bad guy. Married to a Democrat.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)That was when I still fell for the "not as bad" rationale.
Javaman
(62,439 posts)no_hypocrisy
(45,771 posts)NNN0LHI
(67,190 posts)MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)While I was a young, closeted, self-hating gay man, I identified with the Republican Party. I voted for Reagan's re-election. After coming out, my identification switched, and quick!!!
Years later, I voted for the Republican candidate for Hennepin County Attorney against Amy Klobuchar. In a televised debate, Klobuchar said she wanted trials changed so the prosecution goes last, because it would result in more convictions. The Republican disagreed, saying that if it all comes down to who speaks last, the burden of proof being on the prosecution, the defense should go last.
I found Klobuchar's views appalling, and unworthy of a Democrat.
PotatoChip
(3,186 posts)Last edited Sat Sep 8, 2012, 08:52 AM - Edit history (1)
Straight ticket Dem from President on down to my local animal control person from the time I was first eligible to vote. Come from a right wing christian fundamentalist family so I figured the least I could do was cancel out one of their votes.
I hope everyone on DU will do their part this year by voting a straight Dem ticket regardless of whether you are 'disappointed' w/the party or not. We can deal w/our own internal party problems after the election. Right now, it's more crucial than ever to keep the right wing extremist lunatics out of office (or kick out the ones currently in).
-Just my 2 cents fwiw.
TheKentuckian
(24,943 posts)he caucused with the mouthbreathers and so was toxic.
I learned a lesson I should have understood beyond academically, that for legislators, it doesn't matter nearly as much what they espouse as it does who they vote with.
Being a decent kat who lived down the street that can look you in the eye doesn't buy jack apple shit in the real world. Pretty harmless as an error in judgment but not without cost to the conscience, at least.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)>>>Being a decent kat who lived down the street that can look you in the eye doesn't buy jack apple shit in the real world.>>>
.... were never spoken.
One of life's more difficult .... and *painful*.... lessons.
Kingofalldems
(38,361 posts)DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)but that is the one and only republican vote i've ever cast
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)in the home town of ronny raygun there`s not many democrats to vote for.
etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)No DEm was running ... the incumbent (a very scary good old boy name TC Waddy) ran as an independent against the Republican (Ron Smith). that was 15 years ago .. it galled me to do it but Waddy was a complete jack ass
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)unapatriciated
(5,390 posts)jeff47
(26,549 posts)She's somewhat less horrific these days.
REP
(21,691 posts)Jay Nixon (D), who is an honorable man. It still made me choke a little to vote "Nixon."
I'm too young to have voted for Tricky Dick.
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,781 posts)I thought he was considerably less creepy than his downstate Democratic opponent. Still do.
a la izquierda
(11,784 posts)though I was a registered Republican (my mom told me to pick that). I was 18 and had no clue.
I worked for Jim McGreevy's campaign in college. Fun times!
Care Acutely
(1,370 posts)NEVAH!
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)I didn't become politically aware until I was in my twenties so I just voted as my dad did. Voted for Poppy Bush twice, much to my regret. I also voted at random down ticket, picking every black or Latino sounding name on the ballot and often voting third party as well.
eridani
(51,907 posts)They aren't making Republicans like than anymore.
On edit--forgot McCain when WA State had open primaries. Either Gore or Bradley would have been OK, and I wanted to vote against Bush.
Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)because he was against Reagan's Central American wars and for mass transit and the environment. He was one of the nearly extinct species of environmentalist Oregon Republicans.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)... for me to justify voting against Hatfield.
Oregon had a tradition of interesting party shifts. Wayne Morse, if I'm not mistaken, started out as GOP.
Hatfield should have followed him over.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)He was from Wisconsin, and his Republicanism was in the LaFollette Progressive tradition. He was elected twice to the U.S. Senate as a Republican(1944 and 1950) defected to the Dems in 1954 after a brief spell as an independent, then won two more terms on the Dem line(1956 and 1962) before finally being narrowly defeated in 1968(he'd been weakened by a right-wing, pro-war challenge in the primary that year) by future serial tongue molester Bob Packwood. Morse lost to Hatfield in the '72 race, and was running against(and by most accounts leading)Packwood in 1974 when he died of leukemia.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)God, how the political culture has changed. the hearings were carried live in mid morning by the 3 big networks. At one point CBS wanted to back out and play I Love Lucy reruns instead. The head of CBS News *resigned* over it. Must have been '66 or '67.
Anyway, Morse was a *bulldog*.
Here's what he had to say about JFK in his abbreviated challenge for the DEM presidential nomination, 1960:
>>>"When the Eisenhower Administration took office one of its first objectives was to riddle the tax code with favors for big business and it did so with the help of the Senator from Massachusetts. We need a candidate who will reverse the big money and big business domination of government. We need a courageous candidate who will stand up and fight the necessary political battle for the welfare of the average American. Kennedy has never been willing to do that."[35]>>>>> wikipedia
Sheeezzzz. Remember when there was such a thing as substantive debate over issues within the party?
leftlibdem420
(256 posts)The most insufferable of "Democrats".
madinmaryland
(64,920 posts)I also voted for Weicker in 1990 when he ran for Governor of CT, but he was running as an independent in that race.
I hated LIEberman back in 1988, probably because of the fucking lies he told during that campaign.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)But that election grew in significance as Lieberman's layers peeled away over time.
Yuck.
Sisaruus
(718 posts)I was employed by the state legislature while Weicker was Governor. Interesting years.
RedCappedBandit
(5,514 posts)They're quite literally the antithesis of everything I stand for.
rachel1
(538 posts)and I never will.
Lying, hypocrisy, warmongering, homophobia, religious fundamentalism, etc. will never be acceptable to me.
cali
(114,904 posts)Jim Jeffords
Link Chafee
John Chafee
Edward Brooks
Lowell Weiker
Jim Jeffords was the most liberal of these but they were all liberals.
Granted there is no one like these guys in the repub party now but once upon a time....
Zorra
(27,670 posts)It's definitely time for a major effort to swing the political leanings of this country to the left, and back to sanity.
cali
(114,904 posts)just because you're unfamiliar with his record, doesn't mean he wasn't a liberal.
Let's see: Strongly supported abortion rights, embryonic stem cell research, no notification of parents of teen girls seeking an abortion, and every other possible liberal position in this arena.
Supported affirmative action, opposed gender based wage discrimination, favored hate crimes legislation for LGBT folks for gay adoption,
no on constitutional ban on gay marriage
Against the DP, voted against the Iraq War.
I could go on and on.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)I'm actually shocked, and nothing shocks me anymore.
Thanks!
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)The Parties DO have principles and platforms, you know,.
laruemtt
(3,992 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)It was more a vote against Carter. I don't recall liking Reagan. But most of the country didn't want Carter to have a 2nd term, including me.
Tigress DEM
(7,887 posts)If we'd had the internet resources we do today, I'd have been able to pull together Reagan and Jarvis and I lived through what Prop 8 did to California.
But as soon as he came out with his "Reaganomics of 1/2 here, 1/2 there and the other 1/2..." EXCUSE ME?! Did I just vote for someone who failed 8th grade math? DOH! I was plenty smart by the next election cycle.
standingtall
(2,785 posts)Last edited Sat Sep 8, 2012, 04:18 AM - Edit history (1)
If I had been around at the times I would've voted for Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, but those type of republicans don't exist anymore.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)standingtall
(2,785 posts)post edited.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)sakabatou
(42,082 posts)Raine
(30,540 posts)I first registered as a Repug. I voted for Ford the next time but those were the only Repugs I voted for. I re-registered Democratic after that and voted for Carter.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)The first two were liberal Massachusetts Republicans. In 1972 (my first election), Ed Brooke was up for re-election as a Senator. None of the prominent Democrats felt comfortable running against the Senate's only black, so the Democratic nomination fell more or less by default to a guy (I think he was a county sheriff) who attacked Brooke from the right. Brooke trounced him.
In 1974 came the one I regret. In an open race for state Attorney General, the Democratic nominee, Frank Bellotti, was the type of machine Democrat mentioned by Smarmie Doofus in the OP. I voted for the liberal Republican, Si Spaulding. I remember after the election, in a group of friends, I thought to spark an entertaining argument by revealing my vote. It turned out that every single one of us had voted for Spaulding. Someone said, "Do you suppose there's been some mistake?" -- meaning how could the Democrat have won if he didn't get any votes from a bunch of liberals in a college town (Amherst). Bellotti, however, turned out to be pretty good as AG. I would have voted to re-elect him if I hadn't left Massachusetts.
The most recent one was in 1993. Liz Holtzman was the New York City Comptroller and a first-rate public servant. Geraldine Ferraro was nursing a grudge against Holtzman because of Holtzman's criticisms of her when they were opponents in the 1992 Senate primary. The next year, when Holtzman sought re-election as Comptroller, Ferraro recruited an opportunistic State Assemblymember, Alan Hevesi, to run against Holtzman. Hevesi won the primary. In the general election, I was ticked at Hevesi for beating Holtzman, plus I just didn't trust Hevesi, plus his opponent was actually another Democrat, Herman Badillo (former Democratic Congressmember). Maybe my vote for Badillo doesn't count for this thread because he was a Democrat although running on the Republican and Liberal lines as part of Giuliani's fusion ticket. Incidentally, my distrust of Hevesi was vindicated by his subsequent criminal record. He is currently doing time.
So I voted against an all-white Senate and against a Democratic crook. As for 1974, well, cut me some slack, one mistake in 40 years.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)The tabloids --- Murdoch ( naturally) and Zuckerman --- went after her with a vengeance and inflated a relatively minor financial misjudgment ( mixing city business w. campaign fundraising) that she acknowledged into a capital crime.
I worked for Holtzman but probably voted for Badillo in the general. For the very reasons you cite.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)I worked with the guy and I knew better. We argued national politics almost daily. He said he would get the gravel road I live on black topped. The only road that got black top was the road he lived on and our county taxes went up. Never ever again will I vote for a damn no good republican!
ldf
(2,964 posts)i really liked betty ford.
it was obvious he really loved her. and she was the beginnings of progressive ideas being talked about IN the whitehouse. if he considered her opinion, i felt he would do the right thing.
i was also VERY leary about a christian preacher (carter) being elected president. christians didn't seem to have the capacity to NOT push their beliefs on others.
so i voted for betty.
well, i was right about betty, and could not have been more wrong about carter. carter ended up being one of the most intelligent, and humble men to ever inhabit the whitehouse.
and if it had not been for the pentagon's clusterfuck in iran, and reagan's little deal with iran, he would have been re-elected and gone on to become one of our best presidents.
but that is just my 2 cents.
but i have never voted for a republican since.
phylny
(8,353 posts)He was a moderate republican, and I thought he was a good choice for governor.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)I would have voted for Tom McCall in the Oregon governor's race(McCall was trying for a comeback after being term-limited out of the governorship in 1974). McCall was a progressive legend in the state(if he'd challenged incumbent governor Robert Straub in the Democratic primary, McCall probably WOULD have beaten the more right-wing-but still moderate by today's standards-GOP candidate in the fall). But he chose to run again in his own party's primary and the Reaganites were strong enough to defeat him by a fairly solid margin.
McCall(socially liberal, strongly environmentalist, even fairly fiscally liberal) was the sort of Republican who simply doesn't exist today...if anyone tried to run on his program in a GOP primary anywhere today, that person would not only lose...she or he would probably be SHOT by a teabagger.
MercutioATC
(28,470 posts)He's been Mayor for 20 years and has done a great job.
I was very disappointed in the last Democratic candidate to oppose him...a carpetbagger from another suburb (who lost the election there) who distributed a ton of campaign literature that contained nothing but innuendo and outright lies.
baldguy
(36,649 posts)Republicans used to be sane, for the most part.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)I was an independent for 20 years before registering as a Democrat in protest of the 2000 selection. I've been a registered voter for 34 years, and I've never voted for a GOP candidate.
I've voted for Democrats, independents, and 3rd party candidates.
Sedona
(3,769 posts)There are no sane Republicans any more.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Only GOP vote I've ever cast. At the time, I was even on the Marketing Committee of the Springfield, MA school board, and Gov. Weld came to meet with us one day, along with Bill Bennett. I still think Weld is a good guy, but he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.
Full Disclosure; Weld was running against the Boston University President John Silber, one of the craziest-ass mofo Democrats ever to come down the Mass Pike. It wasn't a difficult choice, and it turned out pretty well. Weld was a good governor.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)Better a conservative like Weld than a fascist like Silber.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)candidate was the wife of the Chief of Police and the Republican candidate was being accused of being too tough on the cops for not following proper legal and constitutional procedures. In actuality the Democratic candidate won and turned out to be just as - if not more tough on the cops as the previous Republican magistrate.
life long demo
(1,113 posts)Never did since my first vote in 1964. I was born a democrat and will die a democrat. I think I'm more liberal then I was when I was younger. I wish I had the youthful energy all over again.
shanti
(21,670 posts)ladjf
(17,320 posts)admired the Clinton's Secretary of Defense, William Cohen who was a Republican.
gopiscrap
(23,674 posts)I did vote once for a precinct committee person who was a Republican...I knew him for about 20 years and he was a good friend of mine! I always try to find a very minor official Republican so I can't be accused of being narrow.
tinrobot
(10,848 posts)I hadn't fully formed my own opinions yet.
Sorry, world.
LeFleur1
(1,197 posts)First time out I voted for Eisenhower. He was a hero, and of course, looking back now, he was NOTHING like today's Republicans. He had some values, and even warned against exactly what is happening today. After that election I began to pay attention, read platforms, observe candidates and what they had done in the past. I never voted Republican again. There have been a very few Democrats, locally, in lesser offices, that I wouldn't vote for so I didn't vote at all in those races.
jody
(26,624 posts)Zorra
(27,670 posts)Belonging to a group that values war over providing medical help to sick folks, and which actually avidly promotes this agenda, is a definite sign of a very sick mind in my world view, and there's no way around this.
When looking at the big picture of the GOP from the POV of what the GOP actually says and does, I have no logical recourse but do conclude that republicans are one scary group of shallow, corrupt, dishonest, mean, nasty people, in varying degrees.
I could never, in good conscience, vote for anyone who identified as a member of this group unless my vote would, somehow, definitely help a progressive candidate win an election.
Terra Alta
(5,158 posts)I voted for Dumbya in 2000 and 2004.
In 2000 I was 19, young and stupid. Grew up in a conservative family and thought that's how I was supposed to vote.
By 2004, I had moved slightly to the left, but was still anti-choice. I voted for Dumbya based on that issue alone. I regret both votes.
In 2006 I changed my voter registration to Democratic and have been voting for Democrats ever since, and will continue to do so.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)1941 we maintained a Democratic majority that way for years. In the fifties my grandfather ran for sheriff as a rethug because it would have been the only way to win. I was not old enough to vote. Not sure my father even voted for him as the strait ticket rule was his rule. It occurs to me that this year is a good year to resume that rule.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)I voted for a Republican Secretary of State because they were perfectly reasonable while the Democrat was an arrogant clown.
I also voted for for Lincoln Chafee as an independent over the Democrat in the Governor's race in 2010 because he was far more progressive and also pro-Obama unlike the slimeball we had running.
jschurchin
(1,456 posts)Arlen Specter, more than once and i would again. He stood up for union members every day he was in the senate. Although he was a republican he ALWAYS voted in the best interest of working men and women.
Fla_Democrat
(2,545 posts)He was the best candidate for the job.
JPZenger
(6,819 posts)appleannie1
(5,044 posts)proud patriot
(100,700 posts)liberal N proud
(60,300 posts)My mind simply would not let me do it!
I know many who have voted in Republican primaries to influence the vote.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)one or two many years ago for minor offices, but never since for national office.
Deep13
(39,154 posts)He was a good judge.
Also for an ostensibly non-partisan mayoral candidate because the R. incumbent he was running against was worse.
Vanje
(9,766 posts)rppper
(2,952 posts)....was the only major candidate I've ever voted for outside of a local race that wasn't a democrat....I don't regret the vote...crist wasn't a half bad governor, despite his stance on gay marriage....he reformed the insurance companies here and pressed hard when his state had several floods during his tenure. He personally helped out a neighbor of mine after floods hit in central Florida in 08....Jim davis, His opponent in '04 was lackluster...ran a bad campaign.
RB TexLa
(17,003 posts)over the WASP. The Irish Catholic was a republican. He did ok in the legislature.
Generic Brad
(14,270 posts)And I have not missed one election since I started voting in 1980.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)I worked for a Republican judge (as a judicial clerk). I admire him tremendously. There were times when I had to draft an opinion I ultimately disagreed with. Our work pattern was for him to suggest to me after oral arguments the way he wanted the case decided. I reviewed the case file and the caselaw. If the way he wanted the case decided was consistent with my research I drafted the case that way for his review. If it wasn't, I took my work to him and explained why his result wasn't supported. He never once suggested I twist the law or facts to get the result his initial impression led him to. I voted for him twice and campaigned for him once. (Incidentally, even though one of those campaigns took place while I was working for him I had to active seek out the opportunity to work the campaign.)
He was, and is, a man of integrity. Even though there are cases where the law is unsettled and he would decide the case in the opposite way I would, unless he was opposed by a candidate of equal integrity I would vote for him again for judge in a heartbeat.
Similarly, in local politics, because I covered the local political beat I knew the local candidates quite well. The first time a particular Democratic candidate ran for state-wide office I voted for him even though he was an idiot because I figured I could count on him to follow the party line - which I generally favor if the alternative is the Republican party line (neither is generally progressive for me). I wish I had not. He did follow the party line, but he also introduced some idiotic and damaging legislation which passed. The second time around I voted for his intelligent Republican opponent. I don't know that I would do that now, since now party line currently trumps intelligence - but back then party lines were not so rigid, I had a chance of reasoning with someone who at least had intelligence going for them.
Locally (city/township/school board) and judges I purely vote on the person without regard to party label. Beyond that, at least these days, I would be hard pressed to vote for a Republican - even for state legislature. I might, as long as the race is not close, vote for a third party candidate who was more progressive than either major party candidate.
louis c
(8,652 posts)My Father's good and dear friend
LTR
(13,227 posts)Back in the day, we used to vote for the best person, regardless of gang colors. Nowadays, virtually all the Republicans are nuts, so the only real choice left is Democrats (there is virtually no third-party movement here in Wisconsin).
So yeah, I have voted for Republicans. When I lived in Minnesota two decades ago, I voted for a Republican, Arne Carlson, for governor, the same year I also voted for Paul Wellstone for the Senate. Why Carlson? His Democratic rival, incumbent Rudy Perpich, was an idiot and Carlson was essentially a moderate anyways (he later left the GOP). I had no reservations about that vote. Whenever I had the opportunity to vot for a good moderate Republican over an incompetent Democrat, I did. I figured having more moderate Republicans to counter the extremist ones would be a good thing.
A few years back, in my current hometown of Milwaukee, I voted for a Republican for county sheriff over incumbent David Clarke, a total DINO who is really a Republican but runs as a Democrat because that's the only way he could win in Milwaukee County. His Republican rival was non-political, and only ran with that party because they had an opening. I think any real Democrat would understand that vote.
quaker bill
(8,223 posts)and I have been careful to avoid it even in the "non partisan" races.
benld74
(9,888 posts)they wouldnt give me anothe ballot. HONEST! It was a sneeze!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)Gerald Ford (because I really liked Betty), but a few in Alaska. Former gov Jay Hammond, who I would vote for again, any time (except he's dead, so that probably wouldn't be a good idea). Also old Ted Stevens because the dems never ran a decent candidate against him. Whatever one might think of Stevens, he fought hard for Alaska. Those are the only ones I can think of.
DearHeart
(692 posts)Shae
(1,108 posts)Although I did consider it one time.
TeeYiYi
(8,028 posts)TYY
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)But in my first election - 2004 - I did vote for a Few people from the Alaskan Independence Party. Them, and kerry, and some scattered Democrats, none that I remember.
Why?
Because I was a new young voter, and was thinking "lol alaska independence party lol lol"
marybourg
(12,540 posts)of today's dems.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)sweetloukillbot
(10,790 posts)Because the Dem was a LaRouchie who made it thru the primary. I may have voted for McCain once a long time ago, I never had a problem with him till the last presidential race.
And national Republicans I would've voted for include Jim Leach and Lincoln Chafee - both were great Moderate leaders who were swept out in 06. And both have been close allies of Obama.
Chorophyll
(5,179 posts)And at this rate, probably never will.