Post-Mother's Day | how is YOUR mom voting this year??

OK, most everyone who had a mother at least called her yesterday. did politics come up? any changes in light of recent news? here's my little story....

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scenerio: I NEVER discuss politics with my parents who, last time I did, were SMUG republicans who would always deride my liberalism.

so, I made the "Mothers' Day" call. and, among the pleasant 'catch-up' chat she asked what I was doing...

so, I told her I had a new show opening, one that she would NOT be interested in. (political revue)

well, to my surprise, while she doesn't care much for Kerry, she's disgusted with the way things are going. (esp. Iraq) I played the 'Kerry was not my first choice BUT...' card and we actually discussed the current situation.

I think the reality about the future for her grandchildren is sinking in.

I didn't press the political issues but she did agree that things are only getting worse and she certainly didn't try to defend * anymore.

she wished that Powell would run, but I said that Powell had damned himself with the LIEs he presented before the UN.

she asked: do you think he really, knowing lied?

I said: I'm not sure. but, he knows now that it was lies and that a man of character would have stood up and said he had been mislead and regrets making the presentation.

mom had to agree with that and there we left the 'political' discussion and went back to 'who's sick, who's dead and what a piece of work my sister-in-law can be....

she may not vote for Kerry, but I don't see her voting for *.

(my father was out walking the dog)

We talk every day and the debacle that is the Bush presidency.

She keeps up on the news, listened to Al Franken's book (she's legally blind so reads via cassette).

My Mom may be old but she thinks clearly.

Is a political liberal of the highest degree of dedication.

She will vote democratic.... Just as my dad would have if he was still living.

Regrettably, Dad died a few years back and won't have the pleasure of voting for Kerry -- I think he'd have liked him.

What made me feel better about it all yesterday wasn't Mom -- I already know what she thinks -- it was my apathetic-in-2000 older sister, who asked Mom and me yesterday what she'd have to do to make sure she was registered to vote, because she wasn't missing this one. If she goes and registers that guarantees two votes for Kerry, because I'm guessing she'll take my niece with her to register. This is my niece's first national election, I think she's 19. They didn't like anybody in the primaries, and until he started licking Bush's boots, Sis liked Zell Miller (ack!), but I think we'd cook the meat off a Republican's bones in my mother's house any time my family gets together, these days. Don't know if my brother in law is as pissed, he didn't grow up in a house with my parents, but possibly so.

Mr. Nownow had to be prodded to be as interested as he is now, but I wouldn't have lasted long enough with him to marry him if he'd been a devoted conservative (some of us apply that as a priority, it's just the way it is), so I know where his sympathies lie.

And my little bro' has never voted for anybody who didn't have a "D" in front of their name although, like me, he has refused to vote for people he didn't think were good Democrats. This has never extended to a national election (or even a state election, for that matter) for either of us, I don't think.

Kerry's an uneasy compromise for most of us in my family, for one reason or another, but not so uneasy that even those who weren't interested enough in 2000 to vote aren't planning to get up off their butts this year. My mother said she got so frustrated with my sister in 2000 she was about to the point of tearing her hair out, so obviously Sis woke up this time.

Dad is doing the same, he's even developed a big interest in BBV, something he earlier attributed to my.:tinfoilhat:

My brothers, however, are another story entirely.:eyes:

So much to do in these few months.

She's a democrat. And this year she's dragging my dad to the polls, he's a democrat but never votes. She said "this year he WILL vote".

I still haven't forgiven her for it. She'll definitely be voting for Kerry this time around.

My step-dad is another case. He'll vote republican no matter what.

She doesn't like Kerry, but she's doing it anyway.

Dad, on the other hand, voted Gore in 2000 and will write-in McCain in 2004. :eyes: Dad hates Kerry and Bush. I'm working on him.

I have no idea what it would take to wake them up.

Always. And she will, of course, do so again in November.

I used to think, at one time, that that was simplistic.

But my mom is wise. She had the right idea all along. :-)

Terry

And my mom always supported Kerry, even at the beginning of the primaries when Dean was in the lead.

I should add that this is only the second of my mom's presidential votes I know for sure (she voted Anderson in 1980 -- I was in the booth with her). She usually takes the sanctity of the private ballot to new levels -- she rarely even votes in primaries, because she doesn't like to tell the election officials what party ballot she wants (since she's not a member of any party). She did vote this time -- she wanted to be sure to vote for Obama, because she didn't want "the guy with the divorce problems" to be the Democratic nominee and throw the election to the Republican (incidentally, another guy with divorce problems. My mom's voting strategically. This is a big step.

I seem to have the only repub parents so far!

you're lucky you get to talk issues with your folks... it's utterly toxic as a rule for me... <sigh>

My mother (who hates bumper stickers) is driving around with a Kerry sticker and a "No More Bushit" sticker on her car.

The whole family is voting Kerry. I think they'd all rather hurl themselves into a volcano than vote for Captain Bloodlust.

Mom dislikes the Bush Administration as much as I do.

She's not happy with how Kerry has been doing, particularly that he hasn't spoken up enough on the crap the administration has been doing.

She's really unhappy that Kerry voiced support for the same Sharon policies that Bush supported about a month ago, and that Kerry hasn't spoken up enough against the torture issue.

She'll likely vote for Kerry to get rid of Bush, but if Kerry doesn't start speaking up against some of this stuff, she may end up voting Green out of frustration.

Dad actually may vote Kerry just because he hates Bush, but he's really a libertarian by nature, and Kerry's vote on the IWR may keep him from voting.

While politics didn't come up (we spent most of the time talking about my new dog, who I brought with me), both will no doubt vote for Kerry. In my immediate family, only my sister and brother-in-law will be voting for *. Grandmother, Dad and Step-Mom are all centrist Dems, and Mom and Step-Father are both very progressive.

my dad is another story, i haven't talked politics with him since he claimed fox was "fair and balanced".

My mom was a lifelong Catholic Republican.

She saw her dreams of becoming an architect die on the vine. Women didn't become architects back in the 50s. And after her dad died, her mother couldn't afford to send her to college.

She got married and cranked out my brother within 9 months. Followed my dad around the country being an Air Force wife. Couldn't even take classes because they never knew when they would be transferred.

When she saw my feminist tendencies come out, hers did too. I was the one that educated her to the fact that Republicans are taking womens' rights away.

The fact that men are now trying to tell women they have to go back to the days of no choices and the "option" of coat hangers REALLY piss her off.

At 72, she'll never vote Republican again, I'll tell you that much.

FSC

It is a very rare thing for her to speak/think negatively about anyone, believing it an unchristian thing to do. Consequently, bush is not a subject of conversation.

How sad is that? A president so bad that he cannot be discussed without causing feelings she thinks need God's forgiveness.

She voted for Nader in the last election, Kerry has her support this time.

Dad is a Repub but refers to bush as a SOB.

Is one of those people who voted for Nader in 2000 but is voting for Kerry this year.

My father has been voting Democratic since 1940.

. . . she doesn't like to talk about politics, but she always votes and I would describe her as a moderate Democrat.

I'm sure she'll vote for Kerry; she's way too smart to be misled by Bush* and all his bullshit.

My Dad loves to talk politics, streams Al Franken's show on the internet, thinks Al Franken and James Carville are great. No way would he ever vote for Bush*.

I got my mom to switch to Gore after many discussions. She is very glad that she did -- glad that she doesn't have to live with having voted for Bush. My dad wishes he were as lucky, but he voted for Bush because he bought the "Gore will take away all your guns" lie.

This year, both my parents will be voting for Kerry.

Not a doubt in my mind.

Because of kerry on mtp .ya know the one where he said assasination is a-ok and the sharon's plan is sooooo great and what really got her was when he said what he did about the Right of return.my mentor is a palestinian american who cannot return to her home. oh yeah did i mention shes been heavily involved with volunteering and voting dem since she was 18 in 1968?
--just wanted to add we live in texas so dont call her a bush enabler

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and Are you saying if we dont vote for kerry bush might just *gasp* win texas? Any way

back before the 2000 elections, she told me that Bush scared her. Back then I figured Bush was merely stupid, but not evil too. I guess mom knew best (about Bush anyway!). She recently reaffirmed her intention to vote against Bush.

and proud of it. :)

And given her experience with shrub both as governmor of Texas and pretzeldent she wouldn't vote for him if you put a gun to her head. She loathes him.

It's a running competition in my family to see who can vote against members of the Bush family the most times in their life. My parents are ahead right now from getting to vote against Poppy for VP but my little brother is catching up from getting to vote against Jeb for governor in Florida a couple of times. :)

Now well into their 70s, they will be voting Kerry.

Both were traditional Republicans most of their lives, but recognized when the party left them.

They loathe *.

she thinks Bush is a twit.

Check me out: I rhymed. :D

Where do you think I learned to be a liberal? When I was 6 months old my parents took me to my first political rally -- for McGovern. In fact, my mother converted my dad into a Dem.

The one time in her life she voted Republican she had serious voter's remorse the first day he was in office. She voted for Pawlenty for governor of MN and she'll never fill in the circle for R ever ever again.

My mother has never and would never vote Republican, so I don't see her changing that trend in this election.

Voting Democratic Absentee.

I also think she will be filling out my dad's ballot for him as well and mailing them both in.

:evilgrin:

since she is a good Democrat, she'll be voting for Kerry.
Sorry, couldn't resist.

She'll be voting for Kerry in November, though, primarily over the Medicare thing--although she's starting to catch on about the whole Iraq debacle. Dad says he'll either vote for Kerry or stay home.

lol just kidding

I have tried to talk to her, she just says she doesn't want to talk about it.
I love her and I don't want to fight with her...sigh

This will be the first Democrat she's cast a vote for in a presidential race since she married my father in 1956. She DOES NOT like Kerry mostly because she instintively trusts republican advertising. (We've since cleared some of that up). But her disgust, her utter and total comtempt for W. Bush is so great that she will not only NOT vote for Bush, she will vote against him. This is monumental for her, and I can't stress that enough.

and I will be a mom *goddess that sounds weird* by the election and am as yet undecided, leaning "not kerry."

Actually, she just changed her registration to Democratic but won't tell my father, who is a rapid Repub. I wish she'd just tell him...grrrr.