How old were you when you got involved?

How old were you can what did you do the first time you really got involved?

Married him. Still married.

I meant in politics! Good one!

Probably when I was 6 and in first grade.

Started a campaign. Got expelled for several days. Again when I was ten and read about the Hungarian revolution.

Joined a political party in my teens. Still in one.

And I volunteered for the Kucinich campaign. This was a few months ago:)

Kucinich inspired me like nothing before. Dean was a close second.

I guess you could say my "awakening" was a slow process over the last 10 years. It's hard to cite the specifics, but it kind of goes like this:
* The Free Tibet movement
* The book Ishmael
* Rebellious ancestors? heheh

G

Worked for the Kerry campaign.

My father was helping to campaign for a Democratic candidate for governor in Florida. His name was Brailey Odam (sp?) and I went to rallies and passed out literature for him. That was in the 1950's when Florida was part of the "solid (Democratic) South". Dad was also active with Senator George Smathers in Florida.

I also helped with the Kennedy candidacy in 1960 when I was just 21 years old in New York and have never lost my interest in politics.

Helped organize my little home town's first-ever antiwar march.
anti-vietnam, that is.
this was about 1969.
funny thing, since nixon i have had this ingrained distrust of public officials at every level...

...This was in 2002, voted Democrat all across the board. I didn't know much about politics at the time, but I did know I was a Dem.:) But it kind of started a year earlier on 9/11, that's when I started watching the news for almost the first time (especially non-local news). But it was in 2004 when I really got involved by going to a couple of MoveOn house parties, and the Computer Ate My Vote rally.

I worked for the McGovern campaign, canvassing door to door in Massachusetts, the only state he carried.

I had a feminist mother and we lobbied for ERA, Sex Ed in the schools, Equal Property Rights for women.

I was in the Women's Political Caucus and was a fund raising chairman for that org. in Louisiana way back in the 70s when I was only 16.

I got involved with the Kerry campaign. I don't remember how old I was when I started donating to political causes, but I think I was in my late 20's.

from then on I knew guys in suits in Washington were something to keep an eye on.I heard early on that the Korean War was hopelessly stupid to have gotten into.Then there were the freedom marchers,I wanted to ride my 3 speed bike to Alabama and kick some racist's butts.

maybe a bit earlier. i thought Clinton was interesting when i first heard him around the time i was 13 and he was running against Bush.

he was just new and different compared to reagan and bush who were the only other presidents who i knew of as being presidents. reagan and bush were so much older. and clinton was younger and unlike them. and i always loved listening to him even though i was not really into politics.i can't even remember much during the campaign other than thinking Clinton was just different and cool for a guy who wants to be president.

as i got into high school i started having a libertarian viewpoint. for abortion rights, gay rights etc but on economic issues i thought it was all simple. i thought those who didn't work were lazy and you know the rest of the propaganda. as i got older i learned more about economics and the history of the country and just learned more overall and became a liberal.

...my mom gave me an "ERA YES" button and told me if anybody gave me grief, to tell them about my aunt, who was an army captain.

I did a ton of grunt work for Bob Kerrey's senate run in 1988. I was 17. Never looked back.

Age 19. In 1978, I was a founding part of a ground-level national movement working to draft Ted Kennedy to run in 1980. No Net back then to make things easier, so we had to do it the old-fashioned way, by networking with Democratic politicians and getting our story told in the press. Chappaquiddick proved an insurmountable obstacle for Ted, but the exposure to the party hierarchy paid off for us in other ways.

...when I wrote to Jimmy Carter for the first time. My grandparents lived in the DC area and I would often visit them over the holidays. In my letter to President Carter, I asked if I could play with Amy on one of my visits. :) I received a very nice letter from one of his flunkies, along with a great book about the White House (but no answer to my invite to Amy). Oh well, such is life. :shrug: LOL

The first election I remember following closely was the 1980 election. We had a mock election in our school (I was in 5th grade at the time). Somebody started a rumor that Ronald Reagan was going to make us go to school on Saturdays. Naturally, Carter won by a landslide (this was in Lancaster County, PA...HEAVILY Repug!). On election night, it broke my heart to see Carter lose.

Ever since, I have actively campaigned for the Democratic nominee. Thirteen years old, and I was a Mondale volunteer. I worked my ass off for Dukakis in 1988 and Clinton in 1992. '92 was very special for me, not just because Clinton won, but also because that was the first election in which I was eligible to vote.

I now have my kids hooked on politics. My son, in particular. He's fourteen, and just able to really understand and debate the issues. He and I watched all of the debates together..it was like party night for us. :)

Gary Hart came to my hometown and I went to meet him. Then in that general election, I phone banked for Mondale. I was only kid in my class who voted for Mondale in that mock election.

I remember making protest signs (about peace) the summer of the year that King and Bobbie were killed.

It shocked me deeply when they were asassinated. We walked back and forth in front of a friend's house in the residential neighborhood where I lived. Must have been 7 years old.

Got fired up again in 1980 for my first presidential vote (John Anderson) and have been stoking the fire ever since Oct 2000 when my daughter (then 12 caught fire politically speaking).

We haven't stopped - and won't stop - especially her!

Went on to protest for repro rights, againt the Gulf War, welfare and social service "reform" (during Clinton), Iraq sanctions (during Clinton), first (ouch!) * innauguration, entry into Iraq war, another repro rights march, marches to repeal Columbus Day, rallies for election reform and fraud exposure, peace vigils by the truckloads, and am traveling to DC again to protest this administration.

"We who believe in freedom shall not rest until it comes."
Fannie Lou Hamer

Which was last year. The combination of the war in Iraq and Howard Dean got me involved.

(was about 10 months at the time though, so not sure if it counts)

Couldn't really avoid it in my family!!