More good news on the formerly-apathetic-parents front!

You may remember, last week, I posted that my dad has gotten so fed up that he joined the Democratic party, is sending me MoveOn links and is serving as an election judge (tomorrow, in IL).

My mom, up until now, has been very quiet about politics. She believes in the sanctity of the private ballot to the point that I don't know who she voted for in any election since 1980. When pressed, she usually says, "I voted for the white-tailed deer" (IL's state animal, that I got to vote on in elementary school). She doesn't usually vote in primaries, because she doesn't like telling the election people, in front of everyone, which ballot she wants.

Well...yesterday, in between the "be careful with money" lecture and the "do you know what your sister did" gossip, she told me that she was voting in the primary for the first time in a long time, possibly ever. She was going to request the Democratic ballot, and cast her vote in the Senate primary for Barack Obama. (My dad already cast his ballot absentee for Obama.)

What got me was why -- "We can't screw this up. Blair Hull's going through a nasty divorce, and I don't want things to implode. Obama seems good; so does Hynes. If either of them win, I think we'll win, but if Hull goes up against any of the Republicans, we'll lose."

In other words, my mom is voting strategically (and choosing a good candidate, regardless). And talking about it. This is a first.

So this isn't quite "I converted my Repuke parents," but that both of mine have gotten this energized is a very, very good sign.