A liberal’s confession: I voted for a Republican

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A tale of a liberal who voted Republican for the first time ever, and lived to tell about it.

vote republican madmikesamerica

I did my homework.  I read the stacks of pamphlets that arrived daily in the mail that touted the strengths and glaring deficiencies of the Republican and Democratic candidate for city council in my district.  I listened to the debates, and read all the articles in the newspaper.

Our newspaper, a middle-of-the-road independent rag, concluded as I did, as painful as it was for me.  The Tulsa World endorsed the Republican.

Ewing [The Republican], the owner of several downtown restaurants, has a knowledge of Tulsa history that should impress anyone. He carries a youthful exuberance for the future of Tulsa that can be infectious. He has done his homework and knows his district and its needs, but he also is mindful of what Tulsa needs and has a plan on how to get there.

He, like many Tulsans, is tired of Tulsa being compared to Oklahoma City and the progress that has been made there. He sees Tulsa as the unique city that it is and is enthusiastic about its future. Downtown Tulsa has made huge progress in the past 10 years. Ewing and a handful of other entrepreneurs and business people have made that possible.

The Democrat is a member of the old guard–and by “old guard” I mean the Democrat is old enough to be my father, and at 42 years of age, I don’t need anymore father figures.  In a game of free association, if you were to say the Democrat’s name, I would blurt out, “stale waffles!”

The Republican is my age, full of enthusiasm, interesting to listen to, cerebrally pragmatic, and is as passionate, or more so than I, in his desire to see the heart of our city grow.  Unless you came straight out and asked The Republican what his party affiliation is, you wouldn’t know.

It came down to choosing between a guy of my generation, brimming with creative energy and a progressive agenda for the development of downtown, or Uncle Same-old.  It was a generational choice for me; not ideological.

I walked to the voting booth with the nasty feeling like I was cheating on a life-long partner.  Instead of considering what I was about to do, I just held my nose and did it as quickly as possible to get it over with.  I voted for a Republican for the first time in my life.

A Republican friend congratulated me.  “It’s a good first step,” he said.  “Proud of you.”

“It’s not any first step,” I retorted.  “Just an exception to the rule.”

I still find myself generally agreeable to the sentiment adroitly worded in this Garrison Keiller quote.

Having been called names, one looks back at one’s own angry outbursts over the years, and I recall having once referred to Republicans as “hairy-backed swamp developers, fundamentalist bullies, freelance racists, hobby cops, sweatshop tycoons, line jumpers, marsupial moms and aluminum-siding salesmen, misanthropic frat boys, ninja dittoheads, shrieking midgets, tax cheats, cheese merchants, cat stranglers, pill pushers, nihilists in golf pants, backed-up Baptists, the grand pooh-bahs of Percodan, mouth breathers, testosterone junkies and brownshirts in pinstripes.” I look at those words now, and “cat stranglers” seems excessive to me. The number of cat stranglers in the ranks of the Republican Party is surely low, and that reference was hurtful to Republicans and to cat owners. I feel sheepish about it.

Concurrently with voting for a Republican for the first time, I also voted in favor of the proposition to make election for city office non-partisan.  It passed.

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Collin Hinds

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Paul Frank
12 years ago

It is a liberal’s habit to look at the facts, and that’s what you did — I applaud you for that. For myself, there is one serious admonition to add. In my view the single most important vote any legislator makes is for the Speaker of the House, or whatever the counterpart of that is in the election in question. At least to the extent that the “Speaker” has charge of the legislative agenda, then voting party-line can be important.

To put it in a sentence, your personal voting calculus should not only include the direct impact your candidate can make in promoting your values, but also consider the secondary impacts are such as who controls the legislative agenda. If the candidate meets that test, vote for him!

Reply to  Paul Frank
12 years ago

Thanks Paul. You have guided the thought process for me.

Joe Hagstrom
12 years ago

Even I voted for a republican a couple times. Of course we didn;t have an opponent for them. One was the recorder. A good old guy everyone voted for. We had the circuit clerk all the republicans voted for. Things were nicer then. Now we beat hell out of each other. Well. They beat hell out of us. We can’t find candidates willing to beat hell out of them.

Reply to  Joe Hagstrom
12 years ago

Point well taken Joe.

newageluddite
12 years ago

Fortunately, Tulsey Town is small enough that we can get to know a bit about some of the candidates. For instance, Mr. Ewing, the Republican candidate(who was elected) ran against a Libertarian musician friend of mine in the Republican primary. Someone stole the beater car my friend drove, so Mr. Ewing hosted a money raiser battle of the bands at one of his restaurants, and raised enough money for my friend to buy another beater car. Oklahoma had a few very good Republicans as governor in the past, before they all got stained with tea.
When I was growing up in Southern Oklahoma in the ’50’s, a person had to be a Democrat if they wanted a voice in selecting the next governor, since that contest was decided in the statewide Democratic primary. The few registered Republicans in the state were Yankees who’d run out of gas while driving through to California.

Jess
12 years ago

Me, myself and I would have left that particular race blank and I am fortunate to live in a state where I can do this, for some races, you are not being where you are. AYUP I am that partisan in my voting habits. Most of the republicans lately, see Walker, Snyder, Kasich et al… getting in on the voter thinking they are some kind of moderate, then BOOM right to the junk punch that is reality, for said cross over voter. You and the lovely Mrs Hinds have to live there though, so you know better how it may affect you.

Somebody who wandered in from Reddit
12 years ago

I can’t help but notice that, while you give a general impression of the guy and how he makes you feel, you make precisely zero mention of what his actual policies and opinions are. Which is the only part of the equation that actually matters.

If he actually did have the platform most in line with your best interests and views, I applaud you for voting for the best person for the job regardless of his affiliation.

Peggy Roche
12 years ago

Okay, fella! I am not only old enough to be your mother, as you well know, I am old enough to be your Jewish mother. Therefore I shall nag and kvetch incessently even tho I do take your point. I shall, however, keep a spare room available to my favorite “daughter”, your lovely wife, in case she feels the need to flee from a husband who seems to be slouching toward the middle! 🙂

Admin
12 years ago

Well I just don’t know if we can have this! A faithful Democrat voting for the enemy? I never heard the like 🙂 🙂 So that being said my friend congratulations for crossing that river. While I may be old enough to be your father (don’t panic it’s just a bad dream) I understand completely what you’re saying and I do believe I could vote for person like Jon Huntsman or a person your age “filled with enthusiasm” and etc. Therefore, all things considered, I have determined, given my many, many years of gaining wisdom, that you no doubt did the right thing 🙂 🙂 Thanks for confessing your sins at MMA 🙂

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