A True Story
In 1976, I was five. I was in kindergarten and Dad was stationed in Fort Benning, GA. I decided, based on what I was being taught about presidential races at school, that my parents should vote for Jimmy Carter. My reasoning was simple enough: he had some shiny white teeth. It’s true. I’m not making that up. I pestered them about it. I recall him being charismatic on TeeVee. My parents did. And they’ve regretted it ever since. Coincidentally, 1976 was the last year my parents ever voted Democrat. To this day, my dad blames me. I’m not making that up either.
So, despite how stupid it sounds, kids can have an influence on their parents voting habits.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I was just about the same age when I told my parents to vote for Goldwater – because I liked the name.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I have an alblum of Goldwater’s speech at the convention, signed by Strom Thurmond. Side A: For the People , Side B: For Free Men
I was a happy 9 year old when my father said it would be “a cold day in hell” before he’d vote for a Kennedy whom he evidently loathed, more for the family name than his idea’s.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I was 11, & that was my first “political” argument. I was for Carter because he was a Southerner.
Looks like lots of people now are no smarter than I was at 11.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
’76 was the 1st election I voted in and I voted for Ford. I was’nt, and still aint, impressed with “Jimmy”. I had more respect for his brother Billy. I remember during Carter’s term 20/20 interviewed Admiral Hyman Rickover, who had known Carter when Carter was a officer in the Navy, and when Rickover was asked what he thought about Carter as POTUS the Admiral replied, “he should have stayed in the Navy”.
I’ve never voted dumocrat because I was’nt impressed at all with them. Some of the repubs hav’nt been much better, like Bush and Bush.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Yikes.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Apparently, proper use of contractions isn’t a prerequisite for voting… ๐
Anyway, I find it surprising that you paid attention at five. I’m a shade older than you are (less than 60 days, as I recall), and I didn’t pay any attention until 1980. And even then, I had the same superficial types of opinions that you had then. (I liked Reagan. He seemed like a nice guy. Certainly didn’t seem like the kind of fellow who would run up the debt at a record pace and gut the country to benefit his rich buddies…)
February 6th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
rightwingprof Says:
February 6th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
In 1976, I was five.
Yikes.
LOL, I was 20. ๐
February 6th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I voted for Hillary yesterday because I promised my five-year old daughter I would. She said there has never been a girl President and I could not argue with that.
February 6th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Well, our school had the Weekly Reader. Obviously, a liberal rag ๐
February 6th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
The first election in which I paid attention was 1960. I remember, as a 9 year old, being for Nixon even though my parents and all our extended family were always Democrats and they voted for JFK. In our 4th grade class, I was a family “renegade” and voted for Nixon because I thought Kennedy’s eyes were too close together. That was probably as good of a reason as “my family are all Democrats”.
Later I’ve learned that I should’ve supported JFK, because, unlike most all those “liberals” who claim his legacy today, he was actually a classical liberal and therefore, pro-gun rights. One of his quotes rightly states that the 2nd Amendment was to protect us from government tyranny, which would be widely considered as an extremist right-wing position today. Nixon actually supported gun control, but didn’t push it because of fears of losing votes from conservatives.
FEAR THE GOVERNMENT THAT FEARS YOUR GUNS
February 7th, 2008 at 11:23 am
At the ripe old age of 7, I told my mom that America needed a “Ronald Ray-gun”. The Russians would be scared of a Ray-gun! And lo and behold……. We just had to endure 4 years of Jimmah first.