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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill
"To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right." - Confucious
I've had the pleasure of attending a couple family functions lately - one for my family, the other for my spouse's family. Invariably, the conversations at our family gatherings turn to politics. This year is no exception.
My spouse and I come from two entirely different backgrounds.
My family - with the exception of one person (let's call her Aunt Mary) - are all registered Democrats. My grandfather voted for FDR and has never voted for a republican candidate for president. I remember a brief discussion in 1980 about the Carter-Reagan contest. My grandfather came into the office after voting (for President Carter, of course) but mentioned that he had a strange conversation with my grandmother at breakfast. She wasn't pleased with the economy and flirted with the idea of voting for Reagan. My grandfather told her it was "time to put down your checkbook and go with the party." She voted for Carter and to this day denies ever thinking of voting for Reagan.
Things may have changed, and not for the better. This may be the first year that only two of us vote for a Democratic presidential candidate. My sister and I support Senator Obama, but the rest of the family quietly remains on the fence. We were all Clinton supporters - some may vote for her as a write in candidate - and her loss was tough for us to take. When I press my family on McCain's personal history, horrible voting record and his ties to Bush, they brush it off by saying he's ok, he's really a moderate, he's an experienced candidate.
My spouse's family - with the exception of his mother - are completely die-hard republican. Not just the friendly / traditional / Kansas-moderate republican; they are the new breed / FOX News / see-evil-around-every-corner republican. At a family picnic this last weekend, I learned a great deal about the crisis our nation faces. According to these folks, if Obama is elected our economy will become Socialized and we will lose our right to own personal property. They all agreed that "change" is necessary, but that it should be the kind of "change" we've seen over the last 8 years: greater tax cuts (particularly for larger corporations), less government programs (like education, health care), and less government regulation (of food and medications). I kept my mouth shut - and that's unusual for me.
Polls and surveys aside, this is a tough election year. To succeed in November, we will need the same kind of person-to-person contact, grass-roots organization, and volunteer effort that Obama successfully used in the primary. This may be our time - but we will only win if we work for it.
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Comments (2)
Excellent post. Obama supporters (even those like you and me that used to support other democratic candidates in the primary) need to understand that Obama doesn't rock everybody's world the way he rocks his core followers. Many people are either luke warm towards him.
McCain has a good chance to beat Obama in November. You are so right - now all the work done in the primary will need to be doubled to win over the Clinton supporters, and tripled to win over McCain supporters. Much work must be done if Obama has even a fighting chance.
I think the remaining votes will need to be won on the "the issues" and not on things like "hope." Obama needs to help us sell his issues.
Posted by Nora Thomason
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June 17, 2008 4:58 PM
Posted on June 17, 2008 16:58
Good writing.
My parents were straight line democrats and most of my six cyblings followed faithfully. One brother broke ranks and is near radical moral majority, right wing, conservative Republican.
My wife's parents were nearly as straight line on the Republican side. Without ever arguing politics my wife has joined me. She claimed for a while she would not vote democrat if Obama was the candidate. However, after studying the issues and listening to some of McCains ideas, she has become near radical against McCain and will happily cast her ballot for Obama.
My first chance to vote was against Eisenhower and it has certainly been democrats for national offices all the way.
You are right, we need to work at overcoming the fear and prejudice that is being hyped about Obama!
Posted by Ken Poland
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June 18, 2008 8:32 AM
Posted on June 18, 2008 08:32