Yes, absolutely. I'm always impressed (and sometimes surprised) that people can marry those with really different political views.
I think we honestly didn't talk much about politics at all for many years in the beginning of our relationship. Neither of us are super into it or talk much about politics in general, but the differences have become more obvious in recent years and I honestly attribute it to social media. One of us will see something posted on FB or somewhere and it will come up in conversation (either when we're alone or with other people) and discover that we have varying views on the subject.
I voted for Bush in 2004. (I was a dumb kid.) I was in the College Republicans FFS.
AND LOOK AT ME NOW. LOLOLOL
People change, parties change. The Repbulican party CERTAINLY has since 2004 and even 2008. Just because a couple is a match now doesn't mean they always will be.
Fundies and the Tea Party, man smh
Exactly. I wouldn't say that the old school Republican party had nothing to offer. The direction it has taken in the last two national election cycles is unfortunate though. And this is coming from a life long registered Democrat.
Post by turtlegirl on Oct 29, 2015 14:35:36 GMT -5
Overall, yes. But there are a few big issues that we disagree on and we usually just try not to talk about them much because it gets too heated (abortion and women in the military).
Yes, otherwise we would have divorced. I have probably made him more liberal but he was pretty liberal to start.
Seriously. I am too stubborn and set in my ways to understand how mixed-politics couples can be together. Like Mary Matalin and James Carville make NO SENSE to me at all.
My H and I actually talk about politics a lot. It's probably one of our more frequent topics of conversation. We just don't take it personally and we can agree to disagree. Over the years we've merged on some things. He's taught me a little about how you always have to consider the unintended consequences to new financial regulations and I've shifted him away from being pro life (he was raised Catholic) to pro choice.
Yes, otherwise we would have divorced. I have probably made him more liberal but he was pretty liberal to start.
Seriously. I am too stubborn and set in my ways to understand how mixed-politics couples can be together. Like Mary Matalin and James Carville make NO SENSE to me at all.
Yep I would probably "kill" my husband if he did not vote for Hillary. Or at least nag him to death. If he voted for one of the top Republican candidates today it would indicate to me - he is against a women's right to choose, he doesn't support the Obama healthcare plans, he doesn't support immigration blah blah blah
Yes. He's way more into politics than me though, so I often feel kind of clueless around him. It's funny because he has always been way, way into US politics, even though he just became a citizen very recently. He's actually voting for the first time in the US this election!
No. I am a very liberal democrat. H claims to be an independent, but really he's arepublican (except on a few issues, like abortion and gay marriage). It's best for our relationship if we just don't talk politics at all.
I am sure your husband is a wonderful person.
the "I'm a Republican, just not without all the Jesus stuff" thing drives me up the f***ing wall. Like maybe if someone lives somewhere like Massachusetts and votes D for federal elections and R for statewide elections, sure. But in Texas or Ohio or anywhere where "all the Jesus stuff" is still a BFD? It's a total cop-out for Republicans who would like to sleep with liberal women.
MM has a couple of people who fit this description. I don't know what to make of it other than roll my eyes.
DH refuses to tell me who he votes for and we dont talk politics so I cant even answer the question. I do believe though that we vote the same party. He just wont tell me. His parents do because his mom is a little loud about it on facebook.
Post by dulcemariamar on Oct 29, 2015 14:44:38 GMT -5
Probably not. He is not really into politics so it is hard to tell. Plus, we come from different countries and neither one of us are living in our respective countries. We feel kinda disconnected from a lot of stuff.
Not a flip flop. Sidenote: I hate the "he/she's a flip-flopper" nonsense. Assholes grandstand and change their position when the political tides change. Sane, rational people evolve and change their position based on evidence. THAT IS NOT A BAD THING, PEOPLE!
I am always fascinated but what makes people change political parties. Do you mind sharing what brought you to the light ?
I grew up in a REALLY conservative area. I only knew conservatives growing up (except my parents who are pretty moderate - probably more liberal now than 10 or 20 years ago - but they didn't talk politics a lot growing up). I went to college in an insanely conservative area and joined a sorority and the greek system was almost entirely wealthy conservatives. So I really just wasn't exposed to any different for a long time. I just repeated the conservative talking points on unfairly burdening the rich, I'm sure I perpetuated the welfare queen myth, etc.
Looking back, I can't even pinpoint WHY I considered myself a Republican. Other than just familiarity? I'd always ALWAYS been rabidly pro-choice and have always considered that my number one issue and have always been pro-gay marriage. I've also been a pretty staunch atheist since like 17 and was really resentful about how tied to religion the Republican party and their agenda was. And I think I always thought of myself as a feminist! Or at least that women's rights were incredibly important to me. But for some reason I had a really, really, really difficult time separating myself from the Republican identity I'd always known.
Honestly, the nest was really pivotal for me. Just talking about different issues that I hadn't been exposed to before or hadn't thought about a certain way before - race, welfare, taxes, etc. I also had a (liberal) friend that I talked politics with about all the time.
IDK, it's hard to explain. And I feel kind of dumb writing it all out TBH. Like I'm such a fraud. I was at a GWB rally just over a decade ago and look at me now worshiping HRC lol. IDK, I hope it doesn't make people think I'm a flip flop. (Not that my opinion matters on basically anything. lol)
I think there is always room to grow and expand/change our perspectives. In some ways the internet is amazing in that regard. I think alot of how we evolve is dependent upon our peer group and parental influence. So much is also learning on our own which I think is something that can really grow post the college years.
So kudos to you on learning more - many people never do.
60% of my friends are probably much more conservative than I am so I always like to hear what makes other people change as maybe I can help educate them or at least offer another perspective.
We have never voted for the same person, but only because we vote in different countries. Otherwise we're fairly well aligned politically. In Canadian terms, he'd be between NDP and Green (I'm between NDP and Liberal). In the US he votes democrat but we both agree that the party isn't really very liberal. In the UK I voted Labour, and if he'd been able to he'd probably have voted Green. I'm probably more fiscally conservative than H is, but not by a huge amount.
I could not be with a man who did not share my political views on what I consider the most important issues: human rights, universal healthcare, feminism and equality in general. We discussed politics prior to marriage, and we take voting very seriously. He's just finished a PhD in political history, so it's not like we could avoid the topic if we disagreed.
No. We overlap on some issues and diverge quite a bit on others. But it's ok. When my parents got married their political views were diametrically opposed
No. We were when we met, and he does vote Democrat on occasion (he voted Obama), but he isn't really a liberal. He is pro choice and pro gay marriage, so we have our unity horses. He has changed a lot over the last 15 (!!!) years and some of that is his job. I don't know that we would connect now if we were just meeting, but we are a pretty good team and have a fun life together.
It's part of what attracted me to him. I don't think there's anything we disagree on, he even gets huffy with me when someone posts some anti-feminist bullshit.