This great looking guy is my nephew Zach. You can see who the other dude is.
I think that maybe a person’s politics are genetic. Most of my relatives are fairly alike politically. I can go through 20 relatives and only about 3 or 4 are conservative. Censored has done a lot of reading about the brains of conservatives being different than the brains of liberals. What else have we found out about how people get their politics? I would say my parents were moderate to conservative.
Do you share your parents’ political views? How about your siblings and cousins?
I am probably closer to my parents’ view than my brothers are.
I’m hoping to get pictures like that of darling daughter and the next Vice President of the US on Friday.
In my family…I’m probably the most activist…libertarian/conservative. My brothers…one is a conservative Catholic and the other…. mainstream GOP? I guess.
My sister is a died in the wool liberal Democrat. She moved to Maryland. Then married a New Yawkah from Longa Island. I blame him. Her daughters…liberal anti gun. Son…more conservative.
My mother was an old school anti-communist classic liberal. I considered her conservative. My Catholic conservative bro considered her to be liberal.
I have no idea about the politics of anyone else.
That’s enough to have one hell of a miserable family renunion.
@Cargo.
Have cargoette tell Uncle Joe Hello from Aunt Moon.:mrgreen:
My dad doesn’t have politics as far as I know, and mom is a staunch Democrat. Mom and i don’t get along at all politically.
Did you get the email?
@Slowpoke
Good Ole Joe. He’s a real 20th century guy! Can y’all believe that dip$hit is a heartbeat away from the Presidency?
@pokie
Yes, I think of that sometimes, and I can sleep at night knowing that it isn’t sarah Palin.
I don’t think Joe is stupid – I think he suffers from foot-in-the-mouth disorder where sometimes he says thing out loud before thinking. We all know people like this and they’re not unintelligent, just a bit impulsive and severely lacking in the think before you speak gene.
As for family politics – my family is all over the place. My Mom is a staunch Democrat as is my Step Father. Both taught in Fairfax County for 35+ years and were active members of FEA, VEA, and NEA. I grew up going to FEA, VEA & NEA meetings and watching my Mom try to lobby the Fairfax County School Board and General Assembly.
Interestingly, if I talk to them about their opinions on issues, I’d characterize both of them as socially conservative and fiscally liberal-ish. They’re both pro-life, oppose gay marriage, and not all that thrilled about unions, except for FEA, NEA, and VEA (you should hear my Mom go one about AFT! eeeeek!). They support a balanced budget and don’t think taxes should be raised on anyone. Yet they will never vote for anyone who isn’t endorsed by the NEA, which means they’re unlikely to vote for a Republican.
I’m socially liberal and fiscally conservative, which means I tend to lean Republican lately, but I voted for Clinton twice and am proud of it, so I’m not a very good leaner. I’m generally pro-choice and think gay marriage is a civil rights issue. I’m a CPA by trade and I do support a balanced budget. I think we need comprehensive tax reform (like toss the whole thing and start over again with a flat tax or national sales tax).
Your parents have cognitive dissonance. LOL @Kim
They must have horrible angst whenever they go to the polls. Do you know about 20 years ago the local AFT supported Bob Marshall one election? Cognitive Dissonance for sure!
Socially moderate to liberal here. Is everyone surprised? I am not sure labels fit any more. I agree with you about gay marriage.
Tax reform is needed. I would be all in favor of some reform. Not sure what kind though. I am tired of protecting wealthy people though. I think what gets the most is the average joes whining about the poor rich people. I don’t want to screw over rich people. My stepson who lived with me far longer than he did his own mother is very wealthy. However, I don’t want to protect him. He has more so he gets to pony up more.
Kim, can I whine to you….I am so tired of these politicians. So far in the past 5 minutes my response to you has been interrupted 3 times. The local Obama office in old town and someone named John inviting me to some Republican something or other…I think for Paul Ryan in Springfield on Friday. then someone else asking me if the election were held tomorrow.
My telephone has cognitive dissonance!!!! I am still wondering who John is. He sounded familiar but it was recorded.
I voted for Clinton, too, and I’m proud of it. But trust me, Joe is actually that dumb. When you can see it in his face, it means he’s really that dumb.
Joe isn’t dumb…not in the least. He just sticks his foot in his mouth too much. Its an endearing quality. Well…sort of. But don’t be fooled, he isn’t dumb.
I would vote for Clinton in a heart beat. Again. My husband is out working the polls tonight and I am thinking longingly of the days when my friend Tom and I bet on a young guy from Arkansas some 20 years ago and spent every night out at Ambassador Square working phone banks and strong arming people to come in and work for him. In the beginning most of the people said who’s that. The pay off was that first Tuesday night in November 1992. I cried all day long when it was finally over and he wouldn’t leave that airplane hangar in 2001. If I had only known how prophetic my tears would be…..i would have probably offed myself.
Actually, I might even vote for Bubba over Romney, if it were an option.
I did, thank you. I got one for his 4yr Birthday party….It was a hit!
i thought you might need another one. that was a good deal. I almost bought one.
Sadly I think Bubba is more center than liberal Mittens.
My family skews left but none of them vote and I won’t sign off on my parents citizenship as I swore an oath to defend this nation.
@marin, it shouldn’t be your decision. I really hope you are kidding.
Mittens isn’t a liberal now.
My father was a conservative independent who became more moderate as he grew older. My mother was a moderate independent who became more liberal as she aged. They were both more conservative than I but there was enough difference between them they they always threatened to cancel each other’s vote when they went to the polls. It was a family joke. The last one who voted seemed to think that he or she had won.
Two of my siblings are independents who generally vote Democratic. One other sibling generally votes Republican but, unlike the others, she seldom votes. Her spouse would join the Tea Party if it had a local branch. I think most of my cousins on my father’s side are moderate or liberal.
Except for a brief stay in a large midwestern city and the NY area where two of us were born, my siblings and I grew up in small cities in the South and northern Virginia. We’ve stayed in NoVa except for the conservative sibling who moved to a small town farther out – something similar to the place we grew up.
I’m probably the only one in my family who has any involvement in politics besides pulling a lever or touching a screen in a voting booth. I think my involvement began in college – certainly not any sooner.
Censored, have you found out any more about the difference in brains?
I am not sure how to place my parents. I think my father was definitely more conservative than my mother. I think maybe my mother was more liberal than any of us ever thought. She was more of a product of her times.
speaking of cognitive dissonance….during THE war, when my father was stationed out in Washington State, he wrote home to my mother how outraged he was over the fact that American Indians were forced to fight for their country and couldn’t go in a bar and get a drink. No Indians allowed was apparently posted lots of places.
I inherited these letters and before my mother died I asked her how come it didnt bother him that black soldiers couldn’t go in those same bars. She had no idea. I never understood it at all and still don’t.
I’ll ditto Cargo.. My Parents are the same, my siblings and I run a six step gambit from fiscally conservative Dems bordering on RINOS to wild eyed raving liberal (she’s also the richest one in the bunch). I have relative elected to both state and federal levels in both parties! We send cash donations to each.
Bottom line our politics are were taught based heavily on respect and the outrageous notion that we might just learn something from one another. Lively but respectful arguments were always encouraged.
Difference in brains between liberals and conservatives? Too….many…..jokes…….must…..resist.
I wanted to click a “like” button for MH’s #6 comment. LOL. Both my parents are conservative, but far from the Tea Party, immigrant hating/gay bashing variety. Fiscal conservatives/social moderates. My gay brother is as left as they come and I’m probably just slightly to the right of him, but not sure really where…maybe I am as leftist as he is…can’t really think of anything that I don’t agree with him on. I’d say my sister is a moderate. Cousins on both sides of the family…about as far right as you can get. Right wing nuts as far as I’m concerned and I’ve unfriended most of them on Facebook due to the rants they post. They come off as intolerant. Some of them have been on welfare having so many kids early and unwed and barely have made ends meet, yet they root for the Repubs? I don’t get it AT ALL.
@Moon-howler
I’m not joking. I refuse to sign off and pay for their citizenship. They have 3 other kids. They can convince one of them.
Mittens is a liberal. Obama is simply to the left of him but both are bought and paid for by the Goldman Sachs.
This election is t about who your voting for but who you dislike the least.
@TWINAD
More cognitive dissonance from your cousins.
I want to unfriend someone a cousin married. He is an AH but his wife is a chirpy AH. I don’t know that I have ever met her. (we have a family page of cousins) I see her name and I see red. I would unfriend her but I am nosey. I want to know what she is up to.
Now that is just sick. I think that the cousins ran off the one other cousin who didn’t fit in. I think we just offended her. We don’t talk politics but everyone can see everyone else’s wall etc. That’s how everyone knows about the other.
@Marinm
Why dont they have to take a test and pay for their own? Everyone I have ever known studies, takes a test, passes, pays whatever it costs, a couple hundred, gets sworn in and that’s that.
Why do any of your kids need to be involved?
Marin, you probably think John Birch society is liberal. You were dropped on your head or something.
I was watching a film about your Atlas Shrugged girl today.
They could do the test and pay for themselves. It’s a lot more now a days than a few hundred dollars.
A natural born citizen child like myself just pushes them ahead in line. If they really want it. I can’t stop it. But not going to push the easy button for them.
JBS is a good start….. Rand is great. She’s the sort of alien we need to encourage to immigrate.
Who is JBS?
@marin
They certainly sacrificed a great deal for you. Is this how you repay them? You seriously need to examine your hostility here.
@Moon-howler
You caught me a week after I did a lot of bookmark housecleaning so I’ve dumped most of the links to politics and genetics but found a couple.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/science/21gene.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-genetics-of-politics
Haha. I’ll post a more inflammatory link to political differences in another post so as not to go into moderation.
Here’s the other study. I’ve noticed that Republicans seem more prone to soundbites lately. Perhaps it’s because they feel the need to rally their troops for the upcoming elections and that they respond more to fear (another study that I’d have to dig for – believe it was covered in a Boston Globe article I linked more than a year ago).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/07/conservative-politics-low-effort-thinking_n_1410448.html
And one of many articles on a study done by University College London about Republicans and fear. For those who yell “biased source”, do your own search for the study. There are plenty of articles though the study is hard to access without paying, if I remember correctly.
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/03/republican_fear_factor_salpart/
Hillary is one smart cookie: http://washingtonexaminer.com/hillary-rejected-vp-slot-to-ready-her-own-2016-run/article/2505206#.UC5yS92PV8G
Good for her for wanting to disassociate herself from this punk.