# Democrats: Have you voted for or considered voting for a Republican for POTUS?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897 "2012-03-06T04:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/61 "2012-03-07T12:27:52Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I see what you did there. But he did it in a roundabout way. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/62 "2012-03-07T14:37:08Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > As I recall, not so liberal. He got in touch with his “America is a CHRISTIAN nation” roots. Which he conveniently forgot to mention during the campaign. I, and many other supporters assumed - and in my case said - he didn’t reeeaaly mean it. It turns out he did. I heard less-than-pleasant stories from reliable sources - the sort of things that are all too typical of Congresscritters, but are deeply disappointing in someone who wanted to be POTUS. What did he do? ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/63 "2012-03-08T16:45:59Z")
I’m the type of person who doesn’t vote FOR a candidate, rather, I vote against the worst candidate. So far I’ve never picked a Republican for POTUS in almost 40 year of voting but I would love to find one someday that could earn my vote. If they could tend a little more in the Ron Paul direction, without going off the deep end, I could vote for one. There is nobody in the current crop that I would ever cast a vote for, no matter who they ran against. If the Dem was truly horrible I would go for a third party candidate or just stay home. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/64 "2012-03-09T04:27:30Z")
The closest I ever got was 1988. I didn’t think much of Mike Dukakis (still don’t for that matter), but only briefly thought about not voting at all, and never considered actually voting for Bush I. I have voted for Republicans for Congress, but would be very unlikely to do so today. The party would have to do some pretty serious moderation before I’d consider it. On a more local level, however, my state senator is a GOP guy who voted for the marriage equality bill in NY state. Without his support, it’s not clear it would’ve passed. I may find it difficult to vote against him for that vote alone. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/65 "2012-03-09T19:04:40Z")
When I was 12 years old and ignorant about the complexity of issues, I went through a phase where I was mad at Clinton for raising taxes. I don’t even know if he did, but I remember hearing someone say, and repeating “At least Bush waited a while before he raised taxes”; to my 12 year old mind that sounded like good reasoning If I had been of voting age in 1992, I probably would have voted Bush. But after I got a little older and learned more about how the parties feel on certain issues, I became a staunch Democrat and liberal. I cannot imagine ever voting for a Republican for POTUS given the direction they are going. They simply don’t represent me, nor a sane version of me in an opposite dimension ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/66 "2012-03-09T23:09:50Z")
If John McCain in 2008 had resembled the John McCain who opposed Bush on torture and hadn’t picked a moron as a VP, and if Obama hadn’t been such a good candidate, I might have voted for him. Given McCain’s warmongering since, I’m doubly glad I didn’t, but at the time he didn’t seem appalling. At this point in time, it’s hard for me to imagine voting for a Republican for any major office; the Republicans in my state (OR) tend to nominate crazy people, and the current GOP presidential field are likewise crazy. Still, I think I could vote for someone like Olympia Snowe if the Democratic candidate was pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/67 "2012-03-09T23:32:30Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > At this point in time, it’s hard for me to imagine voting for a Republican for any major office; the Republicans in my state (OR) tend to nominate crazy people, and the current GOP presidential field are likewise crazy. Still, I think I could vote for someone like Olympia Snowe if the Democratic candidate was pretty bad. You think Gordon Smith was crazy? Senator Smith was moderate. I voted for him in '02 and considered voting for him in '08. I ended up voting for Merkely just to give the Dems more seats to possibly overcome the perma-buster. I grew up conservative and would have voted for Dole in '96 if I had been old enough(I turned 18 in '96 after the election.) I did vote for Libertarian Harry Browne in '00. I would not consider voting for any GOP members for president now. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/68 "2012-03-10T03:02:18Z")
I voted for both Bill Clinton & Barack Obama, and I’d call them ‘moderate Republicans’ rather than true Democrats. (Or Democrat-Farmer-Laborites, as we have here in Minnesota. Like Floyd B Olson, Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Paul Wellstone.) ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/69 "2012-03-10T20:08:32Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > You think Gordon Smith was crazy? Senator Smith was moderate. I voted for him in '02 and considered voting for him in '08. I ended up voting for Merkely just to give the Dems more seats to possibly overcome the perma-buster. > > I grew up conservative and would have voted for Dole in '96 if I had been old enough(I turned 18 in '96 after the election.) I did vote for Libertarian Harry Browne in '00. I would not consider voting for any GOP members for president now. Smith wasn’t that moderate; he voted to send us into Iraq, and for that “partial birth abortion” bill. He supported the Federal Marriage Amendment, too. I admit he had some conflicting views, but not until after it became clear that Bush had lost the support of the public, and he was trying desperately to keep his job. He was right to be worried, of course, because he lost his job when Merkley ran. Beyond that, I should be clear that I’m in the 2nd Congressional district; we don’t screw around with nominating crazy people out here. I shudder to think who’d be nominated today if Walden ever stepped down. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/70 "2012-03-13T01:27:18Z")
I voted for Bush in 2004 because I didn’t like Kerry, It was my first time to vote, so the idea of simply withholding my vote didn’t cross my mind. It was also before I realized that voting for someone based on their personality is stupid. Though, in order to be completely honest, I am (or at least was) a registered Republican. It matters so little that I’ve never bothered to change that. I just signed up because they were the first to ask. Plus, I had some odd ideas about the Democrats at the time. And, like I’ve said, it allows me to write my Republican congresspeople as if I’m actually in their party. ---
**Author:** ![OldLobsterClaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb9ed0/32.png) [@OldLobsterClaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldLobsterClaw)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/71 "2012-03-24T01:30:16Z")
I like Republicans. They provide comic relief. The problem comes when people take them seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/72 "2012-03-24T01:36:58Z")
My first vote for president was 2004 so I don’t have a lot to go on. The GOP on the national level is not something I can find myself supporting anytime soon. Even the moderates like Huntsman are too extreme on economic issues for my taste. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/73 "2012-03-24T02:13:14Z")
Voted for Ford in 1976; voted for Anderson in 1980 (well, he started out as a Republican); would have voted for Dole in 1988 if he’d won the nomination that year. There’s been no time since when I would have voted for the Republican nominee. And as long as the GOP is anything like it is now, no chance of its happening again. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/74 "2012-03-24T03:05:11Z")
I’ve never actually registered as a Democrat and have some serious problems with the party, but I voted as a Democrat in this poll because I have only ever voted for Democrat (usually) or third party candidates (occasionally) in elections. I went with _I have never voted for a Republican, but I have considered or might seriously consider doing so_, although I did so before reading the part of the OP about the “reasonably near future”. I’d seriously consider voting for a Republican presidential candidate if the Democrats picked someone I thought was awful, AND if the Republicans picked a moderate who wasn’t interested in pandering to extremists within the party. It’s likely that the former condition will be met within the reasonably near future, but I have my doubts as to the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/75 "2012-03-24T03:57:33Z")
To me, “reasonably near future” means within my lifetime. I would consider voting for a Republican if a Democrat who I considered dangerous or criminally stupid got the nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/76 "2012-04-21T14:19:00Z")
I voted for the second option. I have never actually voted for a Republican for President, or, come to think of it, for U.S. Senate or Congress either. I supported Gerald Ford in 1976, when I was too young to vote, because I liked him personally and respected him for having become an Eagle Scout, as I aspired to be. I could’ve seen myself voting for either John McCain in 2000, before he veered hard to the right and picked a goofy running mate eight years later, or for Mitt Romney c. 1994, before he, too, reinvented himself as “severely conservative.” The process of winning the nomination drives GOP candidates so far to the right nowadays that I doubt I will ever, for the foreseeable future, vote for a Republican for President. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/77 "2012-04-21T14:24:01Z")
That wont happen. From what I have seen on these pages, the partisan posts here are so blinded by hate rhetoric, people cant see clearly. They make excuses for their labels, and over compensate judgment against “the enemy” It is quite entertaining to me. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/78 "2012-04-21T17:31:33Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > That wont happen. From what I have seen on these pages, the partisan posts here are so blinded by hate rhetoric, people cant see clearly. They make excuses for their labels, and over compensate judgment against “the enemy” > > It is quite entertaining to me. I see the need for disparate points of view in a democracy, and I’m always trying to improve. Can you point out examples of hate rhetoric that I’ve made? Then I can be more careful with my words in the future. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/79 "2012-04-21T18:56:58Z")
I voted for one Republican in the most recent state election, and I regret it already. She goes and pulls shit like [this](http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2012/apr/12/susan-combs/comptroller-susan-combs-says-state-lawmakers-did-n/) trying to help to cover up for the fact that the Republicans are gutting education in our state. This will be a drag on our state for decades to come. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897/80 "2012-04-22T00:52:04Z")
I’ve voted for quite a few Republicans in state and local elections. I’ve never voted for one for any Federal office, though, that I recall. It just so happened that I preferred the Democrat in all those races. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-have-you-voted-for-or-considered-voting-for-a-republican-for-potus/614897.md?page=5)