# How would revealing your SDMB posts affect your election to public office? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922 "2004-10-18T22:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/21 "2004-10-19T01:55:51Z")
yeeesh The one time I post a smilie, and it doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/22 "2004-10-19T03:08:17Z")
I’d be worried about anyone who didn’t know me passably well beforehand and, after reading my posts, all of them, was NOT dissuaded from voting for me. I would make a horrible politician. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/23 "2004-10-19T04:12:42Z")
I’d be dead in the water…except maybe in the San Francisco Bay area. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/24 "2004-10-19T04:20:32Z")
While I doubt any really good scandals could be summoned from my posts (and I’ve long been a promoter of the idea that you shouldn’t post anything on a publc message board that you couldn’t survive having your boss read), I doubt the demographic is out there that could, in the voting majority, embrace enough of the opinions I’ve expressed here to get me elected to any serious legislative position. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/25 "2004-10-19T04:25:26Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > (and I’ve long been a promoter of the idea that you shouldn’t post anything on a publc message board that you couldn’t survive having your boss read) I don’t think it would matter if my boss read my posts (although I probably have forgotten a few of the dumbest ones), but I doubt my boss would vote for me for office after reading them! ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/26 "2004-10-19T05:13:26Z")
I think the only option really left for any of us is to just start The Doper Party. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/27 "2004-10-19T05:19:10Z")
I wanted to annex Mexico, is that a plus? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/28 "2004-10-19T05:27:32Z")
I don’t think I’ve said or admitted to anything too damaging…at least not in 20004. I’m sure my enemies could find any number of hyperbolic political rants, confessions of past drug use, a liberal use of creative obscenities, an embarrassing familiarity with _American Idol_ and some posts on religion which could be twisted to make me seem anti-Christian. At worst, I could be made out to be a raging, screaming liberal, an “atheist,” a peacenik and a hippie. But I freely admit all that stuff anyway. I don’t think I could be exposed as a liar, at least, and I think that would be more harmful. Besides, I’m pretty sure I could bullshit my way out of just about anything if push came to shove. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/29 "2004-10-19T05:29:58Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > I think the only option really left for any of us is to just start The Doper Party. I like it. We should start another thread and write a platform. The only question is whether Cecil would run. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/30 "2004-10-19T05:31:29Z")
**Sublight** , my friend, I’m unsure that the proposed Doper Party could arrive at anything resembling a consensus. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/31 "2004-10-19T05:31:47Z")
I’d have to think the Doper candidates would be hell in the debates. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/32 "2004-10-19T05:33:07Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > **Sublight** , my friend, I’m unsure that the proposed Doper Party could arrive at anything resembling a consensus. Probably ot but we could agree to fight ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/33 "2004-10-19T05:41:31Z")
**Diogenes** I think it’s been pointed out in previous threads that there’s little that links atheists besides their commn disbelief in a god. Well, there’s at least one thing we agree on. Everything else is subject to disagreement. Ciao, pal. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/34 "2004-10-19T07:11:32Z")
I’ll go out on a limb and say it might go just a weeeeee bit against me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/35 "2004-10-19T07:40:04Z")
> [@Ringo](#): > > **Sublight** , my friend, I’m unsure that the proposed Doper Party could arrive at anything resembling a consensus. Well of course, that would be our platform! Doper Party. We can’t even agree with each other, what makes you think we’ll kiss _your_ butt? ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/36 "2004-10-19T07:55:29Z")
I think I mentioned getting drunk and falling off my stripper heels, breaking my arm in the process. But maybe that would make me a shoo- in for the Republican National Convention after parties. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/37 "2004-10-19T08:40:01Z")
For my natural constituency, I’ve shown too much awareness of what porn actresses look like other celebs & also the Charisma Carpenter PB shots. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/38 "2004-10-19T16:50:17Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Yea? Then how did you get to be a _Governer_, huh? Answer me that! I didn’t become a Governer, I became a Governor, and it was a self-appointment. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/39 "2004-10-19T17:24:20Z")
My SDMB posts preclude my mentioning this board to friends and family, much less the general public. If an election opponent went negative, all they’d need would be my username, and I’m done. OTOH, even without the SDMB I’m too odd for election – Libertarian, Taoist, and long, hard-to-pronounce last name are enough to doom any campaign. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922/40 "2004-10-19T23:09:29Z")
I can only think of one that might get me into trouble. 1 out of 3340 ain’t bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-revealing-your-sdmb-posts-affect-your-election-to-public-office/269922.md?page=3)