# Ladies, can a Republican float your boat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2001, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154 "2001-08-26T03:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gorewonfla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@gorewonfla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorewonfla)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/1 "2001-08-26T03:24:54Z")
In a poll done by Widgery & Assoc 70% of women said they had never had an emotionally satisfying relationship with a Republican. I’m a Democrat (well duh, look at my handle) and I know this can’t be true. I’ve met many Republicans over the years who had great relationships with their wives, albeit most of these were from the moderate wing of the party. So have Doper ladies had emotionally satisfying relationships with Republicans? (Note: this poll is open to women only. I don’t want a Republican coming to me and saying “My wife and I have one.” You don’t know if she emotionally satisfies you) PS I know a lot was made of a previous poll I cited by Widgery & Assoc. Though I’m not sure if they have a website, they were on the TV show “TV Nation” Look at the book “Adventures in a TV Nation” for a full list of all these polls. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/2 "2001-08-26T04:05:42Z")
OK, I’ll bite. Love the nick, BTW. I’m a woman (duh) who is a fairly liberal Democrat. I’ve consistently voted Democrat since I turned 18 and was old enough to vote. My first marriage was to a rabid Republican, and it drove me crazy. We’d argue the silliest stuff just to argue. My mother has said that if I marry a Republican again, she’ll cut off my inheritance. Considering my previous experience, I don’t need that as incentive. Robin ---
**Author:** ![gorewonfla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@gorewonfla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorewonfla)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/3 "2001-08-26T04:07:01Z")
Oops, I meant you don’t know if you emotionally satisfy her. Mea Culpa. ---
**Author:** ![straykat23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@straykat23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straykat23)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/4 "2001-08-26T04:15:23Z")
Well, let me get out the little black book… With so many men pretending to be Libertarians, I’ll use ‘liberal’ or ‘conservative’ rather than Republican or Democrat. In my experience, hot, sweaty sex with lots of rolling around and tongue action was what kept me coming back for liberal men. Sloppy kisses, verbal communication, sheer joy and abandonment - great sex! The only men who jumped up and immediately took a shower after sex were the conservatives (liberal men seem to revel in body juices). Don’t want to roll around all day Sunday? You’re conservative. When I was younger, conservative men provided Real Dates, with wine-ing and dining, soulful but never sloppy kisses. Now that I’m older they do the dinner scene once, then want to go immediately to the conveniences that their divorced stay-at-home wives provided. Liberal men just like to hang out and make me part of their daily scene. I’ve loved both types, but for the sheer joy of sex, liberals can’t be beat. As far as emotional relationships go, the gap narrows. Both types can have passions for whatever the idea, art or cause, but because I am liberal, the best connections have always been made with liberal men. We don’t seek our opposites, but those that complement us. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/5 "2001-08-26T04:48:13Z")
I know for a fact that the man who built my canoe was a staunch Republican, so there you go. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/6 "2001-08-26T05:28:47Z")
**Ask Maria** ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/7 "2001-08-26T05:30:14Z")
Well, I haven’t had an emotionally satisfying relationship with a Republician yet, but I’m willing to give them another shot. Based on my experience to date, **straykat23** also has a point about the sex. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/8 "2001-08-26T06:21:19Z")
_(scribble scribble scribble… clank! CRASH!)_ Oh, sorry. I was just going to borrow this copy of Greenpeace’s Book of Coral Reefs for some light reading before I go to bed… ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/9 "2001-08-26T20:47:12Z")
…And the ladies run screaming. Yep, still got the ol’ magic touch. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/10 "2001-08-26T21:41:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > \*\ ***Ask Maria** \*\* I did. She said that her relationship with Republicans is like all the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word. And when you say it loud there’s music playing. Say it soft and it’s almost like praying. It’s the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard. Ah, Maria. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/11 "2001-08-26T22:12:55Z")
As the Flirtations sang: _Mr. Sandman, I need a man. No one psychotic or Republican…_ jayjay (_…give him two legs, like Greg Louganis/but make him public about his gayness…_) ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/12 "2001-08-26T22:58:59Z")
Yes, I’ve had an emotionally satisfying relationship with two Republicans, although neither was a rabid, Jesse Helms-type Republican. As for sexual activity…While they weren’t maniacal in the bedroom, they were, in fact, enthusiastic. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![spathiphyllum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@spathiphyllum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spathiphyllum)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/13 "2001-08-27T01:34:36Z")
In light of some of [their other “poll results”](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/celebrities/michael-moore-faq/part2/) (_12.5% of Americans that voted for Clinton believe that they will someday be told “just what Victoria’s Secret is.” 98% of Bush voters believe they will never know._) somehow, this sounds more like one of [the “10 true facts”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=68826). 🙂 Nonetheless, for the record: I am a woman who has indeed had “emotionally satisfying” relationships with Republicans. My SO and my best friend are both fairly conservative guys and they’re very caring and sensitive men. They have intense opinions and I don’t think of them as moderates, but they are definitely not “Jesse Helms Part 2” either. I don’t like extremists from any part of the political spectrum. I have no doubt that most people, liberal and conservative, are pretty good folks in general. Even if they’re very wrong about some issue, that doesn’t mean they have a personality defect that makes them incapable of love. 🙂 I don’t find it surprising that a strongly opinionated liberal and equally opinionated conservative would have a bad marriage, just as I would not be very surprised if a devout Hindu had trouble in a marriage to a devout fundamentalist Christian. I don’t think it’s a reflection on the people involved. We all have a tendency to prefer being around those who validate our beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/14 "2001-08-27T02:40:58Z")
[Monty Python Colonel] I’d just like to object in the strongest possible terms to this entire discussion. [/Monty Python Colonel] **gorewonfla** , you should [read this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=83871). ---
**Author:** ![gorewonfla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@gorewonfla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorewonfla)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/15 "2001-08-27T02:49:14Z")
Hey, it was a legitimate poll Mr. Ellis. Why couldn’t I bring up the subject. Besides, I’d think the last thing YOU’d want to do was bump this up. I had thought the thread was dead until I saw the anti-me rant in the Pit. So thank you, Mr. Ellis, for bringing this to my attention. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/16 "2001-08-27T03:18:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gorewonfla \* > \*\*In a poll done by Widgery & Assoc 70% of women said they had never had an emotionally satisfying relationship with a Republican. \*\* Ummm… am I the only person who thinks this number is LOW? This means that 30% of women have had emotionally satisfying relationships with Republicans. Now consider: 1. Most men are not registered Republicans. A great many people are either Democrats or are neither. 2. Most women would probably not report having had more than one or two “emotionally satisfying” relationships at all. How many really GOOD relationships have most people had? 3. “What party are you registered with” is not something that comes up a lot. Who’s going to think of their college sweetheart as “a Republican,” even if he was? Who the hell cares? When you think about it, 30-70 sounds like a split you’d get from sheer random chance. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/17 "2001-08-27T03:24:24Z")
The thread reminds me of the lines in “All’s Fair”, by James Carville and Mary Matalin, discussing the 1992 presidential race. Carville is discussing how Meet the Press producer Colette Rhoney, who worked for him in a Texas House race, was trying to hook the two up. > [@](#): > > James: Colette was my assistant on the Doggett race down in Texas. She knew I liked to meet women. She gave me the lowdown. Said there was this Republican, Mary, that “you’d be suprised. She is a lot better-looking than you’d think.” > > Mary: What does that mean? “For a Republican?” > > James: I don’t know. I guess it seems like political women are not as good-looking as in other professions. > > Mary: Well, I can understand that, knowing your political women. > > James: I wasn’t just going to take Colette’s word for it. I wasn’t going to go out with some zealot, so I asked around. Who is this Mary? People knew her. Everybody I talked to went to pains to say that she’s not an uptight Republican…basically that she was not a wing nut. > > Mary: So, the ultimate complement a Democrat can pay is the sbsence of wing nuttiness? > > James: It would be important information to have. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/18 "2001-08-27T06:36:45Z")
Since I’ve never dated a Republican, I certainly have never had a satisfying relationship with one. How in heaven’s name do people from opposite sides of the political spectrum enter into serious relationships? I don’t get it…it’s that Carville/Matalin thing and it blows my mind. stoid ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/19 "2001-08-27T06:55:49Z")
Most of the men I date are republicans. Oh, you mean the _American_ kind… Well, no. I’ve never gone out with someone whose politics were right-of-centre and I have to say it would be a major, major turnoff, so I doubt I ever will. ---
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154/20 "2001-08-27T16:29:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gorewonfla \* > **I don’t want a Republican coming to me and saying “My wife and I have one.” …you don’t know if you emotionally satisfy her.** The [Hell](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1009989#post1009989). [I](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1022583#post1022583). [Don’t.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=991559#post991559) > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by straykat23 \* > **Don’t want to roll around all day Sunday? You’re conservative.** That’ll be news to Mrs. Tygr. I’m sure she’ll be curious about who those hours-long Sunday AM sessions have been with. Look, I’m about to get annoyed here. First there’s that _brilliant_ thread explaining how we aren’t as intelligent as the more “enlightened” and “progressive” party. Now we gotta sit with the accusation that we are lousy lovers?!? My social and political beliefs have jack-nothing to do with my capability to emotionally connect with another person. I’ve molded those beliefs after years of careful intellectual consideration. And I’m STILL forming them. But I don’t discuss them with my wife; she’s a registered Democrat, and not as interested in political news as I am. But we have a relationship that everyone who knows us is envious of. We almost instinctively know what the other one needs at any given moment and stop at nothing to fulfill those needs. Our intimate life is fantastic - if we could, we’d stay in bed cuddling all day every day. Actually, we HAVE done that before, at least until Monday rolled around. For crying out loud, I’m a professional artist/designer. Since we’re obviously here to promulgate stereotypes, doesn’t that mean I should be a long-haired, dope-smoking, vegetarian, tree-hugging liberal? Well, I ain’t. Okay, I do like wearing tie-dye tee shirts, but that’s as far as it goes. My brain and my heart are two separate entities, and I don’t allow either one to rule the other. That’s why I’m a conservative. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-can-a-republican-float-your-boat/78154.md?page=2)