# Persons 36 & over: How have your politics changed since you were first old enough to vote? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113 "2010-04-14T20:04:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/21 "2010-04-15T05:01:00Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The first time I ever voted, I voted for Ronald Reagan. I’m now as lefty as it gets, both socially and fiscally, but I wouldn’t say I went from right to left so much as apolitical (even though I voted) to left. > > The thing that has most consistently driven me away from voting conservative is the religious right. I would be a lot more willing to listen to fiscal conservative politician if they were at least libertarian on social issues. The first Republican Presidential candidate to tell the religious wingnuts to take a hike will get a _much_ better look from me. > > I thought maybe McCain would have been the one to do it, but then he chose Sarah Palin. That is quite similar to my point of view. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/22 "2010-04-15T05:49:57Z")
I really feel that the political parties have shifted to the right more than I have actually shifted left, but certainly I’m pretty solidly middle left now when I used to be slightly right. The GOP is not recognizable to me as the party I once registered for, back when I first registered to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/23 "2010-04-15T09:58:04Z")
Oh definately. I never realized the extent of age discrimination in the job workplace. It’s a real shame. I never believed it would happen, I would argue and argue, but since I turned 40 you wouldn’t believe the lengths people go not to be associated with someone over that age. The funny thing is the huge number of times I heard that when I was younger and was like “yeah right.” Untill I found it happened to me, time and time again. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/24 "2010-04-15T12:42:09Z")
I feel like I’ve had some nuance occur, but I selected Not changed one iota. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/25 "2010-04-15T14:17:36Z")
I said more liberal, but I could just as easily have said not an iota. I’ve always been a liberal Democrat. In law school, I became more socially liberal and more economically moderate, and in the last several years I’ve become even more socially liberal and notably more economically liberal, but hopefully retaining the better understanding of how holistic the whole project is that I developed in law school. But it’s all been within a relatively circumscribed area – 18, 27, and 36-year-old Cliffy would have filled out all or ballots the same way. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/26 "2010-04-15T14:38:37Z")
Interesting. As I thought of this, I realized that I’ve become more conservative both fiscally and socially (more on the former), but all this has done is move me to the center (which, incidentally, means both sides hate me and call me a left- or right-winger as if it were an insult). ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/27 "2010-04-15T14:49:07Z")
I think I’ve become less label-centric. When I first started voting I went straight along party lines. Now I tend to pick and choose issues that concern me. Of course, it generally means I feel neither party fully represents me, but that’s the price one pays. ---
**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 15, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/28 "2010-04-15T14:51:06Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > I feel like I’ve had some nuance occur, but I selected Not changed one iota. Yeah, me too. I was one of only three kids at my very conservative prep school to support Jimmy Carter in 1980 - not out of any illusions that he was a great President, but because I agreed with him on most issues and thought Reagan was going to start an arms race and maybe get us into war. Over the years I’ve voted for Dems far more often than not including, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, every Dem for President in the last 30 years. But I’ve supported quite a few local and state Republicans when I thought they were the best candidates running. Nowadays I’m pretty comfortable as a center-left voter. I support capital punishment for heinous offenses, but think gun control should be much stronger. I favor abortion rights but think we should do more to encourage adoption. I’m a budget hawk but would give NASA pretty much whatever it asked. I’m a tree-hugger, support public schools, back gay marriage, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/29 "2010-04-15T16:14:31Z")
**Amarinth’s** answer is pretty accurate for me. I was a liberal at 18 and I’m a liberal now in my late 30’s with a wife, kid and house. But I’m more pragmatic about picking battles and realizing what’s really going to matter from year to year. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/30 "2010-04-15T16:36:36Z")
I’m 41 and voted “I’m the same in both areas except for 1 major issue.” Came from a religious, conservative family, and was such. I was a young Republican/Church-going type conservative in my 20s, and am pretty much the same now. Except for the young part. The “one major issue” is that of immigration. Before, I was more of the “lock the border and send them all back/throw them all in jail.” But now? No. The “path towards citizenship” approach suggested by Bush and others seems fair to me. The one thing that really turns me off most of my fellow Republicans is their attitude toward immigration. (Full disclosure–my wife is not a U.S. citizen and dealing with the INS is the 9th circle of Hell. That agency, and U.S. immigration law, need to be disbanded, burned to the ground, and have the ashes scattered as to not risk any ressurection of that evil. And yes, my wife is a permanent legal resident and we STILL have had horrible issues with the INS.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/31 "2010-04-15T16:53:45Z")
My first presidential vote was for Nixon. Nuff said. I was a card carrying NY Conservative Party member and National Review subscriber. I happily went through life this way until 2000 when the Republicans nominated Bush the Dumber. I thought “WTF” and voted for a Democrat for president for the first time in my life. It turned out worse than I fear, and, as we used to say, I got radicalized. I woke up to what actually happened when the policies I kind of liked got put into place. Disaster! Now I wouldn’t piss on a Republican candidate if he was on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/32 "2010-04-16T01:38:40Z")
I have been interested in politics since I was fairly young. I remember watching the 1976 Republican National Convention, when it looked like Ford would pick Reagan for his running mate. My first vote in a Presidential election was for John Anderson. My second was Ronald Reagan. I didn’t vote for a major party candidate for President again until 2004, which was only caused by the illness I felt when considering W getting another term. It certainly was not because of any love of Kerry, who I felt was rather blah. In 2008, I realized that while I would never be a real lefty, I had definitely moved to the left on many of my views on society and the US. So for the first time in my life I not only donated to a candidate, I volunteered for his campaign. He has not been perfect, but I am glad I did it, and would not change it if I could. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/33 "2010-04-16T01:57:52Z")
Bleeding heart liberal from age 17 when I first picked up the local alternative rag. (And as reaction against my John Wayne loving neanderthal dad. Fight the establishment, man!) I might be more flexible in my old age, but Republicans are a pathetic pack of barking dogs and I don’t like dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/34 "2010-04-16T02:12:05Z")
As I said to a coworker when I bought my boss’s car with a Concord Coalition bumber sticker on, “Just because I believe the government should spend money doesn’t mean I believe the government should spend more money than it has.” ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/35 "2010-04-16T02:18:17Z")
1. I’ve always been a liberal. In the past 15 years, I’ve become _proud_ to be a liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/36 "2010-04-16T02:35:38Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > (Full disclosure–my wife is not a U.S. citizen and dealing with the INS is the 9th circle of Hell. That agency, and U.S. immigration law, need to be disbanded, burned to the ground, and have the ashes scattered as to not risk any ressurection of that evil. And yes, my wife is a permanent legal resident and we STILL have had horrible issues with the INS.) Well, they renamed it USCIS. Will that do? ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113/37 "2010-04-16T02:39:06Z")
See, that’s what happens when you don’t scatter the ashes. They regroup/ressurect under a new name, in an attempt to trap the unsuspecting into their pit of incompetence/ineptitude and outright evil. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-36-over-how-have-your-politics-changed-since-you-were-first-old-enough-to-vote/536113.md?page=1)