Voting the Party-Line.

There are two anecdotes that come from my Grandparents generation.

One: People who never drank alcohol in their life, did so during Prohibition.

Two: No matter how much someone loved FDR, they always voted against him because they were a registered Republican.

I always thought the last one was interesting. Why would you blindly vote for a party? I always thought it was odd that people would walk into a voting booth and vote for a straight ticket on everything; President, Congressman, Dog catcher. How could someone be that partisan?

 I guess there wasn't enough people in America who felt that way to hurt FDR's chances.

But looking at myself, that’s me. Every time that I have voted, it was a straight Democratic Ticket. I only diverted and chose Republicans (in minor positions) just to make myself not feel like a hypocrite.

I am a partisan.

But I don’t want to be a partisan.

I see a partisan as a blind idiot who makes up their mind long before the election. I have already decided who to vote for for President.

I see a partisan as someone who can’t stand a differing opinion. I go crazy looking at right-wing comments and political cartoons. I turn into a frothing Democrat at the sight of seeing “stupid libtards!” at the bottom of a news story on CNN.

I’m afraid that I can’t be open-minded and also have a set of beliefs. I’m afraid that I will always blindly follow a party or ideology, despite what I said about my evolving positions. I’m afraid I’ll let Democrats slide but I’ll scrutinize every little thing a Republican does. “Democrat said something stupid? Must be stressed. Republican said something stupid? Must be an idiot.”. Will I only hear the voices that I want to hear and block out any that I disagree with?

But what am I supposed to do? I’m obviously going to vote for someone I agree with. Is it my fault that Democrats embody and support a great majority of my beliefs? Yes, I know Democrats aren’t perfect. They can be just as corrupt and stupid and incompetent as any Republican. Republicans have big business, Democrats have big labor. I obviously have my problems with Liberals. And I actually kind of like my Republican Congressman. Sure, I disagree with a lot of his positions, but he never sounded like a Right-wing fanatic. He isn’t like Michelle Bachmann and sounds really friendly every time he is on NPR.

The main difference with me from the FDR loving Republicans not voting for FDR is that I vote according to me beliefs. If I like someone, I’ll vote for them regardless of party.

What did Maine and Vermont have against FDR?

I’m not registered to a party, but I vote Democratic. But if I see a Republican I like and I think they are stronger, I’ll have no problem voting for them. But when will that happen?

I hide behind “moderate” and “independent”, too fearful that if I say “Liberal” or “Democrat”, I’ll lose some of my own free will and I’ll never be able to think for myself again.

Is it really wrong for me to vote a straight ticket if I agree with them? Am I still making a conscionable decision?