Your voting record

My voting record will mean hardly anything to Americans, but it's a good mental exercise:

1973 - Federal Representatives - voted for myself

1976 - President, Senators, Federal Representatives- did not vote

1979 - Federal Representatives - PCM (Communist Party of Mexico)

1982 - President, Senators, Federal Representatives - PSUM (Socialist Unified Party of Mexico), PCM + socialists

1985- Federal Representatives - PSUM (Socialist Unified Party of Mexico

1988 - President, Federal Representatives, Senators - PPS (Popular Socialist Party);
Local Representatives - PMS (Mexican Socialist Party), PSUM + moderate socialists.

1991 - Senator - blank vote; Federal and Local Representatives - PVEM (Green Ecological Party of Mexico)

1994 - President, Local Representatives - PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) - the incumbent, traditional big party of Mexican politics;
Senate - PT (Workers Party), left;
Federal Representative- PARM (Party of the Authentic Mexican Revolution) - center-.

1997 - Senate, Local Representives - PRD (party of the Democratic Revolution - populist left);
Federal Representatives, Mayor - PAN (National Action Party), conservative

2000 - President- Alliance for Change (PAN-PVEM) Conservatice- Green;
Senate, Federal Representative, Governor, Local mayor, Local Representative- DS (Social Democracy)

2003- Local Mayor, Local Representative- Mexico Posible (Social Democrats); Federal Representative - PAN (conservative)

1960 too young was for JFK
1964 Still too young. LBJ
1968 First year to vote, was hoping for RFK but watched him die.
Voted for Humphrey and watched the country die.
1972 Voted without hope for McGovern
1976 James Carter
1980 James Carter
1984 Walter Mondale
1988 Dukakis
1991 William Jefferson Clinton
1994 William Jefferson Clinton
2001 Gore

Is there a pattern here? J

fbaezer,

It's true that your list means less to me than it should but when I asked the question I was hoping you'd answer as well.

Out of curiosity who would you prefer FHC or Lula?

Cardoso, on principle.

What principle? For me Cardoso as well but is that intellectual principle (i.e. preferring a more literate leader)?

I grew up in a yellow-dog Democrat part of the country (Southeast Texas) and my parents were both union members and staunch Dems from way back. 1976 was the first year I was age-eligible to vote.

I voted for Gerald Ford. Sidebar: As a sophomore in high school I was picked to be a waiter at a reception for Reagan (quite a coup for a 16-year-old). I was awestruck for 45 minutes by his stemwinder. So was the rest of the room of 300. Not a cough, not a spoon clinking against a plate. The audience applauded and laughed at the right times, but otherwise was held rapt by the old actor, entering his prime as a pol. He had challenged Ford, the incumbent President, for the Republican nomination earlier in the election cycle -- '74 or '75, I guess, judging from the rest of the timeline -- which was a brash thing to do, yet not entirely inappropriate considering that Ford was of course an appointed President and not an elected one.

It obviously paid off well for him, and he earned my vote in '80 and '84. Those were my Young Republican years.

I held my nose and voted for Bush the Elder in '88 but really considered this the first time I was faced with the choice of Dumb or Dumber.

And the turn to the left began.

Clinton was the first Democrat I voted for (for the White House).

I used to vote a one-party ticket for the Republicans down the ballot, but in the late eighties and early nineties started splitting my ticket.

Ever since the impeachment I'm a straight-ticket Dem.

(edit: In 2000 I was a Nader-Trader. A fellow in Oregon voted for Gore there and I voted for Nader here. That was a most interesting and gratifying online experience.)

Mom and Dad are mostly Republicans now (though Mom won't vote for Dubya again).

Nah!
When you have a choice between populism and a responsible government who cares about social issues, it should be a no-brainer.

Ah, FHC is probably my favorite politician.

PDiddie, that was a very interesting read. I'd never have guessed that you could countenance a Republican vote.

What does "yellow-dog Democrat part of the country" mean? I sense that I get it but I bet I don't.

A yellow-dog Democrat would sooner vote for Old Yeller than he would a Republican.

I've been tracking down the origin of the phrase for a long time; my best Googled source says that it dates from the 1928 presidential campaign, when U.S. Sen. Tom Heflin of Alabama and other Southern Democrats supported Republican Herbert Hoover because Democratic nominee Al Smith was a Roman Catholic. Those who stuck with the ticket swore that they'd "vote for a yellow dog" before casting a ballot for a Republican.

The term got a lot of use in Texas in 1952, when Gov. Allan Shivers, Atty. Gen. Price Daniel and others formed a "Democrats for Eisenhower" that helped carry the state for Ike rather than Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson.

Since then, it's become synonymous with fervent party loyalty.

I had the "Democratic enclave" notion but wouldn't have guessed at the rest.

I've always made protest votes simply out of disgust with both major parties. I don't follow any particular philosophy in choosing my longshot candidate. I just use the vote to show my dissatisfaction with the big boys.

My Presidential Votes:


1988 - Ron Paul (Libetarian)

1992 - Andre Marrou (Libertarian)

1996 - John Hagelin (Natural Law)

2000 - Ralph Nader (Green)

Consider myself independant, but with one notable exception, I vote Democrat.

The notable exception was the Govorner's race here in Mass. The Democratic candidate was at best, ineffectual, and at worse, a sleaze. an independant canditate came out as a one-topic constituancy: rights for divorced fathers. Got my vote sure as your born.

PDiddie useta be a Republican! Who knew!

My first presidential vote was for Clinton. Next was for Clinton. Next was for Gore.

In local elections, I have sometimes voted for non-Democrats because the specific person has impressed me, but generally, straight-ticket Democrat.

Non-presidents I'm proud of helping vote into office include Tammy Baldwin and Russ Feingold, both Dems. (Though I would happy to change the "non-President" part of that for Russ.)

(fbaezer, did you win in '73?)

1988: Bush I
1992: Clinton
1996: Clinton
2000: Nader
2004: anyone who isn't Bush.

Voted Democrat in every situation except for 2.
Voted for Rick Lassio against Hilary Clinton. No out-of-towner was going to get my vote.
Voted for Andrew Cuomo as an Independent. He campaigned as a Democrat until he dropped out of the race though.

I never voted in the US because I couldn't decide who was the best of the 2 evils and I haven't had the chance to vote for Prime Minister in Canada yet. I did vote for the first time last year for the Premier.

Hmmmm - I have voted so often - we don't stick to four years here.

We vote for parties - not Prime Minister.

72 - Labor (this was quite a reformist party then - with the odd bit of socialist rhetoric - it is now a centralist party - except it would be seen as left in the USA. It had been out of power for 23 years in 1972 - and I was raised to think it a dangerous and radical force. By 1972, when I was 18, I had overcome this fervent conditioning - and it felt way good to vote in one of the cleverest men ever to hit the Oz parliament. Mind you, he was way arrogant, and fell as soon. Sigh)

74 - Labor

75 Labor (This was the election after the right ousted the elected government in a constitutional coup which is still bitterly debated even now, and caused the constitutional powers of the Governor general to be reined in. Extraordinary thing. In lots of countries it would have meant fighting in the streets - in stolid Oz, the electorate voted for the conservatives, even though, en masse, they didn't like what they did. Oh well.)

I have generally voted Labor since - although in several elections - for instance in a couple where the party has agreed to preference trade-offs with One Nation (a racist, redneck small party, which gained un-earned power through holding part of the balance of power) I have voted Green (the greens here are a pretty solid, sensible and tough group) - this is but a gesture, though, since our preferential system means the vote reverts to Labor if I wish it to.

I did not vote once, because I was so disgusted with labor policies - and paid me $10 fine.

I also voted communist once - again as a protest - and because the local cndidate, if daffy, was a good, solid person who would have been a great MP.

I've always voted Labour in the house of representatives and democrats in the senate, in both federal and state elections.
The exceptions were the last state poll, where I chose an independent as first preference in the house, and 1988 (or thereabouts) state poll, where I voted liberal first in the house of representatives. By 3 weeks after that election the newly elected government was so arrogant and had broken so many promises that I made a promise to myself. I would NEVER EVER be fooled into voting for a right wing party again. They only had 2 policies, raise taxes, and cut services- and they interpreted this as good management skills. Got me beat. Any trained monkey could do that, which is generally the intelligence of the right wing.