Liberal

The first political conversation I can remember having was around the age of 8. It was 1991 and the political campaigns of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were on everyone’s mind. My family sat in the living room watching local news.

Now, before I go on, I need to preface what happens next. I was raised in a family of Democrats, only Democrats. Not everyone was highly educated, but they all were intelligent, articulate, and opinionated. From a young age, I showed promise academically and intellectually. I suppose this is why my opinions were allowed in adult conversations. Most of the time, I knew what I was talking about.

As we watched the news, I began to comment on how there was no way Governor Clinton was going to loose. Of course, there was an immediate rebuttal. “Really, why?” “Well”, I began, “I can’t see myself voting for a president who lied to everyone about taxes and then picked a Vice President who can’t spell the word potatoes. I can spell potatoes. He’s an idiot.” I left that modifier dangling, but you understood my 8 year old opinion. And thus politics entered my life and has never left it.

I am liberal. Okay, I’m ultra-liberal. I’m Pro-Choice, anti Iraq War, pro universal healthcare, anti death penalty, okay with high taxes and government aid in my everyday life, liberal. Let’s see what passionate and frustrated rants I will have in the next six weeks before the election and beyond.