I grew up an Army brat; that is, I grew up in a very conservative environment amidst a dozen Army bases scattered across a dozen small southern towns.

This shaped my politics for many years. For over two decades I was a registered Republican who frequently voted a straight party line. At age 20 if you had asked me if I would ever vote for a political candidate who was not a R, I would have thought you were joking.

As I grow older into my early forties I find myself growing more and more dis satisfied with conservative politics; and becoming far more liberal. For me this has been crystalized by the current Congress and Administration.

A recent study suggests that (In the US) those who are 'liberal' for the first 30 years of their lives, tend to become staunchly conservative later in their retirement. The same is true of those who are early conservatives, statistically their politics seem to become far more liberal later in life.

Does anyone else find that this type of thing has happened to them?

R

Rob, In Canada Conservative and Liberal have traditionally meant very different things when compared to the US.
I grew up in a family that traditionally voted for the old Progressive Conservative party. Indeed a few family members had been elected to Parliament or a provincial legislature for the PC Party. I myself voted for them, served on various party executives, organized campaigns for them, raised money for them and donated to elections campaigns. I still believe in a socially liberal but fiscally conservative government.
Unfortunately the PC Party imploded in 1993 and over time was replaced by a party of Western Conservatives who take their lead from the GOP and the American Family Assoc. Thats when I ceased to vote for or support the Conservative Party at least at the federal level. I have voted Liberal in the last 2 federal elections, something which I never would have thought possible. The Federal Liberals supported socially liberal policies (gay rights, abortion rights , social safety net, national health care) and at the same time reduced the federal deficit.
So yes, as I aged (now 38) I have switched parties but also the party that I grew up to support changed directions and I couldn't follow them.

Nooooooooo... you mean to tell me I'm destined to become a liberal????? eek!

I do like Bill Maher. Does that mean I'm half way there?

Your ACLU card is in the mail

Yep, because he's a libertarian, and like many who truly espouse that philosophy, he's totally disgusted with George W. Bush and the nanny-state Christianist, neocon unilaterial interventionists. Next stop, Iran!

Yes, I voted for Reagan twice. It was a little different for me. I was raised in a very strict Fundamentalist Baptist Church where you were told to vote Republican or you would go to hell. My parents always voted Republican because the church told them what to do. My Mom, bless her heart probably doesn't even know what she really "thinks" about politics. She just votes for what my father tells her to vote for. My younger sister is the same way. She is still caught up in her strict church and her Republican husband tells her who to vote for. She has even asked me to stop emailing anything political to them. They love me but do not want to read anything I email that concerns politics.

I found "Democrats" when I first met my partner/husband. He showed me a whole new world full of people that I never knew existed except for in the negative world of the Republican Holy Roller Church. I started to read and gather information on my own without the white-washing of the church and found out the evil Democrats were not so evil after all and what they teach and want for this country is a lot more of what I want for this country so I converted from Republican to Democrat just in time for the first Clinton election.

We have a friend that belongs to the Log Cabin Republicans and I don't understand this group and may never understand this group. The past two elections have really tested our friendship because we know he has voted for Bush both times. I have even said to him in a fit of anger. For god sakes, you suck dicks John and you still voted for Bush!?? We cannot discuss politics with him and keep a straight face. It is like he has drank the "kool-aid" and cannot hear us or see us. I believe with this current administration we all will see just how far people will go and why some choose to drink the "kool-aid" and others are left to pick up the pieces after the cups are emptied.

I once made the mistake of calling my mother an "old style liberal" (hint for those like myself without the tact the good Lord gave a head of cabbage, never call your mother an "old" anything). I now refer to her as a Kennedy Democrat, as in John F.

I grew up in a politically progressive house. It's an outside possibility that my father voted for Nixon. He's certainly never admitted it in front of my mother (that would have been before they were married anyway).

I am 33 years old. I am as staunchly, if not moreso, progressive now than I was at 18 or 20 when I voted for Bill Clinton in my first presidential election.

I have had shifts in my philosophy, but I would consider them movements toward sophistication and understanding rather than shifts toward the left or right. I can articulate why I believe what I've always believed better today than at any time before in my life. I hope to be able to articulate them better tomorrow. Sometimes this understanding has led to a change in what I think policy should be, but that is generally because I have a better understanding of what paths are the best to the goals I have always held dear.

At the risk of sounding very cynical,I still believe that a politician's personal agenda,regardless of what party they belong to,
far outweighs the importance of the people they are supposed to serve.Unfortunately,that theory has been proven over and over again!

If I ever run for office, I will disprove that theory.

OK - Sidetrack - you two begged the Q...

Poli Sci 101: Who do you want? Who would you prefer:

A politician who votes his own ideals and personal conscience every time on every issue regardless of what society tells him. One who expects to have the electorate respect him, and re elect him based on his personal integrity.

or

A politician who panders to every political poll, who will not take a position on a subject unless there is a clear majority who support the agenda. In effect following the majority, doing absolutely nothing more than following the popular opinion. One who expects to have the electorate re elect him because he always voted for the popular majority opinion regardless of minority opinions.

R

I hope you will Allen!