The Southern Male Democrat

As my friend stood in the doorway to my office, I could tell that he was bothered and had something to tell me. The look on his face was that of someone who had their world turned upside down.

“I just filled out one of those online candidate matching questionnaires,” he stammered, as the blood drained from his face. “It told me that according to the answers I gave, I should support Hillary Clinton for President. But…..I’m a Republican…what am I going to do?”

Outwardly, I had to be consoling and assure him that he wasn’t alone. Millions of people believe in Democratic principles and candidates. Most of us go on to achieve fulfilling lives even if our party has the tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory come election time. But inside, I was grinning like a chesire cat.

As this election season winds on, my friend is not alone in his discovery. Other friends have filled out similar questionnaires with similar results. I’ve had Republican friends pull me to one side at a social gatherings and quietly ask me about Barack Obama.

All of this self-discovery points to one of the reasons I started this blog; I believe that many Americans make political choices based on some manner of societal tradition, rather than an honest evaluation of the issues. Raleigh News & Observer columnist A.C. Snow wrote about that very phenomenon last Sunday. According to a recent Newsweek survey, 60 percent of Americans vote along party lines while paying little or no attention to issues or a candidate.

Now I know that these online questionnaires are subjective, because politics is subjective by its very nature. The kind of questions asked, and the manner in which they are asked can skew the outcome either way. So I don’t think that such online polls are some sort of magic indicator that will point us all to political truth.

For example, the candidate match questionnaire that I just filled out at the ABC News  website matched me with Senator Chris Dodd as a first choice, Representative Dennis Kucinich as a second and then Hillary came in third. (As I just typed that, it dawned on my how successful the branding of “Hillary” has become, I didn’t even think to type her title first. I think that’s both good and bad.) None of these choices reflect my true first choice, Senator Barack Obama.

Here’s the “but” – While all of this is admittedly subjective, it does show a correlation between issues and candidates.  It shows us that if we evaluate issues first and party or personality after that, we may wind up with much different political choices than we’re accustomed to. Unfortunately, our political system is built upon the opposite premise. Perception and party matter more than reality.

I am not so blind that I can’t see the other side of the coin here. As an involved and somewhat partisan Democrat, it is entirely possible and likely that my choice of party, leads me to certain issue positions. I am more likely to believe in government solution X, Y or Z merely because that is the norm of people I hang out with socially and professionally. While that is not much better than making political choices based on a perception of party or personality, in all truth, it probably is the lesser of two evils.

At the end of the day, I can take my positions and defend them in a strong, factual manner, regardless of whether my party led me there or not. Most white male southerners can talk your ear off for an hour saying what a b$%#h they think Hillary is, but can’t really back it up with legislative outcomes they may have opposed.

After you read this, google one of these questionnaires. Regardless of the result, let it motivate you to use issues as a primary barometer in selecting a candidate.

And don’t worry, if you need to secretly come over to my side, I won’t tell a soul.