aftermath

Mike hadn't changed his voter registration in time, so we had to go to two different polling places to vote yesterday, but that still didn't take as long as I thought it would. One of the volunteers at his polling place commented that Mike and I must not have been married long since we were still holding hands and then proceeded to tell us the joke that went along with that comment. It was corny, but fun at the same time; it's pretty cool that people see us together and assume we're married. Guess that says something for our relationship, huh?

In other news, I'm happy that we went and voted. I'm happy that I knew enough about the candidates to have a clear idea of who I wanted to vote for. I'm happy that I have a boyfriend that is interested in politics, and acts on that interest. I wouldn't have been aware about 3/4 of the issues if it hadn't been for him mentioning and discussing them with me. Because of him, I'm more interested in politics than I ever have been, and actually have a drive to do something about what I don't like. I'm not exactly sure how I'll go about trying to have an impact, but I do know what I would like to see changed, and that's more than I knew or cared about four years ago. I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. I don't have any party affiliations whatsoever, and I won't ever vote straight party. I plan to look at the candidates for each position and determine my opinion on them based on their platforms, voting history (if they have one), and other relevant information. What party supports which candidate will never, ever be a factor in my decision.

I'm conservative in some of my opinions but liberal in others, and I really hate it when people make a decision about my affiliation based on one or two issues. I don't have a problem with same-sex marriages/civil unions, and I don't think all abortions should be illegal, yet I don't support either late-term or partial-birth abortions. I think that the "No child left behind" bit was a good idea, but I think it could and should have been implemented more effectively. While I really don't like gun control laws, I understand the need for some regulations there. The bottom line to all of this is, I make up my own mind on issues instead of following whatever opinion "my party" supports, and I'm pretty proud of that.