We all know our political views, but what about your dumbass relatives?

What the hell is a 'jigaboo'?

And I'm sorry you have to be related to them.

I have a large, extended family. One of said family members said Obama was a terrorist. Obama = Osama.

Yeah, I'm not sure ya'll yanks ever heard tha' one.

My father calls himself a Republican, but he is in favor of gay marriage, marijuana legalization, and is considering voting for Obama in November (provided Obama is still around in November). He is also, generally speaking, an agnostic. He is not in favor of war while being pro-union and pro-social welfare. My sister and I have scratched our heads over this many times.

My mother generally refuses to talk politics, but she has a mad crush on Obama. She affectionately refers to him as "Baracko."

One of my uncles was in deep mourning for months when JFK was killed. Said uncle was 10 at the time.

I once got in a shouting match with another of my uncles who was arguing that Regan will go down in history as "our greatest President." I was so furious that it took me days to realize that he was just trying to get under my skin. In fact, the inclination to argue just to annoy one's opponent must be coded on a dominant gene in my father's family (a tendency I have repeatedly demonstrated here).

All four of my grandparents were/are staunch Democrats.

Generally speaking, I come from good people.

-My father believes the only thing government should do is deliver the mail and defend the country.

-My maternal grandfather is a staunch conservative who thinks Bill O'Reilly is too liberal.

-I have an Aunt and Uncle who are "dinner table" racists. They have no problem living by, working with, or being friendly to African-Americans but around the dinner table will rail against the Welfare Culture of blacks, defend the use of the word "nigger", and a whole assorted other nice little things. Basically I call them this because you'll never find them inviting an African-American over for dinner.

Once they repealed slavery, they could go pretty much everywhere.

My maternal grandfather instilled in me a big hatred for Reagan and the Reagan-esque from an early age. At the same time, he was a French immigrant who had some... outdated... opinions on race and ethnicity. If he were alive, he'd probably have a tough time picking between Clinton and Obama for all the wrong reasons. I suspect my grandmother (still kicking at 95) voted for Clinton, but I haven't asked.

My mom's a very moderate Democrat and voted for Obama.

My dad's socially and economically progressive, but typically under-researched and still hanging on to some very old-fashioned ideas about gender and race - he voted for Clinton, thinking she'd have an easier time winning over moderates and convinced that a lot of Americans just won't vote for a black man. I think he changed his mind about that after he voted.

No siblings, but I'm fairly close with some extended family in NJ. I suspect things are a little split there - I was kind of surprised when I heard that (at least) one of my only two first cousins voted for Bush in 2004.

My grandparents have no political leanings. I think they vote based on rolls in Yahtzee. My mother votes for whoever my dad votes for and my dad votes for whoever is not in power at the moment but definitely leans Democrat.

Since all of us here don't have the same political views,
some of us might agree with some of the dumbass relatives.


(I also have a closeted gay Republican uncle, by the way)

My Mom & Dad (68 and 69 years old) both plan on voting Obama in November, as do I and my wife. My son would if he was old enough. My sister-in-law and Mother-in-law don't vote, and my brother-in-law is a Ron Paul supporter. I think that he identifies as Libertarian simply because he wants to smoke pot legally.

My aunt doesn't vote, my grandmother is a Canadian citizen/naturalized American and votes Democrat in each election and my cousins are "Bill-O" type Republicans. That's it for my family.

My paternal Grandparents grew up in the Great Depression and changed their entire lives (especially my Grandfather) with the programs and progress the New Deal brought. Both are yellow dog Dems who would rather die than vote for the Elephants.

I'm pretty sure a clone of Hitler could run on a Dem ticket against a Republican candidate and they'd vote Hitler just out of spite. Usually that kind of partisan thinking really turns me off but my Grandmother bakes really great cornbread so she gets a pass.

My Mom's side of the family are pretty much Democrats down the line. They were poor French speakers (and if you were speaking French in Louisiana in the 30's, you were the lowest of the low as far as everyone else was concerned. My Great-grandfather didn't lean English until he was 13, and was regularly beaten as school, by his teachers, because of this.) who completely bought into everything that Huey Long promised. Obviously it never came to fruition, but it greatly shaded the political views of the family.

There's still a small conservative streak there because of the Catholic upbringing, but it only surfaces from time to time.

My Dad's side....Well, they're all Republicans. Mostly because my great great grandfather really hated Woodrow Wilson. Of course, his father was killed in a dispute over a stolen pig, so....there ya go.

My direct family is pretty left leaning. The environment is a huge deal to my dad. My mom cried when Bush was re-elected.

It's my girlfriend's family that's interesting. The first thing her mother ever said to me was "There are so many....(whisper)black people(/whisper) in this neighborhood". She also flipped out when she saw a fountain that she thought was a broken water main. "I bet the tax payers will have to pay for that", she exclaimed, "Well, who do you think should pay for it, mom?" my girlfriend asked. "The government." she answered.

My girlfriend's dad is a semi-recently outted gay man that seems to think being gay makes it ok to use the n-word all the damn time, and her aunt went off on some random tirade about a Muslim being elected to congress during a Christmas celebration. There's other stuff. I find it amusing, but it mortifys my girlfriend.

I'm not sure what my older brother is, but he tries to "initiate rational discourse" so both sides can "work things out in a calm and sane manner."

Naturally, I punched him in the face and started chanting 'USA! USA!' over and over again.

My maternal grandfather was a Douglas socialist. He served in the military as a chaplain with the West Hastings Regiment in WW2 while selling goods on the Dutch black market. There he met and married my Oma, a closeted Jew and social progressive who nonetheless had some weird thoughts on race (despite being also part Indonesian).

My paternal grandfather escaped pre-WW2 Austria because of the rise of the National Socialist party. He settled in central Saskatchewan via Minnesota (don't ask) where he met my then very conservative Hungarian gypsy grandmother. Her family escaped Hungary just after WW1 and the rise of the communists. She later became quite socially progressive and an activist for farmer's rights in Saskatchewan.

My father has run three times for the Green Party in a very conservative riding placing second by a hundred votes last election. My mother is a social activist who works for the rights of children, rights of GLBT people and aboriginal self government.

My brother is socially progressive but fiscally conservative (I suspect he and FrankCobretti would get along famously). He's a great person to talk to because he makes me question what I believe on a regular basis. He's also a head muckety muck with Special Olympics Maryland.

Needless to say I come from a long line of people who believe that we have social obligations to those less fortunate then ourselves. We may disagree on how to implement those obligations but that they are at the forefront of all political decisions we make.

Most of my family is registered Republican but I couldn't tell you how they vote. They're pretty old school and believe that who you vote for is your own buisness and no one should tell you otherwise. It's hard to distinguish if their choice wins because they think every politician is a crook and a liar and comes up with derogatory nicknames for them "Scmuck", "DipShit", etc...

My eldest brother actually talks politics, he's a Republican in Libertarian clothing. I have a bet with him that Obama will win the general election, he think's he doesn't stand a chance.

Everyone in my family pretty much thinks Obama is "full of shit", they hate Clinton and think she should be run out on rails but I haven't heard anything bad about McCain... so I'm thinking they'll vote for him, mostly because of his military service. (Most every man in my family has served in the military, grandparents in WWII, etc..)

Both my parents and my wife voted for Bush in '04. D:

It led to some awkward family dinners, particularly when i said "if you voted for Bush in the general election, you are a fucking retard".

My parents listened to Michael Savage like mad back in the day. If you don't know who he is...good for you. Imagine your crotchety old racist mongrol grandfather rambling on for two hours except said grandfather gets a call every fifteen minutes or so in which he angrily hangs up on them half way through.

My dad rambles on about immigrants taking the jobs, blacks getting welfare checks, gays shouldn't be flaunting that stuff in public, but all in a "I'm not racist, but..." tone.

My sister, who is one of those uber liberal people, currently lives in Italy. With a forty year old man. Who lives with his mother. Needless to say, my dad loves this.

I shudder to even attempt to tell him I'm voting for Obama for fear of what he'll think of that. I doubt he knows anything about his policies, he just takes one look at him and goes "Black man in the white house? Never!"

And don't even get me started about Reagen...I wrote a paper about how he ended the cold war back in house school...did I mention I was a good little brain washed conservative child?

That's almost like my "This war's not worth it" comment to my stepdad after the war in Iraq kicked off. He didn't talk to me for a week and expected me to apologize. Fuck him. I was 18.

My mom's an ex-hippie turned somewhat conservative, though I wonder how much of that is her direct environment(East Texas) and not really knowing any better. She seemed genuinely interested in my bits of activism after coming across pictures and video from an anti-war protest on my camera, and I can discuss things with her openly without her getting completely pissed off and being irrational.

My stepdad, however, is a proud, self-proclaimed redneck. I remember him getting really pissed off at me during one of my yearly visits(when my mom asked me how Syriana was) and storming out of the room yelling "NO TALKING ABOUT POLITICS OR RELIGION IN THIS HOUSEHOLD". It was pretty childish, but par for the course with him. Bizarrely enough, on my most recent visit he mentioned how he plans to vote for either Hillary or Obama, because he's "sick of Bush's bullshit. Plus, the motherfucker ain't even a real cowboy."

I had to violently restrain my right hand to keep from slapping my forehead.

My dad's a military guy through and through. Can't stand the Clintons for "gutting the military" and hated Kerry for the anti-war protests while my dad was serving in Vietnam. He loves McCain, but doesn't like his stand on immigration. And he thinks global warming is a crock. He has a grudging respect for Bush for "keeping us safe" after 9/11, but isn't a huge fan otherwise. Staunch Republican.

My mom is a little more moderate, still Republican. She just doesn't trust Hillary Clinton. Likes Obama, but worries about his lack of experience. She loved Mitt Romney, but will likely vote for McCain in November.

No idea. I know my old man was a Union Man (Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 488), and we took part in several sympathy boycotts, but their political preferences were never, ever discussed. In fact, I was raised believing who one votes for is a private matter.

I neither know nor care what my mother thinks, but she boycotted my gay cousin's wedding. She wasn't the only one, but she was the only one who isn't a practicing Catholic.

I expect my sister is apathetic. Her friends tend to berate me for driving a car because I don't believe their claims that the scientific community is involved in a vast conspiracy to . . . well, I'm not sure what they think the point is. But I am sure that there's no point in arguing with people who think "If you drive a car you can't believe current research" or whatever point it is they think they were making. You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into. The rest of my extended family runs the gamut from greedy conservative to diehard liberal to angry motherfucker to being too busy to worry about such things.

And one Bushie. He says 'we' were right to go into Iraq. I refuse to argue the point when partying at Christmas because that's not what partying at Christmas is for.

My father if he could vote (he lives on his Green Card in the US) would vote Republican, only for tax reasons. But he also makes enough money that he is allowed to vote that way. If you don't make more then 200,000 you can't vote based on taxes.

I just came back from the Democratic caucus this evening. I'm a delegate for my precinct at our convention, which is exciting - I've never done anything like this before. My neo-con friend (who refuses to vote for McCain because he's not "Republican enough") has expressed his disdain in my choices several times now. He keeps telling me "Obama's not black." I asked said friend if he has in fact seen pictures of Mr. Obama. This was not well received.

I know this is slightly off-topic from relatives, but seriously, what's with this "Obama's not really black" shit? Even if he wasn't, he's running for President of the United States, not the Black Soul Club at my fucking college. Seriously, what the Christ?

Back on topic, my family makes snide remarks about Democrats in general. Considering how hard Congress has been working at doing nothing these past few months, some of those remarks might be deserved. But I imagine my parents will probably give in and vote for Obama come election time. Mainly because the Republican lineup is... well, you guys have seen it.

I will be stealing, and or, quoting that in the very near future.

My family - well, my grandpa is financially a pretty sharp cookie. I've learned quite a bit from him (before I ventured off on my own financial yellow brick road), but as far as politics, I tend to shut up and hope that my head doesn't actually explode when my mom and grandma start talking politics, as I'm sure that would cast a pall over the entire visit if they noticed.

As for the in-laws, my bro-in-law is a pretty fun guy to sit down and talk about stuff with, as he seems to respect that I don't just spout out whatever opinion is rattling around in my head. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law were/are "Up North" law enforcement officers and tend to get a little wacky with the opinions sometimes (my sister-in-law, whom I love dearly, once uttered something about the "stupid Constitutions" not allowing unreasonable search and seizure. Yep, them silly founding fathers and their crazy idears about rights and privacy!) My father-in-law is cool; he doesn't pay much attention - he actually seems sorta proud about not having voted since Nixon stabbed his political conscience through the heart - but I'd pretty much describe him as libertarian in his views, which I can deal with, and always seems pretty open to whatever knowledge I be droppin' in his lap.

I guess my question is that since you clearly won't be voting for whomever the American National Socialist Party trots out, what the fuck does he care about Obama's blackness or lack thereof?

Any reason a Republican gives for not voting for their frontrunner is a good one. The best thing Republicans could do for their country is stay home on election day.

It isn't about what's true or false, it's about what Republicans can do to drag their opponents through the mud. Don't tell me this surprises you.

I hear this a lot. Investigating years worth of transgressions when the transgressors hide evidence, destroy evidence, or simply refuse to comply with the investigators has got to be a long process. Sometimes I wonder if people who berate this Congress remember how worthless the previous Congress was, or understand just how obstructionist the current congressional minority is. You can't play chess with people who run away (to the suspiciously convenient lectern on the front steps in one instance) every time you make a move.

Much like the last one, as far as I can tell: warmongering, sadistic fools. Last time, the fools won.

Okay, but you won't be stealing it from me. I'm pretty sure I read it somewhere myself.

Well, to be completely fair, the Clinton campaign is doing a damn good job of it themselves these days. They have earned the not-particularly-coveted Chavez "fuck you, I wouldn't vote for your vile ass if you were running against Hitler and Genghis Khan"

Perhaps he is one of those nearly extinct Republicans - the "fiscally responsible conservative"; the last one in captivity passed away some time back, but they are still sighted in the wild from time to time.

Best as I know, my old man, after raising me to be super liberal and accepting of everyone, married a woman from Ohio and then, in 2004, voted to outlaw gay marriage. Which I didn't understand at all at the time.

Best as I know, he voted for Hillary.

My parents' generation in the family is mostly conservative. Being really into Christianity will do that. It certainly defines the circles they travel in. They probably didn't vote in the primaries, and if they vote at all, its Republican. My generation is way liberal with a few moderates. None of them voted in the primaries but they usually vote Democratic straight up. Hillary's too bleh for most of them. So they I think preferred Obama and Edwards.

This is most definitely true. I just remember everyone getting so excited about the Democrats taking Congress, singing Sam Cooke and talking about things were "really gonna change now." That panned out well.

There's only one explanation: the Ohio woman was actually from Surata IV.

I've noticed. It's disappointing and surprising. I expect as much from the Republican campaign, but I thought Sen. Clinton was a grownup.

Why not? Clinton's platform isn't bad. Obama's is better in my extreme radical far leftist opinion, but I'd vote for either one of them. I wouldn't vote for a Republican dogcatcher.

My mother is an emotional voter. My father is a socialist. My grandfather is a monarchist. My grandmother is probably a swing voter.

Psh, no parliamentarians?

My family... well, my younger brother and sister voted for Kerry, as did I, and I'm fairly sure they voted for Obama in the primary. We were raised to be pretty progressive.

My grandfather is a lovable old cuss who hated the military cutbacks, and who probably hasn't voted Democrat in his lifetime.

Other than that, the rest of my family is a blank slate. Except for my parents.

Dad doesn't think Bush is a bad guy. Mom cried when Reagan died. They voted for Bush twice.

Did I mention they're registered Democrats?

My wife's Grandfather (RIP) was a dyed in the wool Republican, but one of the smartest men that I've had the fortune to know. He was part of the human shield during the first Iraq war (he was a Chemical Engineer working there when everything went down), he was also completely against the current war and was ashamed of what passes for a conservative these days.

My Uncle is a union Democrat, who really doesn't understand politics and blindly follows what union officials tell him to. He also believes that Obama is a Muslim although I've tried to educate him time and time again of this fallacy.

I have another family member (cousin) that I overheard telling somebody: "You know how the blacks are now, imagine what they'll be like if Obama is in office". I have no idea what the fuck that means but it disgusts me.

This political season really seems to be bringing out the worst in people. /shock.

That's my dad on every level. Bizarre.

Is your mom worried that the gov'ment wants to take her pot away?

My parents do everything talk radio tells them to do. They are rational people, but it's eclipsed by the sheer hate and exclusionary view of politics. I think this got to them- they now live alone in a gated community in Florida with no neighbors.

I've been thinking about this question for a few days, and I've figured out why it bugs me...

...if we go on the theory that "integrity is what you do when nobody else is watching" I find the idea that someone will absolutely roll search-and-destroy tactics on someone from THEIR OWN PARTY while the whole nation is watching troubling.*

It gives the appearance of a raw, naked lust for power - anyone who is the other person in the race for a party nom obviously draw some water and would be a valuable ally, and one would think that two people from the same political party can't be THAT far apart. In other words, while it may not be six of one, half-dozen of the other, I would (probably naively) think that since the two are nominally on the "same side" of issues, they'd keep it above the belt, if only not to drive wedges into the Dem faithful.

Anyway, if you're willing to throw people ON your side under the bus in crunch time, what the hell is that person willing to do to perceived enemies/neutral parties? If that is how they play the game in front of the whole world, what sort of shit will that administration try to pull behind the scenes?

To me, it is troubling, and I'd rather go 3rd party than throw a vote the way of someone who runs their campaigns that way.


* - doing it to someone from the OTHER party would be low-rent, but understandable in my world.

Mad invisible rep for Mr. Chavez. Excellent points. Come over to the Presidential Election thread. We've been trying to explore what a dispassionate, sexism-free analysis of Senator Clinton's campaign would look like (with a generous pinch of wanting to beat my head against the wall thrown in for good measure). Thanks for providing a concrete example.