Voting Dem for the 1st Time

With the Midterms approaching, politics are everywhere. Recently I was at a Nats game and talking with an 80+ year-old stranger. He confessed to me that he had voted Republican his entire life, but this year for the first time ever, he was voting Democratic.

It’s true. Cath and I went to the last Nats baseball game of the season with a group of friends. It was a rainy day and Cathy moved to a seat under an overhang to stay dry. She started talking with the man next to her, John, and discovered he was from Loudoun County, near where we live. Their talk, which started about horses, eventually migrated to politics and she mentioned I am Chair of the Fauquier Dems.

Later, John came over to me and said he wanted to “shake the hand of the Chair of the Fauquier County Democratic Committee.” We chatted a bit and he told me he had served in the White House under both the Reagan and first Bush administrations. He asked if I knew Michael Webert.  For those of you outside Fauquier County, Michael is in the Virginia House of Delegates and represents parts of our county and neighboring areas. 

I said of course, although I didn’t agree with most of his politics. John replied, “I concur with you there. He is conservative and getting more conservative.”  He paused, and then said, “I need to tell you something. I’m a lifelong Republican. This year, I’m voting for Democrats for the first time in my life. I’m voting for both Warner and Subramanyam. I didn’t vote for any of what is going on.” 

 My response was simple. I thanked him for sharing his thoughts and told him the Dems aren’t looking for a lifetime commitment, just help stopping the extremism in Washington. John agreed, and after a warm handshake, he returned to his seat.

 Encounters like this remind us that cross-partisan conversations are happening all around us. At the gym, in the grocery store, while cutting the grass, or even on a rainy day at Nats Park. As opportunities present themselves between now and Election Day on November 3rd, don’t miss the chance to share your perspective.

 Every. Single. Vote. Counts.

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