re: How many Gen X/baby boomer people here were Blue Dog Democrats back in the day?

Reagan is the first President I remember. My American childhood was Reagan, Just Say No, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics (Mary Lou Retton) fighting dirty Russian Commies in pop culture/movies, and the Challenger explosion.

I've always been independent but leaned liberal. I was at Clinton's second victory speech in Little Rock, election night 1996. I'm old. What was the question again?

I don't understand how so many people allow life to beat them down to the point where they become the modern day definition of a conservative.


I have been a moderate my entire life. I think it is indicative of a minor case of bi-polar disorder to experience wide swings in ideology as one ages. It certainly indicates some sort of " ceiling" on maturity and emotional development.

I was taught at an early age that life ain't fair, that there is going to be some shitty things happen to you if you are lucky enough to live long enough and that the secret to happiness is to enjoy the good shite and dismiss immediately the bad shite.

If you can't be civil with folks who are different than you and accept that they are different because of the differences in life experiences you have a problem. If we don't get to a point where we accept this our civilization is doomed. It goes both ways. We are engaged in a cold civil war in this country and we had better find a way to walk it back or we are going to cross a point of no return.

I'm 64 and still yellow dog, blue dog, whatever. Voted for Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Obama and *gasp* Hillary.

Don't confuse Gen X for Baby boomers.

Two TOTALLY different generations.

Gen X (like me) are conservative - grew up with Reagan/Bush - votes Republican.

Baby Boomers, like my parents, still buy the "Republicans are for the rich" line.

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Gen X (like me) are conservative - grew up with Reagan/Bush - votes Republican.

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Watch a few episodes of Family Ties. Alex P. Keaton is the epitome of the reactionary Gen X conservative, raised by brainless hippie idealists.

Generation X isn't that conservative. I believe we are more pragmatic and skeptical than either generation we're book-ended by.

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If you can't be civil with folks who are different than you and accept that they are different because of the differences in life experiences you have a problem. If we don't get to a point where we accept this our civilization is doomed. It goes both ways. We are engaged in a cold civil war in this country and we had better find a way to walk it back or we are going to cross a point of no return.

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All of this has already happened. Our culture sucks. There's no unity. Diversity is not a strength. All that's left now is a competition for resources based on identity in-grouping.

There might have been a chance to turn things around in the 1990s, but we're past that now. I say that as a person who lives comfortably, makes good money, and does my best to contribute to my community and be a good citizen. Things are only going to get worse. Things get worse every year.