Do you "regret" voting for someone?

[The Dowager Mod]

Voting for Bush the first time he ran for governor.

[TX_1824]

Jimmy Carter 1976.

It was the first time I was old enough to vote. A truly sad chapter in my life.

Luckily, I was saved from the indignity of voting for Carter in 1976 by the fact that I was too young to vote.  I'm not sure whom I would have voted for that year, but I would surely have regretted it if I had voted for the arrogant, naive, self-righteous and incompetent old scold.

By 1980, when I voted for the first time, we had been through four years of Carter, and I couldn't wait to vote against him.  That started me on a Republican voting streak that continues to this day.

I took the same path. I couldn't wait to vote for Reagan in 1980. Sometimes I look at our current president and I think to myself, "what on earth are you doing?" Then I remember the alternative and I find some comfort in that.

[KillerPollo]

write-in: NEVER voted.

[Joe Republic]

Yes, very much so.

It was a state-level election in 2002.  Ten points if anybody can guess who, what and why.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yes, very much so.

It was a state-level election in 2002.  Ten points if anybody can guess who, what and why.

Was this candidate's first name "Bob" by any chance?

[Joe Republic]

Yes, very much so.

It was a state-level election in 2002.  Ten points if anybody can guess who, what and why.

Was this candidate's first name "Bob" by any chance?

Yes, yes it was.  I have my reasons for doing what I did, and you have to understand that it wasn't strictly my fault!!!!!

I remember polling day as if it were yesterday..............


THE HORROR

[RJ]

I regret voting for Nader in 2000, but I think Nader is a decent guy who'd still be better than who we have. I just thought Gore was too boring, but he was clearly the lesser of 2 evils and he was more likely to win. I wasn't as partisan then as I am today. 4 years of you know who will do that.

[angus]

Voting for Bush the first time he ran for governor.

it's okay, I voted for Ann Richards.  We cancelled each other out.  I guess the only regret would be that, knowing that we were simply cancelling each other out, we could have both done something more interesting that day than stand in line at a local elementary school waiting to vote.  Actually, I cancelled out my girlfriend, a recently-minted US citizen from China, who proudly cast her vote for the governor for George Bush, the son of the president who was wildly popular with chinese immigrants at the time.  But you probably had your husband to cancel out your vote, so it's all good.  The four of us could have stayed home, or gone to a Rangers baseball game, or something that day.  Too bad we didn't know then what we know now.

I don't think I regret any of my grown-up votes, but I regret voting for Amy for class vice president in the 11th grade, since she didn't vote for me for vice president.  I still won, but at that age kids tend to take that sort of thing personally.  We even broke up over that.  The bitch.  I suppose looking back, through the lenses of 20 subsequent years, it was her choice and one that she felt strongly about.  Certainly it should not have offended me enough to kick her out of bed over, that's for sure.   Youth:  it's wasted on the young, unfortunately.  paradox?

[TX_1824]

Voting for Bush the first time he ran for governor.

it's okay, I voted for Ann Richards. 

Ugh! However, considering who she ran against in 1990, Clayton Williams, I can understand.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ugh! However, considering who she ran against in 1990, Clayton Williams, I can understand.

Name rings a bell... I remember reading what seemed to be a genuinely insane quote from him but can't quite remember it...

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

nope.

[angus]

Voting for Bush the first time he ran for governor.

it's okay, I voted for Ann Richards. 

Ugh! However, considering who she ran against in 1990, Clayton Williams, I can understand.

LOL.  Yes, somebody else remembers Clayton.  Actually I was referring to '94, but I lived in the Lone Star State in '90 as well.  Was that guy creepy or what?! 

"Juveniles commiting crimes?  I'll have those juvenile delinquents out there in chain gangs, bustin' up rocks.  Chain 'em up together like animals.  Teach 'em some respect for authority.  Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Every one of his commercials featured some bizarre outlandish idea for dealing with crime, and ended with the line, "Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Entertaining for sure.  And that's all I usually look for in a CEO.  But he was just a little bit scary even for me. 

[Filuwaúrdjan]

"Juveniles commiting crimes?  I'll have those juvenile delinquents out there in chain gangs, bustin' up rocks.  Chain 'em up together like animals.  Teach 'em some respect for authority.  Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Was he for real?

[angus]

"Juveniles commiting crimes?  I'll have those juvenile delinquents out there in chain gangs, bustin' up rocks.  Chain 'em up together like animals.  Teach 'em some respect for authority.  Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Was he for real?

scary indeed, but yeah I suppose he was serious.  Here's a blurb about Williams:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Clayton-Williams

Scarier still is the fact that over four million people voted for him for governor.  Richards won by a very narrow margin in 1990.

[The Dowager Mod]

Clayton said if a woman was being raped she might as well lay back and enjoy it.
That quote probably lost him the election.

[WMS]

Clayton said if a woman was being raped she might as well lay back and enjoy it.
That quote probably lost him the election.

Bloody hell, I remember that! What a loathsome individual...

[Akno21]

I can't believe he came close to winning. That's like something Opebo might say, though I don't think even he's worse than that.

[dazzleman]

"Juveniles commiting crimes?  I'll have those juvenile delinquents out there in chain gangs, bustin' up rocks.  Chain 'em up together like animals.  Teach 'em some respect for authority.  Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Actually, for serious or violent juvenile criminals who are hardened and unresponsive to softer measures, that sounds good to me.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Clayton said if a woman was being raped she might as well lay back and enjoy it.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Really? I can't think why... Jesus... he actually *said* that?

[??????????]

Clayton said if a woman was being raped she might as well lay back and enjoy it.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Really? I can't think why... Jesus... he actually *said* that?

This was the actuallly quote and what he was saying it in reference to.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Williams

[angus]

Clayton said if a woman was being raped she might as well lay back and enjoy it.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Really? I can't think why... Jesus... he actually *said* that?

I remember it well.  Yes, he did, but to be perfectly clear it was cumulative.  He was polling ahead of richards, and it was a heady time in a state that had only elected one GOP governor in the past century.  Dems controlled every state elected office, and about 2/3 of both houses of the leg.  But times were a changin'  Anyway, I don't think it's accurate to say the handshake, or the "relax and enjoy it" or any particular moment lost the election.  This guy was a nut.  His campaign commercials, verbal gaffes, and missteps, though amusing, collectively showed that he would not be fit for office.  My only surprise was that it was so close, and it took the people so long to figure out how embarassing this guy would be.  But then, stranger things have happened.  For example, the DNC made howard dean, of all people, its party chair.  I suppose we americans enjoy big weird personalities more than responsible leaders.  I know I do.  But even I'd draw the line before the likes of Williams and Dean.

Yeah, it would have been hilarious if it hadn't been so scary.  I guess I told you I met and spoke with Richards.  She's an abrasive bitch, as I've said before, and none to likeable.  Not unlike Dean either, really.  And she has quite the brash and offensive personality as well, but she seemed slightly less harmful than Williams at the time. 

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

I regret making an error in my first vote in 1999.  I made it a point to educate myself on every candidate and vote based on my pro-life principles.  Problem is, this was a City council election

One of the lesser-known candidates was advocating using zoning rules to zone Abortion clinics out of the city of Memphis.  Probably not even feasable, but it sounded so good at the time.  I didn't realize at the time that the local GOP had endorsed another, more prominent, more rational, more responsible candidate who was the eventual victor.

I not only regret intending to vote for the afore mentioned guy who wanted to out-zone clinics, I regret forgetting his name by the time I got to the booth and accidentaly voting for another longshot canadicy that I thought was him.

Fortunately, the Republican endorsee won and he is now a friend of mine and I have had the privelege of voting for him in a more recent election.

[WalterMitty]

we had a state legislator here in nc afew years ago that said it was difficult for a woman to get pregnant from a rape because the 'juices dont get flowing'....or something like that.