I blogged, 5 years ago today, with this photograph:
"Meade and I walked over to the First Congregational Church, walked through the dark hallways, and passing us right at this point was a young man in a black T-shirt that said in big letters: TRUMP. I'm keeping my privacy about how I voted, so don't even ask. I wish the best for my fellow Americans and hope that whatever happens, you'll be able to handle it."
That was written at 10:55 in the morning, when we had no idea what a wild crazy day it would be.
In the comments, Snark wrote:
Has Althouse said why her vote will be private this time? (or were past votes initially private as well? Can't remember, but I don't think so?) That's what I'm curious about, and what it means in the abstract if it can be extrapolated in any way to the thinking and behaviour of other voters. I could hypothesize that as a blogger she just doesn't want the distraction and inherent uselessness of knee-jerk blowback in the comments for the next four years, either way. Or that she perceives some value to the blog in being formally inscrutable. Or that she is being practical given that her commenters and perhaps her readers too lean right, and she has already sensed a shift in tone at times that suggests prudence. I wonder, too, if she and Meade voted the same way or differently.Did I ever reveal how I voted? I think I eventually did, but I can't remember why or where. I wasn't happy with the choice! I wasn't happy in 2020 either, but in 2020, I revealed who I voted for: No one!
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47 comments:
When there is Tyranny some people stand and some people keep their heads down.
You ruefully admitted to voting for Hillary, I am pretty sure, but I could be wrong.
“Did I ever reveal how I voted? I think I eventually did, but I can't remember why or where“
Really? Your readers sure do. I also remember commending you for your choice to not say and also for choice to reveal and how and why you did it.
I hope it wasn’t all just bullshit you were dealing…
In Germany in the 50's and 60's everyone resisted the Nazi party.
They all sheltered Jews in their basements.
Five years ago I watched the election from Sydney Australia pubs. It was also my birthday.
It was a memorable day.
When I look back at all the candidates for President I've voted for — going back to 1972 — I don't like any of them!
I voted in 12 presidential elections, voting for the winner only 4 times (2 of whom were Bill Clinton). In 2020, I voted for no one. I've never voted for a 3d party candidate, and Bill Clinton was the first person I voted for (for President) who won. And I truly can't stand him.
Almost incredibly, Bill Clinton is also the only person I've voted for for President twice! That means I voted for Carter when he lost but not when he won. And I voted against George W. Bush and then for him and for Obama and then against him.
but in 2020, I revealed who I voted for: No one!
And such a wonderful choice it was. It's working out so well for the country.
You confessed to voting for Hillary if I remember correctly.
People forget that voting choices are never really binary and limited to the D or R flavor of monoparty candidates. There is always a third choice: don’t vote. Most Americans are unable to or choose not to vote every cycle. Even the presidential election Althouse shared a photo and recollection of today, with over 80 million votes cast for Biden (legit or not that’s the total) and another 75 million or so votes for Trump, adds up to about half the eligible voters abstaining from the process. Althouse is solidly in the majority in rejecting both “major party” candidates.
Voted 3rd party in 1992, 1996, 2000, and voted for no one in 2012.
And I'm proud I did.
You didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2020 so you must be perfectly okay with Joe Biden as your President. Meaning you are okay with high inflation, empty store shelves, the chaotic ending to Afghanistan (with, apparently, some 14,000 US green card holders left behind while an unknown number of unvetted Afghans brought in in their stead), the FBI being sicced on ordinary parents, and on and on and on.
Face it, our effectively two-party system repels potential voters because it limits viable candidates to conforming behavior in which, no matter their individual views, they are “represented” to the public by the most extreme members of their party who garner the most media attention. Bernie kind of stands out for running like the extremist he is, indulging that fringe and relying on the outsized energy of their fervent beliefs. But most national candidates hew to the bland centrist blathering like Joe did to appeal to the most non-fringy voters of both parties.
I voted Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 41, Dole, Bush 43, Bush 43, McCain, Romney, Trump, Trump. I can’t stand McCain, and I have real questions about Trump, but I think I voted for the best choice in each election.
That’s he best you can expect.
I think you voted for Hillary because Trump was too weird. Hillary was too deeply dishonest for me, and she was way, way too entitled.
I’ve only voted for president twice. Once my candidate won, the second time they lost. I was going to vote in the last presidential, but decided not to at the last minute.
As a Democrat the 12 primaries are more memorable, although I almost voted GOP first GE and almost wrote in last time. No choice '96 or '12. My choice lost '76, '92, '00 and '20. My choice won '80, '84, '88, '04, '08, '16. Dreading '24.
I guess I cancelled your "no one" vote in 2020 because I voted for someone.
I very nearly voted for Biden because my SO promised to do the dishes for a year if I did, but it ended up not happening.
"When I look back at all the candidates for President I've voted for — going back to 1972 — I don't like any of them!"
I've said that since 1972 myself. I have never had a President to vote for whom I felt enthusiastically about just because I thought he had it all. Not one of them. It's always been about voting against the other Party or person.
And here's the real bizarre thing. In 1972 I was a college student and actually did election day work for the McGovern campaign. My job was to join a busload of us college kids from East Lansing to go down to the polling places in Detroit and stand near the polls to offer any help we could. Yes...us white 17-19 year olds were there to help the adult black people in Detroit because the Democratic Party (unsurprisingly) felt that we had to make sure they knew how to vote. The thought of that today makes me cringe. We're lucky we weren't gutted that night. Perhaps we should have been.
Anyway- that was my first Presidential election and the first- and last- time I'll ever vote for a Democrat in my life. I believe I ran into Atlas Shrugged shortly after that. The rest is history.
I rarely reveal my votes ... but ... long before Trump ...
After a long (more than 45 minute) enjoyable conversation with a nice lady I'd just met, she made a comment about how all the college professors she knew who taught a specific subject (which she named) had all voted one way in a recent presidential election. I said, "I voted for him too." She said, "What?" I repeated, "I voted for him too."
She silently collected her things, got up and walked away.
I remember that night here. When it wasn't quite common knowledge, I could tell by the body language of John King and Wolf Blitzing that Hillary was in trouble. I immediately googled around and found the live real time NYT election predictor which was showing Trump just edging past 50/50 in the predicted outcome. I came right back here and started congratulating you people.
I was secretly happy the bitch lost. It was obvious the Davos Diva Demoncrats didn't learned the lesson from that night when they recently went all in for Clinton flack Terry McAullife whose major talent is talking out both sides of his ass.
Ann Althouse said...
When I look back at all the candidates for President I've voted for — going back to 1972 — I don't like any of them!
When you walk down the street and you see an ass, he's an ass.
When you walk down the street and everyone's an ass...
With even Lyndon LaRouche retiring from running for president after 2004, we're stuck with this bunch of dull goobers. By the way, he was still a Socialist-Democrat when he recently died, though certain people try to paint him as a right winger. He's all yours, guys.
LaRouche still holds the record for most presidential runs.
Never voted for him. Of course. But I did enjoy it when his supporters would rumble with the Hare Krishnas in airports. That was sort of like an election of the national pulse.
My neighbor, the retired lefty psychiatrist, made a crack at a neighborhood party about if we discussed politics I might start sending her emails again. I don’t know how Althouse voted, but I know how the Doctor voted. She’s a hereditary progressive Dem and a Trump hater.
I didn’t stop sending emails because she was offended. The emails were always factual and I stopped sending them because as a wealthy prog she is uneducable. And that is the story. Wealthy progs are insulated from the damage wrought on us lesser beings by corrupt, stupid Democrats and are either uneducable or socialist sympathizers. So they finance the lunacy.
You voted for Ford in 76 and Carter in 1980?
Seriously?
You don't like boredom, you like chaos.
The reason it’s so easy to dislike a presidential candidate is because he or she (or they … sigh) is the ultimate compromise of half the country. He (or she or they) is nobody’s perfect candidate. The only perfect candidate would be you … and even you could stand a little burnishing.
I am mostly disgusted with my voting record as follows:
1972 - McGovern
1976 - Carter
1980 - No one
1984 - Reagan (my best vote ever)
1988 - GHW Bush
1992 - GHW Bush
1996 - No one
2000 - GW Bush
2004 - GW Bush
2008 - McCain
2012 - Romney
2016 - Trump
2020 - Trump
Trump and Reagan are the only votes I am proud of.
You’re like the Anti Bellwether. Please please PLEASE vote for Biden/Harris in 2024.
Readering: "My choice lost '76, '92, '00 and '20. My choice won '80, '84, '88, '04, '08, '16. Dreading '24."
It was quite awhile ago, but what was your thinking when voting for Ford over Carter in '76?
..."When I look back at all the candidates for"...
For a split second I expected you were breaking into song.
hombre said: Wealthy progs are insulated from the damage wrought on us lesser beings by corrupt, stupid Democrats and are either uneducable or socialist sympathizers. So they finance the lunacy.
11/8/21, 10:23 AM
Well said. Look at this tweet from one of those wealthy progs and how she really feels about normal, regular, hard working Americans....https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/11/08/muh-college-amy-siskind-raging-at-racist-non-college-educated-white-women-over-youngkin-va-victory-goes-oh-so-very-wrong/
Big Mike said...
You didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2020 so you must be perfectly okay with Joe Biden as your President. Meaning you are okay with high inflation, empty store shelves, the chaotic ending to Afghanistan (with, apparently, some 14,000 US green card holders left behind while an unknown number of unvetted Afghans brought in in their stead), the FBI being sicced on ordinary parents, and on and on and on.
11/8/21, 9:10 AM
^^^^THIS^^^^
In 2016, I couldn't vote for, nor take responsibility for, helping the hopelessly dishonest radicals offered up by the duopoly parties but unlike Althouse, I chose to vote for the Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld offering which best represented my political leanings.
In 2020, I voted for the Democrats (first time ever!) because Trump the racketeer had to be stopped. And no, Virginia, the dangerous fool in Mar-a-Lago will continue to bring down democracy if reelected in 2024 - so we need to really find him guilty of his obvious crimes now.
You’re like the Anti Bellwether
In finance the term is contra-indicator.
You have an excellent money maker there, Meade…
I’m stuck on a waiting room. Ergo, the appropriate passage…
So if anyone wants to listen to me, I have one thing I want to add, as I choose to attempt to persuade Democrats to vote "no" on the affirmation of impeachment inquiry. I want to tell what I have held secret for 3 years: I voted for Hillary Clinton.
I don't usually read anything but the first two lines of your posts, so when I saw "Deed is done", and something about "Church" --- I was ready to write Happy Anniversary on 5 years of marriage.
Voting is kind of like marriage. You're taking a vow, or whomever you're voting for is making promises. Impeachment is akin to Divorce, perhaps.
"You voted for Ford in 76 and Carter in 1980?
Seriously?
You don't like boredom, you like chaos."
But then, according to the Althouse theorem, nobody believes what they profess to believe.
The Poor Man's *** ***** gadfly: "In 2020, I voted for the Democrats (first time ever!) because Trump the racketeer had to be stopped. And no, Virginia, the dangerous fool in Mar-a-Lago will continue to bring down democracy if reelected in 2024 - so we need to really find him guilty of his obvious crimes now."
It's like you're a child.......that was kicked off Democratic Underground for being too ridiculous.
Voting against Carter made sense to me in 1976 because I didn’t think he had what it takes. Asked what he’d do if he lost, he said he’d go back to his peanut farm. That made me think of him as too small a man to be president. Meanwhile, Ford already was president, so I could see him as president. He felt like a neutral choice.
In 1980, Carter was the incumbent, with some experience, and he was neutral compared to Reagan. I thought Reagan was a dangerous extremist and not the sort of person who should be president.
@gadfly, what “obvious” crimes would those be?
Yea you voted for no one.... and got Biden. Happy with that?
rehajm said...
You’re like the Anti Bellwether
In finance the term is contra-indicator.
We had a student in the machine learning class who got an 8% classification rate on junk mail.
Switched one < for > and she was at 92%.
wendybar said...
Big Mike said...
You didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2020 so you must be perfectly okay with Joe Biden as your President. Meaning you are okay with high inflation, empty store shelves, the chaotic ending to Afghanistan (with, apparently, some 14,000 US green card holders left behind while an unknown number of unvetted Afghans brought in in their stead), the FBI being sicced on ordinary parents, and on and on and on.
11/8/21, 9:10 AM
^^^^THIS^^^^
***************
It's a perverse variation on Alexander Pope:
On balance our BlogMistress would rather serve in Hell than serve in Heaven.
She just couldn't bring herself to vote for a wildly successful but (to her) detestable Orange Man, OR for a wildly detestable and utterly corrupt hack leading the Party of Perdition.
Yeah...lotta nuanced thinking going on there.....
The times I didn't vote for the winner: 1980. 2012. 2020.
Weak men weep.
My first presidential vote was in Illinois and the rest have all been in Massachusetts, so it's all been posturing of a sort. I remember the first three: blanking '72 (Nixon v. McGovern, ugh), Ford, then Anderson. Don't remember some of the rest since then, though I went with gadfly(!) in voting for the goofy libertarians in 2016.
Anderson was perhaps the only one I actually felt positive about because he wanted to impose a tariff on oil imports, but he would probably have been a complete disaster as president.
--gpm
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