The year was 1992. My computer booted up DOS, I had an external modem, and my very crude Unix skills allowed me to access the "electronic mail".
More to the point, however, I turned 18 in September of that year. On the evening of the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, I found myself at Ybor City's Ritz Theater in Tampa, Florida listening to the band Cracker. At some point during the show, the band's vocalist announced that Bill Clinton had been elected the next President of the United States. "We did a good thing today," he intoned. Yes we did. And even though my first vote for President counted for naught in the Electoral College scheme (Florida went for Bush 41 that night), I was swept up in the celebration, the dawn of the go-go 90s.
That was the last election I registered for as a Democrat and the last time I voted for the Democratic presidential candidate. Until 2004, that is.
Why did I wander? What prompted me to return? How can the Democratic Party keep me from leaving again?
My political travelogue continues below the fold...
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