My dad voted for George Wallace ("Segregation now, segregation tomorrow...segregation forever!) in 1968. My dad voted for Barack Obama for President in 2008. It's a miracle! More below the fold.
I grew up in a place best described as the "Rural Northeast". You may think that the Northeast is home only to the megalopolis and "east coast city slickers" but that is simply not true. My hometown had less than 1000 people in it and both my grandfathers were dairy farmers. The political beliefs of my town had more in common with the South than New York City.
My Dad was raised during the Depression (the first one) and as a result was very much a New Deal Democrat. Membership in the AFL-CIO sealed his political leanings. I hate to admit this, but my Dad was also a bigot. I swear the Archie Bunker character was patterned after him. when I was a kid we would watch the news together each night, and he would rail against those "god damn hippies" protesting against the war, but he saved his greatest ire for African-Americans. I thought the phrase "god damn ni***r" was one word until I was 8 years old. His bigotry and the social unrest of the 60s turned him into one of what Nixon characterized as the "Silent Majority".
As many of you may know 1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in American political history. What many of you may not know is that there was a viable third party Presidential candidate on the ballot in all 50 states that year, George Wallace, former Governor of Alabama. He was a rabid states rights touting, segregationist, racist bigot (see above quote). He won a few states in the South and may very well have tipped the election in Nixon's favor. I was appalled when my father proudly proclaimed he voted for George Wallace. We rarely spoke of politics after that.
Fast forward a few decades. After the invasion of Iraq my father let on that he opposed it, and we finally started to talk about politics again. He voted for John Kerry in 2004, which I considered great progress. Earlier this year I asked him if he could vote for a man with brown skin for President. He didn't answer and I thought it best to refrain from political talk for a while. He called me a few days after the election to ask how I was feeling about the results. Of course I was ecstatic, and then I asked him how he felt. He finally admitted to voting for Barack Obama for President. My bigoted, racist father voted for an African-American for President! He said he even tried to find an Obama sign to put up in his yard. My father's opposition to the Iraq war and his belief that it is government's job to look out for the little guy overcame his obsession with skin color. I am proud of him. It is possible this story explains why Obama did better amongst "working class whites" than many people thought he would.
My father's transformation is not yet complete. He still talks about "welfare queens" and peppers his conversations with the N word, much to the consternation of the rest of the family. However, the historic and transformative nature of the Obama campaign has begun the redemption of someone I care about. Thank you Mr. President-Elect.