[Doug]

Have you 'changed sides' politically?

This is a thread for people who have changed their political orientations substantially during their lives. For example, for people who now consider themselves conservatives, but who once were liberals. Or for liberals, who began as conservatives.

My question for you is: what, in your opinion, made you change?

Some particular experience? (There is an old saying, that a conservative is a liberal who was mugged. On the other side, I have a friend who was the national chairman of his country’s Young Conservatives, but who became involved in anti-apartheid activities, and was radicalized by that.)

Some change in your life situation? (Another old saying is that a conservative is a liberal with a mortgage. Or with a daughter in high school.)

Or some extended exposure to a different way of thinking? (Many young people who come from conservative homes become liberals after attending college.

Or something else?

So … if you switched, why did you do it?