Why I registered democrat

I did something Saturday that I never thought I would do: Register with a political party.

While at the PennDot DMV on Front Street in Harrisburg (the only DMV in the country with polite, happy employees), I was offered the chance to register to vote, right after registering to be an organ donor.

As a short aside, you have to be very selfish to decline organ donation. You're dead: you don't need that colon!

Anyways, I went through the steps to register for voting priveliges in the Keystone State, and it asked which political party I wanted to affiliate myself with, with the stipulation that I could only vote in a primary if I was registered with a political party.

In Arkansas, we didn't have to register with a political party to vote in a primary (I picked Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee in 2008). So I was faced with an ultimatum: Carry on my self-righteous "I don't affiliate myself with a political party because none of them are true to my beliefs," or pick one so I can get two votes instead of one.

I took a deep breath, with images of my ultraconservative family flashing through my mind, and pressed 1.

Democrat.

Why was this such a big deal? I usually don't talk politics, mostly because I don't spend a lot of time thinking about them, which would make it easy for the guy or gal who watches CNN or Fox News religiously to pick me apart. That and I don't like arguing very much: Fr. James Martin said on his twitter page a month ago that Jesus knows better than to engage in arguments with people who already have their minds decided against him."

Good advice for sure. Also the reason I stay away from cable news networks.

That said, the reason this is such a big deal for me is due to my pro-life stance: Abortion is wrong no matter what. And most democrats vote for pro-choice causes, it seems, while most republicans seem to vote pro-life (not always true though). Same can be said for advocating stricter gun control. Dems (mostly) for it, repubs (mostly) against it.

There are other issues that I won't get into for space concerns, but lets just say that I've leaned more right than left. Lately, however, that hasn't been the case. I'm still strongly pro-life, but I can't embrace republican stances on immigration, supporting "Don't ask, Don't tell," (gays should be able to openly serve in the military), and support for the death penalty.

That last one is the worst, as pro-life should mean pro-life, not just unborn children.

All of this leads me back to my choosing the Democratic party as my party affiliation. I don't plan on ever calling myself a democrat, but I look forward to having a vote in democratic primaries. Why? Because believe it or not, there are pro-life democrats, people who strongly oppose abortion.

Don't believe me? Visit democratsforlife.org. My thinking is that if I can cast a vote for a democrat who champions all life, from the unborn to the inmates, the children who can't eat and the poor in need of healthcare, that will be more beneficial than voting in a republican primary, where both candidates will more than likely vote against abortion, or staying at home.

If we can get more people into office who respect life, no matter their political affiliation, then we as a country will be much better off. And for that to happen, those democrats who eschew the majority and vote for life need our votes, as they will have a tougher road to travel when it comes to getting the votes of pro-choice democrats.

And that's worth spelling my name with an extra D.