Yup and it did NOT work out so well. But, my current boyfriend and I have the same political views so no fighting in that area anymore.

No. I don't think it would work for me.

it depends
someone who is that fundamentally different than me on certain things (ie: if someone was crazy right wing or something) i am sure we'd have more problems than just that
normally, you could agree to disagree and try not to talk about it, as long as both of you were fairly apathetic, but i couldn't be with someone who was super conservative because it would affect other aspects of our lives too
but for some of my friends, talking politics, and debating political topics is a huge part of life so i am sure for them it would be a deal breaker. for me, i don't need to talk about it too much, so somewhat differing views would be okay for me.

Yes! I'm a liberal and my husband is conservative. We have totally different views on most things political. He is a total supporter of the war (he's in the Army) and I'm totally against it. He doesn't care one way or the other about gay marriage but I think it's a very important topic. The amazing thing about it is, we never fight about it. We love debating each other and trying to prove our point but it has never turned into a fight. I love seeing how dedicated he is on some points and I know he loves that about me too.

yep. Im liberal and my BF is conservative. Though I think deep down he is liberal, he was just raised by VERY conservative parents and has a hard time breaking away from that. We've watched a few speeches and such together and he seems to be intrigued by what Obama has to say and tends to agree with what he says, but because of his parents he will probably vote for McCain. (he says its not because of them, but Im smarter than that)

My parents have COMPLETELY opposing political views, and they've been married for 30 years. My ex-husband and I also had opposing views, but he never paid attention to politics, so it was like having a conversation with a 10 year old.

I could not do it. There's so much of political belief that has to do with values. So there's no way I could be with someone who had drastically different values than I have.

yes and it never worked out, partly for that reason. I don't have to agree with my significant other on all political points, but there are some beliefs that are so core to my being that it wouldn't work if we disagreed. for example, anything to do with equal rights/reproductive rights. My beliefs about those issues are who I am and what I want to instill in my children -- so it would obviously be a problem if my husband, the father of my children, disagreed.

my husband was not involved in politics when we met, but he had the same leanings as I do. Now he's finally registered to vote (at 29!!!) and we are voting the same way.

well said, hausfrau

Wow, allourregrets, that's... really judgmental of your boyfriend.

I dated a guy with TOTALLY differing political views. It actually worked out in that regard, we enjoyed debating about it. He was an idiot for other reasons, though, and told me that anyone over a size 4 is fat, so... that didn't last. (I still wonder if he was aware that I was a size 6 when he said that...)

Unfortunately this year, yes my bf and I have very different political views. Even with my girl friends! I've never had such heated debates with them till this yr! But as for my bf, he hasn't been able to watch or catch up. So its working out fine between us.

For the first time I am dating someone with opposing views. I find that is keeps me on top of my political game and staying informed on the issues that matter to me. Most importantly it has been a good lesson in tolerance and acceptance.

oh and yes, another thing that chatondeneige mentioned is true in my relationship. My bf and I don't always see eye to eye on each and every thing, which actually works out fine. We love to have a good debate and it never gets out of control or heated.

My boyfriend and I have different views, but we don't spend our time debating. We just agree to disagree.

That being said, I can't wait for my Obama shirt to come in the mail so I can wear it around the house

"Wow, allourregrets, that's... really judgmental of your boyfriend. "

Im being judgemental? Obviously not, because Im with the guy and I care very much about him. I was answering the question.He was raised by a super conservative , super strict pastor. Hes told me stories about how his dad would not allow him to experience anything outside of the faith that HE believed. IE: When he was like 17 he had gotten a book on Buddism, because he seemed interesting to him...his dad found it and threw it away. He talks about how his parents beat their faith into him and his brothers heads. I dont think Im being judgemental at all, Im going from what he has told me and from what I have heard it is very hard for him to go against what his parents believe.

My BF is fiscally conservative but otherwise he is liberal socially. I can handle someone who is fiscally conservative because I am too to a certain degree but I could not- absolutely not- be with someone who was socially conservative. That would be a nightmare. I also follow politics very closely so it does matter for me if someone totally disagree with my views. I also feel it boils down to values.

Yes, but the main problem was that he hated talking about politics and I loved it. In the end we had to put a virtual moratorium (hah) on such discussions, only every so often, etc. It wasn't a deal breaker but I do suggest that it doesn't matter what their views are, the crucial factor is do they like to discuss them and listen. Either way, tread lightly!

My BF is a conservative and I'm a liberal. I found out he was a conservative when I brought up politics one day and it made me realize that he's not as liberal as he seemed to be. I'm pretty shocked but it turned out to be a good learning experience because it taught me about tolerance and embracing his beliefs. What he said sank in, "We have to disagree in order to agree," or something along that line.

I didn't find out about my ex-husband until we were splitting up and he let it (all that ugliness) hang out. First of all he's a democrat who doesn't know he's a republican. And he had me befriend his Arabic friend only to tell me later that he hates middle eastern people. Oh, and poor people in Haiti are just like lazy black people in the south. Gee, wonder why I divorced that WINNER?

I'm really into politics, so I could never (!) date a republican, there are so many issues like gay rights, women's right to have an abortion, etc. that I couldn't just "get past" with someone. But, as a vegetarian, I also wouldn't date someone who ate meat, you can't just ignore fundamental moral differences like that.

Oh...I forgot. I don't mind a good debate but I refuse to spend my life arguing. And it's not my job to change anyone's mind...
We need to agree on at least the fundamentals.

I'm married to someone with radically different political views. Makes for some verrrrrrrrrrry interesting political conversations and keeps things "spicy". HOWEVER, last night after hearing Ms. Palin speak, you all lost an Obama supporter, sorry about that! LOL He was so impressed with her eloquence and knowledge (Yes, I said it and I know that the Obama folks disagree, but there you have it) that he said "That's it, I don't want a joker like Biden in office, she's got MY best interests at heart. I'm voting McCain Palin".

Go Mykie and her husband

eloquence and knowledge? yikes

My ex boyfriend and I have very different and strong political views. I'm very liberal and he's pretty conservative and in the army. We didn't have any deep political discussions in order to avoid arguments...but we would make jokes about our differing views and pick on each other about it in a fun way. However, after we broke up his friend told me that it "really bothered" my ex that I wasn't a republican. I never felt that way but I guess it was a big thing to him.

i did, but not for long, lol.

My boyfriend and I are like opposites when it comes to big issues. He's Christian. I'm atheist. He's conservative. I'm liberal. I do feel it hurts our relationship to a certain degree. At this point we try to agree to disagree, but sometimes we end up in arguments over these issues.

This wouldn't work for me. My fiance is conservative and so am i, althoug he likes to make me argue....he says it is fun to get me all riled up lmao

He's a strict republican and I'm pretty mixed on my political views and he knows to never ever bring up politics. It's just unspoken between us.

Depends on the issue in question and how passionate he is. My boyfriend is a Republican but he's fairly apathetic, so I'm comfortable with it. I actually appreciate his conservative lifestyle and values, because he sticks to them, unlike most Republican politicians.

My BF works in politics and is conservative. I consider myself really moderate, so we disagree on most social issues and agree the majority of the time on economics. We both understand why the other believes what they believe (childhood/life experiences) so even if we don't agree with each other, we respect each other's opinions (normally). We have had some heated debates though. I think the hardest part for me is when we are around people from his firm. Basically I have to keep my mouth shut for his career.

However I guess it is better than the really heated debates I have with my friends. They tend to be die hard liberals who can't tolerates anyone elses opinions and attack a person rather than the issue. My friends and I have agreed not to discuss politics anymore.

My husband and I have a lot of the same views so it's not an issue there. I wouldn't let it come between us since everyone is entitled to their own opinion anyway.

i've typically dated people who have opposing views on things so that we can have better discussions about things. not to say that i'm wishy washy or anything, but i don't ALWAYS stick to one party or another, i'm more about being into individual issues..and that's where our discussions spurn from. my fiance right now has a lot of different thoughts and views on things, and i think that's part of what makes us happy together. we know that we're going to debate and 'fight' about what we think is right, but it's something that's fun to talk more about.

Mykie7, what eloquence and knowledge? Palin hardly answered anything; in fact, I think she only directly answered one question. Biden actually knew what he was talking about.

And no, I couldn't date someone with different political views. I think it would just frustrate me too much if we couldn't agree on issues I thought were really important.

My boyfriend of 1.5 years is the only guy I've dated and we share pretty much identical views. We're both liberal athiests. It's kinda creepy the way that happenend. I know it sounds bad, but I don't think I could be with someone romantically who didn't have the same political opinions as me. Not that I constantly want to surround myself with like-minds, that's never wise.

ohh yes I dated a guy who was extremely liberal and I'm a moderate conservative. We would get into so many arguments about politics that it became a big problem in our relationship. Our arguments were frequent (it was a heated relationship) and they would turn into us actually being mad at each other.

Honestly, I really enjoy arguing so it was stimulating for me but being that he was in the performing arts and all of his friends were as liberal as him it was sort of a novelty for him that he was dating someone conservative. That was annoying.

Ok, Mykie, seriously? Knowledge?! Joe, more than once had to point out that she had her facts wrong! If the electoral votes weren't leaning in my direction, I'd be really terrified!

My first boyfriend was libertarian, which is essentially anarchist. I admired his beliefs and agreed on the whole. In a nutshell, he believed each person should be free to do what they like as long as they're not hurting anyone. That meant that he was all for gay marriage and freedom of choice and religion and so on and so forth-- all things I am passionate about, since I am a liberal.

However, for reasons completely unbeknownst to me, libertarians support the republican ticket-- something about how the party had been formed had sided them with conservatives, and because liberals are closer to communists which are the antithesis of anarchists. It boggled me, though, because I felt that the social agenda of republicans went completely against his beliefs, and only the fiscal side co-incided with it. We had to agree to disagree many times, but given I am a kind of hard-headed and somewhat (sadly) close minded liberal, it was harder for me than him. We're still great friends though even though it didn't work out with us.

My new beau comes from the city Sarah Palin is from-- so that says something about what he believes. x_x His family is super super conservative, not to mention racist-- his grandmother still bandies the n-word about. =( My boyfriend has always been the odd one out in his family though-- but nevertheless they have influenced him a lot. After meeting me he has changed a lot, because if you present things logically to him he tends to make an informed decision, and I think I make some good arguments against what his family believes. Sometimes I feel that maybe I'm just doing the same thing his family did to him-- (his family probably hates me) but I'm glad he mostly sees eye to eye with me. I couldn't live with someone who thinks gay marriage is wrong and so on and s forth.

What do you say to someone who insists that Disney is putting sex in their films to brainwash children and that he saw a documentary *cough*propaganda*cough* on it, so it MUST be true!? (Biggest argument we ever had)!

Thankfully, he's different now, but his family is the same, and that terrifies me, because they are exactly like Palin & Co-- except more honest about it.

We have opposing political views so we usually just avoid talking about politics altogether. I (begrudgingly) respect his views, and he applauds my reasons behind my views. Although I hate how he says that I voted for "the winner."