@Myerman I went the other way, too. My parents were democrats and union supporters. As a teen and young man I voted for Nixon, opposed unions, thought like a libertarian. I was also an active Vietnam War protester. I voted for Nixon and got what I wanted, an end to the Vietnam War. But this was right at the end of the long era where Democrats started wars and Republicans ended them. The great political reversal was still in progress.

Over the next 15 years, I learned many things and watched the Republican party move far away from me. By the early 90s I had become a pretty hard core liberal. And I do mean liberal and not a leftie. Meanwhile the Republican party has wandered off into right-wing extremism.