I’m another academic (at a midwestern university). Fortunately, I’m insulated in the science and engineering community professionally (which is far more diverse than the social sciences and arts area we have out Republicans up through program chair and I’d wager higher) but my SO and I are in the social circle of the more LibArts-friendly crowd who are solidly, rabidly, ideologically and fashionably antiBush.

She’s voting for Kerry, I’m voting for Bush, and from there, we’re are splitting the tickets at state and local by candidate. We’re “OK” with each others choices as we both have different drop-dead issues (I’m a marine brat small-L libertarian reluctant hawk who dropped any hope for looking seriously at Kerry when he talked about student “volunteer” service and blamed Bush for NK’s default that started before he took office, she’s more social issues driven). But I honestly don’t know if I/we want to come out in front of our “friends” given the level of moonbattery we both hear. I don’t want to come off as a more attractive version of the Matlin/Carville couple and then there are the more negative effects. I have much more sympathy for hard money untenured positions like Becky and Sanity (I’m a soft money – scientific mercenary but at the rank of Associate Prof & established here and in my community so I’m on better ground that most). I’m not worried for my job, but I more worried about passive agressive retaliation from some of the highly intelligent tenured teenagers that I find myself around. Right now, I don’t quite smell like them, but imagine when I say “you can call me ‘Flower’ if you want to.” (hat tip to Bambi)