When it comes to politics, do federal workers favor one party over another? Are U.S. Postal Service workers more likely to vote Democratic than workers at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission? If so, how come?

Does working for the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security or the Justice Department make it more likely that you will be a Republican? If so, do you know something folks at the General Services Administration don’t know?

Do federal workers change their politics, and voting patterns, when they retire? If so, how come? Did they finally grow up and see the light and if so, which party do they see as best leading the country?

If the major party political candidates next year are Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Jeb Bush for the Republicans, which one can count on the vote from employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? Would that change if the candidates were Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.)?

If the 2016 national election is so close it hinges on just a small number of votes in a few states, would headquarters employees at the departments of Interior and Agriculture vote Democratic in Virginia and Maryland, while field workers in Utah and Colorado went Republican?

Statistically, we know how many federal workers there are. And where feds choose to live in retirement. We know which states they live in, and which congressional districts have large numbers of federal and postal workers, and retirees. But we — meaning me and probably you too — don’t know how and who they vote for. Is it location, occupation or what?

Marc Harris, a retired fed now in Florida says, “I was registered with no party affiliation for the 30 years I worked for the feds, to make sure no one could accuse me of being politically partisan. Yet, just by working at HUD, everyone assumed I and everyone else at HUD were Democrats. I am retired since 2002 and still have ‘no party affiliation,’ but because I worked for HUD, people think I am a Democrat.”

Is it safe (and more importantly, correct) to assume as many people do that most feds are Democrats? Many do.

Federal and postal union leaders routinely endorse Democratic presidential candidates. And delegate most of their Political Action Committee donations to Democratic candidates. But while unions represent most federal workers, most federal workers (outside the USPS) don’t belong to a union.

So where, assuming any of this is true, does this leave us?

The only person who knows the answer is you.

Based on conversations with individual workers and retirees, on emails directly to me and those sent to this column’s “comments” section, I would give the same advice to both political parties:

• For Democratic candidates the advice would be DO NOT take feds for granted. Lose the smug, where-are-they-gonna-go? attitude. Sequestration was hatched at the White House. The resulting furloughs of feds happened on your watch!
• For Republicans, especially those weaned on being anti- Washington outsiders for so long, get over it! You now run the legislative show. Grow up and stop using feds as punching bags and pawns.

For Democrats and Republicans: A little kindness goes a long way. Think about it as soon as you get back from your most recent, extended vacation!

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

By Michael O’Connell

The rock band Question Mark and the Mysterians (aka ? and the Mysterians) got its name from a Japanese science fiction film, “The Mysterians”, in which aliens try to take over the Earth.

Source: Wikipedia

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