Both my parents were Democrats. My dad was definitely more of a fiscally conservative traditional Democrat. My mom was more of a feminist Camelot Democrat. They definitely had an idealistic view of life as it should be in the United States. And they had a sense that government had to have some hand in making people's lives better.

I was born in Indiana and raised in Oregon and there's a strong sense of individualism, particularly in Oregon. And my mom is an artist, so there was always a lot of emphasis placed on expression.

I definitely think my ancestry has something to do with my politics. And I think being deeply suspicious of government and communists is implicit in a lot of first-generation immigrants, particularly from Eastern Europe. My mom came over from Romania when she was a kid and they fled the commies who took their family hemp farm.

Lisa Kennedy Montgomery Quotes