Feel the Dating Bern: Top politically savvy match-makers

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2016/03/02/feel-the-dating-bern-top-politically-savvy-match-makers/

BOSTON – While the presidential primaries are heating up, so are some politically oriented dating websites. BernieSingles.com is only the latest in a slew of singles sites for those trying to find a partner who is politically as well as personally compatible.

Today’s singles aren’t just more comfortable with chatting about politics compared with previous generations – it actually boosts their chances of winning another date, according to a Match.com study released last month.

A hearty discussion on any political issue can bump up chances of scoring a second date by 91 percent, according the survey. Among other topics, more than 80 percent of singles are willing to discuss religion, gun control, immigration and marriage equality while on a date.

If you want to snag a second date with a Republican, go to an expensive restaurant – your chances will increase 122 percent, Match said. Eating sushi or Middle Eastern food and ordering after-dinner drinks can also more than double chances.

For Democratic dates, ordering sushi can also increase chances for another rendezvous by 126 percent, while ordering a cocktail or after-dinner drinks are also pleasers.

So, if you’re tired of eHarmony and OkCupid, here’s a breakdown of some of the newest or most popular politically savvy dating sites:

BernieSingles.com. If you want to “feel the Bern” both politically and romantically, this free site may be for you. This free site sprouted up late last month and has already garnered more than 7,000 registered users, including some of the most active members of groups like “New Englanders for Bernie” and “Bern it up in Boston.”

RepublicanSinglesDating.com. With thousands of Republican singles – including in the New England area – this site claims to be ideal for anyone “searching for love to create a family with the same political views” or even just those “looking for a friend to talk politics and go to rallies with.”

LiberalHearts.com. Looking for someone to love along with a dose of liberality? With a very thorough profile process, LiberalHearts.com joins together single “democrats, progressives, environment and animal rights activists.” Most of the site is free, but it says the fee charged to match up with a date goes to organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and GreenPeace.

ConservativesOnly.com. Date a conservative, “because liberals just don’t get it,” claims this website. There’s some ambiguity as to whether “get it” refers to political views or something more intimate. The site launched in 2012 and aims to foster both platonic and romantic partnerships between people “from all walks of life, from all ethnic backgrounds, age groups and sexual orientation who adhere to the same philosophy that liberalism is a ‘dating dealbreaker.’”

The Atlasphere. For those who fantasize over libertarian author Ayn Rand, those dreams of a soulmate from the same political genre might become reality courtesy of this website. A cross between a platonic meetup group, online forum and dating site, it simply wants to provide a way for Rand’s fans to hook up.

OkComrade. “Forget OKCupid. Too bourgeois,” says this website, a Facebook page with more than 12,000 followers. Community members come from a wide political variety, such as a “21- year-old nonsectarian leftist” who “digs pretty much anything ranging from social democracy to anarchism.” Others “practice non-hierarchical polyamory, like Freidrich Engels, and the other early socialists pioneered” and therefore “find it hard to date people that are not radical leftists.”

If these fail you, there are more generic alternatives, like RepublicanPeopleMeet, DemocraticPeopleMeet, DemocraticSingles.net, LibertarianPassions.com or ConservativeDates.com. All might be able to help you out, depending on your political persuasion. And if none of these sites work, there are always oddly specific apolitical sites like STDMatch.net, ClownDating.com or UglySchmucks.com.

Contact Kara Bettis at [email protected] or on Twitter @karabettis.