"Minor" political events that had a big impact in shaping your outlook

[Orser67]

Not a completely minor political event, but the 2010 elections had a huge impact on me as a "welcome to reality" moment. After 2006 and 2008, I was convinced that Democrats would be the permanent majority. Since then, I've become convinced that elections are largely cyclical.

Also, McConnell's remark that his chief goal was to make Obama a one-term president made me lose a lot of respect for the Republican Party (though, in my experience, I still dislike the Republican Party less than many other Democrats). My opinion on passing laws shifted from "let's try to write 'objectively' great laws and convince Republicans to sign onto them" to "let's pass legislation however we can since Republicans aren't going to do anything useful anyway."