I confess to being a political junkie/wonk/pundit. Honestly, I don't much like politics. However, I have come to realize that just about every form of human activity involves politicking, so I decided I had better get good at it.
I am a reformed, conservative Republican, because conservative policies usually make sense and liberal policies, more often than not, do not. I grew up holding strongly to very liberal beliefs; I remember being depressed to hear that George H. W. Bush had won the Presidency. I stood up for abortion rights, expanded government spending, and other pet liberal topics, through high school. By the end of high school, though, I had begun to question the economics, political theory, and moral arguments underlying liberal politics, generally, and Democratic party politics, in particular. I reached my own conclusions and realized that I agree far more often with conservative and Republican arguments than with liberal or Democratic ones.
I do try, however, to give those with whom I disagree the benefit of the doubt as to motive. For example, though I may disagree vehemently with the position of the Democratic party on abortion, I do not make the assumption that Democrats support abortion primarily because it is politically expedient. Likewise, I appreciate it when those with pro-abortion views do not assume that I am pro-life primarily because of the voter blocks that position appeals to, or because of my religious beliefs or affiliation. (In fact, on this particular issue, I think the non-religious case against abortion is at least as strong as, if not stronger than, the case from Christianity.) The same applies to other issues; just because two people disagree, even if each finds the other's position insupportable, doesn't mean they can't be civil to each other and show a little respect.
I blog on politics in the EdBlog.
Some of the political sites I find useful or interesting:
- Power Line Blog - one of the leading, conservative blogs. "Must" reading for political junkies of any persuasion
- Redstate.org - "Collaborative Republicanism for the Masses"
- The Volokh Conspiracy
- Pejmanesque - a personal/political blog by Pejman Yousefzadeh
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Last Updated: May 12, 2008
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