I have a friend who has been blogging for years. His subject matter runs from Iowa's smallest farm to the Green Bay Packers. Being an Iowa Democrat, the majority of his blog is focused on politics. Now, I have watched John's political journey take him from hanging a Soviet flag in our college house; through PAC work in Washington, D.C.; past a couple noble, but failed, candidacies; to local election guru. Through the years, I've witnessed his perspective become more and more mainstream. That being said, his ideology has been, is, and always will be "left of the dial." It really is political growth without compromise. For this, I admire the man immensely.
Now let me put that praise into perspective. I am known in John's circles as "his Republican friend." Truth be told, I am growing more and more apprehensive of that title. Nothing will change my pride in the friend title, but President Bush sure is battering my pride in the Republican label. I actually caucused for my first time this past election cycle. I was even a delegate at the state convention . . . for the Independence Party of Minnesota. This is where the title of my blog comes in.
According to the dictionary, quixotic is defined as "idealistic without regard to practicality." That about sums up my political ideology. I believe strongly in the pillars of Republicanism (small central government, support business, state's rights, etc.), but I can't cow-tow to a party that is pandering to it's conservitive right wing at the cost of it's principles. Many people have told me that my 3rd party stand is impractical. I know that, and I'm constantly torn between a major party who claims to represent my interest and a 3rd party that comes much closer to actually doing so.
How can Republicans claim to defend state's rights when they force No Child Left Behind down their throats, and don't even give them the fuding to help wash it down. How can they preach a smaller federal government and add new departments everytime they don't like the way the responsible department handles something. It's a lot like welding a refrigerator door to a Hummer with bad armour. Just fix the original problem instead of piling one on top of another.
Anyway, I'll try not to rant to much in my first blog, there will be plenty of opportunity to do that later. Here is where you come in. My political journey is stalled. I don't like where the Interstates (major parties) take me, and I can't see that the side roads (3rd parties) can get me where I want to go. One thing I do know, trust, and value is honest discourse of the issues (I told you I was quixotic!). My opinions and rants are merely one side of many to the issues I will address. The more views we can uncover here, the more realistic this blog can become. Don't let politics on my site, in your country, or even your neighborhood, remain one, or even 2 sided. I like to think of issues as multi-faceted. The more sides we expose, the more interesting the issue becomes, and the more we can understand the issue from many perspectives.
I admire my friend John, although I don't always agree with him. His Blog is linked here so that many of the issues I cover have at least 2 views. Please add your views as well.
