I was just lying in bed thinking about the fact that political blogs are all pretty lame, and people who only talk about politics are generally shitheads with nothing but bile in them. Left or right. Lame. They’re just writing about politics because it gets a reaction, and a lot of people crave a reaction.

I used to consider myself not strongly Republican and not strongly Democrat, and I really only got heavily into being a Democrat recently, when the Republican leadership turned batshit crazy. But I don’t consider myself a leftist or particularly liberal. I still think I’m pretty moderate, because I don’t think that the ideas that the right wants me to believe are outrageous are really outlandish at all.

Some thoughts to that end, a.k.a, Why I Am a Moderate

• Being pro-gun control is not liberal. Being anti-gun is liberal. I’m pro-gun, because I think that there Second Amendment was just and rational, but I don’t think that anyone in an informed populace needs more than a few handguns and certainly none of them need to be M-16s. A waiting period and a backround check is not unreasonable and doesn’t circumvent the Second Amendment.
• Being pro-choice or pro-life as an economic or constitutional issue is moderate. Being pro-choice as a women’s issue is liberal. I’ve thought a lot about this one recently, and I’ve decided that I don’t really believe in women’s issues at all any more. But I do believe in a fundamental equality in all of humankind, and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness applies to everyone, and I find that it’s a pretty moderate to believe. In order to be guaranteed those rights, a certain amount of personal choice is involved. From a constitutional standpoint, I find no evidence that bans on abortion are warranted. But I do, with the separation of church and state being pretty clearly defined by our forefathers, find a pretty strong case against banning abortion for religious/moral reasons. (And as for other “women’s issues,” you’ll find that I’m very much aligned with some of them, because they fall pretty squarely in line with equality issues and people issues. So, ladies, either take advantage of your majority, or realize that your issues aren’t radical, they’re fundamental, and couching them as women’s issues only makes them divisive.)
• Reforming campaign finance is not liberal, it’s populist. It guarantees that the people are heard. Wouldn’t it be awesome if there were a hard cap on how much could be spent in an election… and both sides couldn’t get around it? Then politics would be dependent on the free flow of information and the power of a concerned citizenry.
• Using natural resources in a socially responsible manner is moderate. Being environmentalist is liberal. I don’t mind saying that I think capitalism is working well, and as long as my health isn’t harmed and my future isn’t jeopardized, it’s A-OK to use natural resources. If your corporation is profiting in the short term but will cost the government and the taxpayer in the future, then I’m not in favor of your activities. Why conservatives aren’t all over energy-efficiency and alternative fuel sources is beyond me… since conservatives should be all about conserving the resources available.
• National health care isn’t liberal. I’m just miffed about the fact that an inmate in a federal prison can get access to decent health care on the taxpayer dime and the kids in our schools can’t.

There’s more where that came from, but I want to go to bed.

Normally, I welcome your comments in this blog. Hell, I live for them. But on this topic, I don’t really want to hear it. I’m leaving comments open, and if you’re respectful, cool. But if you’re not, I’ll just delete it, because it’s my blog, and you know what? I don’t want your hate here.