A friend of mine directed my attention to Governing: Blogs/July 2005this article in Governing Magazine entitled, “Instant Influence: A new generation of web scribes is shaking up state capitol politics.” The article focuses on a couple of blogs on Texas politics in particular. Personally, I was particularly struck by the interviewed blogger’s comments about partisanship.
Smith insists that In The Pink is nonpartisan. “I was trained in journalism and do have a code I stand by,†she says. “I’m not a party puppet.†You don’t have to read her blog too closely, however, to deduce Smith’s politics. She rips hardest at social conservatives for their efforts to ban gay marriage and crack down on late-term abortions.
In The Pink dresses down Democrats, too. But it slams Republicans more. Smith contends that has less to do with personal bias than with the fact that Republicans control the House, Senate and all statewide offices in Texas. Reading her blog, you get the sense that Smith doesn’t so much want to stoke partisan hatred as simply to poke fun at the daily carnival that is a legislature in session, filled with powerful people, egomaniacs and social climbers.
The article goes on to suggest, “Most of the current blogs come at politics from the left. That’s probably to be expected — not because bloggers tend to be Democrats but because those first drawn to blogging tend to be dissenters.” (Incidentally, there is more to the article than just the partisanship angle — check it out if you’re interested in blogs & state politics.)
I was glad to see that the Governing article described the blogger’s self-described non-partisanship versus her actual articles which came across as anti-Republican. That tracks my political experience pretty closely. On the federal level, I am partisan. I think that the Bush administration and the national GOP is and has been horrible for our country. From the Clinton impeachment, to the runaway deficits of the last 30 years, to the War in Iraq, to the USA PATRIOT Act, to the Schiavo debacle, the national GOP is almost antithetical to what I believe in. I regard myself as fiscally conservative and socially libertarian. Which is to say, I think the federal government should balance the budget, confine itself as much as possible to necessary expenditures (I’ll grant you that the question of what is ‘necessary’ is a very problematic question), and stay out of our private lives (if it doesn’t pick my pocket or break my leg, it should probably be legal.)
On the state level, I suppose I’m basically a muckraker. I come across as anti-GOP mostly because I like taking shots at those in power. I’m seriously at odds, ideologically, with the socially conservative Republicans at the state level. But I think I probably have a lot in common with the business conservative wing of the party — having problems with procedure and proper balances, but nothing particularly fundamental. In any event, taking jabs at the state Democrats at this point just seems pointless since they aren’t much in control of anything. At the local level, I think the Republicans in my neck of the woods just flat out do a good job by and large. To me, successful local government seems to be more of an issue of individual competence than party politics.
Update – As if on cue, My DD has an entry discussing Dean’s speeches in western states which offer up sentiments consistent with my political worldview:
“We will promise you a balanced budget, and we will get government out of people’s lives,” Dean said.
“Republicans say that they are a party of small government, just small enough to fit inside Terri Schiavo’s bedroom,” Dean said. “Republicans say they’re in favor of small government, but they don’t mind telling women what they can or cannot do with their health care.
“Whatever happened to the rugged individualism in the Republican Party?” Dean asked. “It is very much alive and well in the Democratic Party.”
“Only Democrats balance the budget,” Dean said. “You cannot trust Republicans with your taxpayer money. Borrow and spend. Borrow and waste. That’s what the Republican Party stands for. We will do better.”
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“I’m tired of Republicans telling us we’re pro-abortion. I served on the board of Planned Parenthood for five years. I don’t know anybody who’s pro-abortion,” he said. “Most people in this country would like to see the abortion rate go down. That includes Democrats and Republicans. The difference between the parties is that we believe a woman makes that decision about her health care — and they believe Tom Delay makes it.”
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