There's room for most everyone here. Before we go any further, though, you should know what you're getting into. Please note that disagreement with any or all of the points listed below does not mean that you and I cannot have a vigorous and meaningful conversation. I just want to make sure that everyone understands what the Meat-Eatin' Gun-Totin' Democrat stands for (and against), and to get a general idea of the tone of my future posts.
This IS a blog where foul language, profanity, obscenity, blasphemy, and vitriol will be flung about with abandon. If you have a problem with that, or think it's "unprofessional", or are otherwise uncomfortable with a very aggressive style of editorial journalism, you're probably going to have some issues with this blog. The Left in America is often guilty of excessive deference to the politics and ethics of the Right, while the Right just labels anyone less reactionary than George W. Bush a "traitor" or a "communist". I have no intention of being that simplistic. However, I refuse to accept bold-faced lies or, worse, anti-American ideas and policies disguised as "patriotism". When I see injustice, I get angry. When I see myth disguised as history, I get angry. And when I get angry, I swear like a sailor. In short, the adults are trying to have a conversation here, and that includes the use of adult language. And no, that doesn't mean I'm stupid or limited in my command of English; it means I'm pissed off and I don't see any reason to pretend that I'm not.
This is NOT an idealistic blog. The Meat-Eatin' Gun-Totin' Democrat (hereafter referred to as the MEGTD) is a forum for the discussion of politics as they exist . When you start prating on about how turning everyone vegan will save the planet, or how the country would be just peachy if Rand Paul manages to abolish the Fed and the Department of Education, I lose patience very quickly. Similarly, I don't want to hear a bunch of nonsense about conspiracy theories, or how the two parties are really in collusion and controlled by the Illuminati, etc. The world doesn't work that way. Also this blog is not interested in angry or despairing commentary on the subject of the United States government and its "inability to get anything done". Remember your high school civics lessons; the government of the United States is neither completely disconnected from reality nor capable of fixing everything. This is doubly true of the office of the Presidency. Let's talk about viable solutions, not pie-in-the-sky abstractions, whether positive or negative.
This is NOT a peacenik blog. The Meat-Eatin' Gun-Totin' Democrat has many family members who have served in the armed forces (primarily the Navy), and in case you hadn't guessed from the name, he is a proud gun owner and supporter of the 2nd Amendment. (He is NOT an NRA member!) The MEGTD is generally disgusted with idle talk of "world peace", a condition that has never existed in the history of the world and that is very likely never going to exist. He has no patience for those who disrespect the armed forces, nor does he have any patience with those who would use them, abuse them, and throw them aside. Our nation's military is the best in the world, and without them you and I wouldn't be sitting here blathering on about the finer points of policy. Yes, they have been misused, and sometimes horribly, such as in Vietnam and Iraq. Yes, there are issues with the power of the military-industrial complex. Yes, we do overwhelmingly send the children of the poor to fight and die. Yes, the military rank and file are underpaid. Yes, we need to use diplomacy first.
However, there is no way that a country that consumes 386 million gallons of gasoline a day can subscribe to isolationist foreign policy. There is no way that we can expect the rest of the world to do their duty in the face of genocide--look at the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo during the 1990s, when the EU did nothing even after Srebrenica, when it was up to President Clinton and the United States armed forces to put a stop to the mass slaughter of innocents based on their race or ethnicity. There is no way that we can expect the world's only other superpower, the People's Republic of China, to take over our duties as the bulk of UN Peacekeeping forces without forever changing the nature of global politics for the worse.
War is ugly. War is unfortunate. War is also, occasionally, necessary. Thus we must remain prepared. A large part of that preparedness must necessarily include not wasting our resources on needless conflicts. (Iraq, obviously, qualifies as a "needless conflict". Afghanistan does not.) We'll return to this subject again and again.
This is NOT a "blame-America-first" blog. I am a patriot (and no, that word is not owned by the Tea Party, by the racists, or by anyone who uses it as codespeak for "right-wing asshat"). Does this mean that I refuse to criticize my country? Absolutely not. Does it mean that I'm disgusted with the Left's inability to distinguish the difference between knee-jerk unpatriotic nonsense and sincere, useful criticism? Absolutely. Does it mean that I'm similarly disgusted with the Right's ridiculous "on-again off-again" patriotism, like the Fox News "government is good when the GOP is in the White House/Government is bad when the Democrats steal the Executive Mansion" dichotomy? Again, absolutely. With that said:
This is NOT, in any way, a "fair" or "centrist" blog. I am not trying to foster "bipartisanship". There was a time when bipartisan politics meant the Democrats and the Republicans meeting in the middle of the aisle to pass things like Medicaid and the Civil Rights Act. "Bipartisanship" in the 21st Century means, essentially, that the Republicans won't vote for even common-sense legislation without stripping any and all left-wing language or goals from a bill (and often means that said bill will get killed in committee unless they're allowed to put sixteen different and totally pointless cause du jour social-engineering amendments at the end, so that a perfectly ordinary appropriations bill can't be passed without making it illegal to spell the word "abortion" in semaphore). The GOP has completely lost its way. The Democratic Party of the United States is now the only voice of reason left on the field. While there is a definite bias here, the Democrats are also considered to be fair targets for satire or even invective. Which leads us to the next point:
This is NOT a "Blue Dog" blog. There was a time when I identified with the DLC and its members, but their desire to please Big Business and their refusal to maintain party discipline during the early years of the first Obama term have put me right off them and their bullshit. We agree on things like national defense and gun policy, and disagree on just about everything else. However, I'd still take any one of them over the Republicans. Party unity is a big issue for Democrats. We tend to forget that the President cannot make everyone happy, and we fragment over the least little thing, refusing to show the kind of loyalty the other guys do when the chips are down. Worrying about your damn pet issue instead of the general success of your party and your President is a sure recipe for disaster at the polling place and disappointment with your elected officials even when you win.
This is NOT a blog for most people who identify themselves as "libertarians". Note that I said "most". Certain ideologies included under the banner of libertarianism will probably feel comfortable with the general tone and content of this blog. Ayn Randers and other Austrian School devotees will completely disagree with me on economic matters, but we may have some common ground on social issues. Again, brainless ideologues need not apply: If you think the Founders were conservatives, leave now. If you believe that "government is too big", yet also think that that same government has the right to deny a woman's right to choose and to interfere in gay marriage, you're a fucking idiot. Go troll somewhere else.
This is NOT a blog for laissez-faire capitalists or their class-traitor shills. Don't like the Occupy movement? You won't like my blog. The super-rich are one of the biggest problems this country suffers from, and they need to start paying their fair share. However, I'm no anarchist either. Capitalism is necessary for all sorts of reasons; it works best, though, when it's managed, and balanced with the socialist social programs it helps to fund.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
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