MH - The Man Without a Party

Chris at Veritas has had it with the Republicans (wonder if he’d seen that story about Barton yet?). I asked myself that question a few years ago – why am I a Republican, why am I even involved in politics? (unfortunately, I asked the question while I was in the middle of running for office, which wasn’t the best timing on my part) and came up with the same answer.

As Chris mentioned, there’s a growing difference between being a conservative and a Republican. It’s correct to point out that I generally vote Republican when I vote (in Minneapolis, it’s a challenge to vote for a Democrat, especially when the opposition party here is the Greens), but that happens when the Republican and conservative positions align.

Even here though, you have to be careful. Many’s the Republican who finds a new “maturity” after they’re elected, and with that maturity comes a sudden moderation. (“Things are different once you actually get into office” being a typical explanation.)

Hadleyblogger Gary, like me a former Republican (Gary believes there exists two political choices – his, and the wrong one) is fond of saying that the Republicans and Democrats are often two sides of the same coin – they both believe in big government and want to spend your money, just on different things. (I like to think I’ve had a positive influence on his life in that regard.)

Nonetheless, it’s true that Republicans do tend to offer the more conservative candidates, and to that end I’ll probably wind up voting for them more often (although I find myself questioning even the traditional definition of conservative, about which I’ve written before and will be returning to in upcoming days). What’s more likely to happen is that I’ll continue my drift away from politics, toward one of the more fulfilling aspects of my life – the one that began when I realized you don’t change the world by passing laws, but by converting hearts. (Jim Cork says much the same thing here, and says it beautifully.) You still have to do the one, but you can never forget the other.