About my politics
One blogger today, in responding to my comments about Iraq funding, suggested that I'm a Democrat.
For the record, I'm an independent.
Not that I have anything against Democrats. Or Republicans. As I often tell groups I speak to, I've been in journalism long enough to know that there a good people in both parties, and some real losers in both parties. Mostly, I wish both parties would give us some of our tax money back.
Locally, of course, most everyone self-desbribe themselves as "Republican." Indeed, a lot of the Democrats I meet here call themselves Republicans!
And then you have the members of the Okaloosa County Commission, most of whom describe themselves as "conservative" Republicans, even as the county's budget has more than doubled in the past decade. If that's conservative, then monkeys will fly out my.....ears.
Like I say, I'm an independent. Which is just fine with most people, as long as I agree with them.
posted by Patrick Rice @ 3:06 PM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
Sorry for assuming, Pat. My bad. I was just getting a hint from your previous posts that you might be...you know...the "D" word.
I'm glad a lot more people these days are going "independent". This means people are getting fed-up with both parties, and not just one. And I think all Americans are becoming more and more independent, because both parties are imploding right in front of our eyes. But maybe this is just one of those trends that comes and goes every several years, and it probably is.
But hey, I still say you get a cookie! On the other hand, my paper was late today...So make that a raisin cookie. ;)
So is Bill O'Reilly ;-)
doug
Democrat designates party affiliation, and there's no way to know that unless you say it.
Liberal designates ideology, and that can be, for the most part, discerned through various opinions.
Not that I'm calling you a liberal either (I don't know enough about your ideology to make that assumption yet). I'm just saying that if someone wants to insult you, they should get their terms right. And for the record, I agree with drew's sentiment about political parties. I wish they would just go away. I'd rather vote for a good conservative than a good Republican.
Once upon a time in Okaloosa County, if you weren't registered as a Democrat, you didn't get to vote for the many candidates running for office - because primaries are closed in Florida!
Then came the exodus. After being elected, a flock of county pols defected to declare themselves now Republicans.
From that point on, if you weren't registered as Republican, you were in the same boat - no way to sift out the many candidates in Florida's closed primary system.
Until Florida changes to open primaries, you are going to continue to have party registration rolls that aren't really indicative of preference.
I'd venture to say that close to half of those currently registered as Republican are really Independent!
I would just ask you two questions. Have you always been independent? If not, what party were you a member of previously?
Also, I would emphasize the fact (not at you personally but for the public) that it doesn't matter what party you're a member of if you don't vote.
I would leave you with a quote from Walter Lippmann..."Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much."
Keep up the good work, Mr. Rice. If you are getting hate mail from both sides, that usually means you're doing a good job.
Just as you suggest that the conservative republicans aren't what they say they are I also suspect that you are not what you say you are. You can call yourself an independent but I have never read anything from you that isn't one hundred percent to the left. Perhaps that is what "idependent" means now, Democrat isn't to the left enough.
My goodness, saying that Tom Rice's writing's have all been leftist is rdiculous. However, Governmentbyidiots has hit the nail on the head. For this area, a moderate is a wild eyed liberal. To be a "certified conservative" in the panhandle one has to be a blible thumping, bigoted red neck who hates women, minorities and any form of gun control. Hopefully, these ex-KKK wannabes are old and will eventually fade away.
All I know is that regardless of your party affiliation or independent status, you do produce an excellent newspaper. I spend summers in Denver where I subscribe to two major dailies. I find that I can keep just as well informed by reading the Daily News as I would in Denver reading the two dailies. And even though you are in a military town, you do not pander to the military. I am a retired editor and I have studied newspapers for 50+ years. ---Jerry
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