Am I a Partisan?

Actually, I'm half-Norwegian. The rest is Irish, mostly.

Seriously:

Many business owners don't discuss politics, or let their political views be known. That's often a good idea. We deal with people who have a wide range of views, or no strong views at all. There's no sense in shocking or offending them. After all, their money's good, whether they're Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Progressives, Libertarians, Marxists, or Nazis.¹

On the other hand, this is a blog about starting a small business, and doing business in America. Politics affects business. So with the American presidential election just over a week away, I'm starting to write about the candidates.

An earlier post, "Joe the Plumber Asked the Wrong Question" (October 25, 2008), got several comments. One of them was from that very prolific correspondent, Anonymous.

Anonymous ended a somewhat cryptic set of remarks and/or questions with this:

"Are you a Partisan?

"Should they give their view......? If any party did not give their views, send it to their supporter to question them...."

That got me thinking: Am I a Partisan?

"Partisan" means quite a few things. It's a pike with a long, rather fancy, double-edged, tapering blade. That sort of partisan hasn't been used much, since the 17th century, and obviously I'm not a stick with a knife on the end.

Anonymous probably meant "partisan" as it's more often used: "zealot, drumbeater (a fervent and even militant proponent of something)".

On the other hand, Anonymous capitalized Partisan, which means it's being used as a proper name. There isn't any country called Partia, of course. Or Partania, for that matter. And, I'm not a member of the Texas Partisan Rangers. (That would make me really old, wouldn't it?)

On the other hand, I can get zealous about some things. Facts and common sense, for example.

Yes, I Care About What Happens to America

I've started writing posts for the blog that discuss the American presidential election, and the candidates. I'm far from unbiased. I live in America, and who gets to sit in the oval office's big chair for the next four years makes a difference.

I'd be crazy if I wasn't biased.

Do I "Belong" to Any Political Party?

I've received pubic assistance, and have voted for Democrats. That doesn't make me a Democrat.

I've started my own company, and have gone to Republican conventions, up to the state level. That doesn't make me a Republican. (Actually, it does, as far as being qualified as an observer at the polls.)

The Democrats I voted for seemed to be the best candidates. I got involved in Republican politics because issues I am concerned about were being discussed. But I am not a partisan Democrat or Republican.

I suppose you could call me a partisan American. I think there's a reason (besides welfare) why, for over a century, so many people have been trying to break into this country: instead of the other way around.

America is far from perfect, but it's a place that's gone from "Irish Need Not Apply" to having an Irish president: and will, almost certainly have a president who's black, a woman, Polynesian, or whatever group you're rooting for.

But, I hope that the first black president isn't Barack Obama.

Not because he's

• Black (about the same way I'm Norwegian)
• Was born in Hawaii
• Graduated from the Harvard Law School
• Is said to be
  • A Muslim
  • The Antichrist

When Barack Obama started getting national attention, I was cautiously enthusiastic about the charming and eloquent junior senator. Until I started learning details about his 'lets all stop this bickering and just get along' vision for America.

I've been posting about the American presidential election for several months on another blog. A post that'll give you a general idea of my views is "Monkey Pirates, Jews, and Zionists? Get a Grip!" (Another War-on-Terror Blog (October 14, 2008)).

Not Democrat, Not Republican, What Do I Believe In?

Americans who have values and opinions about social and economic issues are generally divided into groups, like:

• Conservative
• Democrat
• Liberal
• Progressive
• Republican
• Whig
• Tory

What the groups are, and how they are defined, has changed a bit in the last two centuries. Although I am "conservative" in many ways, by contemporary American standards, I'm not exactly "a conservative."

I'm Catholic.

I base my views on what some of the best minds of the last two millennia have had to say about what people do, what they should do, and why. I've started a blog, A Catholic Citizen in America, to discuss my ongoing attempt to apply thousands of years of accumulated wisdom to the America of Disneyland, Wal-Mart, and Paris Hilton.

How Could Anyone Possibly Not Want Barack Obama as President?

This blog is about business, so that's what I'll concentrate on here.

I'm nowhere near being a bloated capitalist oppressor of the proletariat. I doubt that I'll ever be in the same class as Matt Drudge and Ted Turner. On the other hand, I plan to continue growing my Small World of Websites.

And that means that I'd rather have someone with McCain's views in the White House, than Obama, whose desire to redistribute wealth is starting to emerge.

And that's a topic for another post.

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¹ Marxists? Nazis? People with these views need groceries too. Not that I'm at all comfortable with either group's beliefs.