Recycled Content

Michael J. Totten is a post 9/11 liberal hawk - and maybe not democrat - who does yeoman work as a blogger, writer, editor, activist, and reporter on issues from domestic politics to the Cedar Revolution to the war.

I admire him greatly, and have been a prolific commenter on his superbly written (and wonderfully guest hosted when he's off to Libya or Lebanon or just tooling around the country) blog.

Every once in awhile he puts up a post that can only be attributed to reflex.

"I doubt women are the only ones doing a re-think on this one. I voted for Bush last year, but I don’t expect I’ll vote for any Republicans next year. Bush won, as I’ve said before, on security issues not “moral values.” Bush isn’t up for re-election next year so the Republican national security advantage won’t likely exist. He’ll be in the White House no matter what. It will be safe to vote for the Democrats again, at least for one election. I suspect they will do well.

If the Republicans want to keep the swing voters who are willing to cross the center line they are going to have to do something for them. Having Tom DeLay throw bloody chunks of red meat to the Religious Right isn’t it."

I guess that Harry Reid of Nevada, Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, and Howard Dean currently off his meds don't ever throw any red meat, right?

I posted this response:

Michael -

You've spent a fair portion of the last year immersed in actively supporting nascent democracies - actual, physical travel and labor aimed at understanding the ground level realities of places like Libya (no, not near a nascent democracy, but in flux none the less), Lebanon, and all your work with Spirit of America and Friends of Democracy.

You have written extensively on the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine.

You know better than I ever will the political and philosophical underpinnings of the American (big "L") liberal movement and their party, the Democrats.

And you can tell me that you don't have a problem supporting them, based on domestic politics?

Just what level of compartmentalization do you practice to arrive at that position? The Republicans are doing a poor job in the Congress. They aren't governing like a