Welcome! There aren’t too many “liberals” among the regulars here, but don’t let that put you off – I’m looking forward to more comments from you now.

Maybe – just maybe – we both might learn something…

As a liberal I welcome debate, but not when its some right wing nut job talking about death panels, birther issues, or jeebus christ, those things should be ignored and do not deserve to be debated.

No they don’t. Right now they are quite happy to sit back and say “we won”. I just hope they don’t win in 2010.

TAC – I feel that to truly understand the issues and sort out the solutions, there needs to be debate from all sides. But, the communication has broken down and the liberals don’t want debate. All they want is submission from what they see as greedy, rich people. It is easy to be blinded and have tunnel vision when all you hear is agreement to your views. They don’t teach respect for opposing views in schools; all the kids hear is one side. I should know, my kids used to be in public school and I saw it happening way back in the early 90s. Truth be told, I miss debating with people who are respectful and can argue with reason and logic instead of just call those they don’t agree with names. It smacks of being juvenile and immature.

skiri’ki – do you live in New England? Because I am well and truly trapped in a liberal wasteland.

That’s what’s so disconcerting to me, more than anything else. Politics has never been as polarized as it is now, to the point that we’ve reached where people refuse to be friends with those of differing beliefs.

I’m not sure either how things degenerated this far, but I suspect that the path weaved its way through the unmitigated disaster of the Carter administration, Reagan’s discrediting of socialism, the Lewinsky affair and impeachment, Afghanistan and Iraq to the election of a doctrinaire, embittered socialist. Combine aspects of all those and you have the perfect recipe for timeless hostility between the two sides.

How many times have you heard people say that they can’t imagine being in a relationship with someone of opposing political views?

That’s such a depressing thing to hear. My wife is a liberal and the only thing we argue about is politics, but the thought that it would be enough to drive us apart is ludicrous.

There is nothing that liberals can say to make me mad enough to even consider this, with the sole exception being to call me racist every time that I open my mouth.

Which is to say, more and more frequently these days…

I don’t believe that all liberals are like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. I recognize nuance in belief systems.

Why can’t liberals do the same? I resolutely refuse to discuss politics at work; bad combo (though my boss is also a Libertarian and we’ve had some pretty spirited conversations). However yesterday a coworker stopped by my office and brought up the healthcare situation.

She claimed that all conservatives just want to let the uninsured flap in the wind, to preserve their profits and bottom line.

Since she and I had never talked politics before, I think I stunned her when I indicated that I am a conservative. Yet she would not back off the idea that all conservatives are satan – she acknowledged that perhaps I may feel that healthcare needs reform – but she refused to acknowledge that any other conservative could possibly feel the same way.

So here is a big announcement: Kris, living in New England, is the sole conservative in the country who believes that our healthcare system needs to be reformed, that some kind of public option should be available.

And here is where she loses the nuance of the position – I also quite firmly and clearly stated that while I agree healthcare needs reform – it should not be done the way it’s being done. Period. It’s a big issue that deserves consideration, debate and review. Why it has to be ramrodded thru in less than one year is beyond me.

She missed all that. At the end of our conversation it was quite clear that she still believed I’m the only conservative on the planet who believes healthcare should be reformed. Period.