i can't believe it myself, but i agree with pat buchanan.
this morning on "the connection" the topic was "bush as war president". i generally turn off the radio when "the connection" --a program i actually love-- focuses on iraq... i'm just tired of hearing about it. i've made up my mind, i know how i feel, and i personally see little reason to keep listening to arguments about the bungled war.
but something in the program this morning caught my ear and i stayed tuned in. i'm glad i did, because in the second half of the hour pat buchanan joined the discussion... and he surprised the hell out of me.
pat buchanan has written a book called "where the right went wrong", and he's here to say that he thinks EVERYTHING about iraq was mishandled. he has no problem speaking out against bush's decisions regarding "the war on terror"... i only wish kerry could speak so plainly. i found myself nodding my head in agreement with everything buchanan said.
of course, after a few minutes of vehement speech buchanan then goes on to say he supports the president's social policies, yadda yadda yadda (he was joining this discussion from the republican convention, after all)... but i'll give him that. to each his own. believe what you want to. it's the mere fact that i heard a republican considering something other than the 'party line' in regards to the war which impressed me to no end.
politics is never black & white. people who classify themselves as strictly liberal or strictly conservative are doing themselves a disservice, i think, by not being open-minded enough to consider that 'the other side' may have a couple of good ideas. (i classify myself, for what it's worth, as a democrat with occasional libertarian leanings.)
so --and this feels totally weird to say-- i feel like pat buchanan is a progressive voice of reason within the republican party when it comes to iraq. go figure.
Posted by xta at August 31, 2004 11:12 AM | TrackBackI heard parts of the Connection today too and was shocked as well. It's actually pretty sad that these days all it takes to be a progressive within your party is to think for yourself and question the policies of your government. But I am glad he's doing it. Even if it is Pat Buchanan.
Posted by: lainey at August 31, 2004 5:57 PMThis reminds me of the first time I ever voted...the lady in front of me explained to her child that the reason she voted straight ticket was "because it means Mommy gets done faster". I just about screamed -- remember, I was 18 at the time -- and from that day forward, I've harbored high resentment for anyone who just believes anything one group of people say on down the line. The least you could do is take each issue on its own merits, and vote for the person who most closely aligns him or herself with your own opinions.
Is that asking too much of the electoral process?
*steps off soapbox*
Posted by: Brian at August 31, 2004 11:15 PMBuchanan is an extreme isolationist, so his position on the Iraq war may be a "stopped clock" kind of thing. I doubt he's against the war because it's a bad war -- he'd be against US involvement in any conflict outside our borders, good or bad.
Before the primaries I took one of those online "which candidate is right for you" quizzes. I can't remember who it picked for me, but I do remember that it rated all candidates and among the republicans, I got the highest score on Buchanan. Which completely freaked me out.