Ron Chusid of Democratic Daily announces new Blog: Liberal Values

[Dr Ron]

I hope I'm forgiven for such blatant blog whoring, but I'm hoping to make sure that all those who previously read my posts at The Democratic Daily are aware of my new blog (and of course new readers are welcome too):

http://www.liberalvaluesblog.com/

From the opening post at the Liberal Values Blog:

Announcing the Liberal Values Blog
My new blog, The Liberal Values Blog, has opened this evening. Following is from our introduction:

I thought of myself as a values voter before this became an over-discussed topic after the 2004 election. In other words, I sometimes voted based upon my values, even if this conflicted with my economic interests. While this is the often said of recent Republican voters, my situation was the reverse of theirs. By values I did not mean the same thing as those who attributed moral values to conservative Republicans. The values I was concerned with are those values upon which this nation was founded: individual liberty, a Constitutional republic limited by the Bill of Rights and kept in check with separation of powers, religious freedom (including separation of church and state which is necessary to guarantee this), and free enterprise as opposed to corporate welfare and use of government to transfer wealth to the ultra-wealthy.

Recent years have created new challenges for those who hold liberal values. Conservatives demonized the word liberal to often mean big government, and even some liberals forgot the roots of liberalism in liberty. Organizations which have fought for our civil liberties, such as the ACLU, were placed under attack. The religious right has attempted to impose their views on the nation, trying to restrict a woman's rights to control her own body, limiting stem cell research, and restricting education when scientific knowledge contradicted their fundamentalist views. Following the attacks of 9/11, and the decision of the Bush Administration to play politics rather than act to ensure our nation's safety, liberals became the advocates of a strong and sensible foreign policy rather than one which weakens our standing in the world and undermines our national security.

In recent years I have fought these battles in the blogosphere at the Unofficial Kerry Blog, Light Up the Darkness, the Democratic Daily Blog, and DemBloggers (where many of my posts will continue to be cross posted). In developing this blog I intentionally stressed values rather than the name of a political party. While we are at an unusual moment when one political party has been taken over by extremists of the far right, I recognize that members of one political party do not necessarily have all the answers. It is my hope that this site appeals not only to Democrats, but to socially liberal Republicans who are unhappy with the direction their party is going, as well as to libertarians. As was the case at The Democratic Daily, I also plan to continue to blog about totally non-political topics from time to time.

[Symphony of Freedom]

1. Liberalism is puny and weak...

left-libertarianism will prevail!

[Dr Ron]

2. Then you might like the site

My posts are often leaning towards left-libertarianism.

[blm]

3. Well, how were libertarians helping to investigate and expose BushInc

over the last 40 years?

Seems like most of you kept silent or stuck by GOP instead of joining the liberal Democrats pursuing IranContra, illegal wars in Central America, BCCI, CIA drugrunning.

Too bad Libertarians ignored those battles for decades. Were they saving their energy?

[Dr Ron]

6. I wouldn't lump all libertarians together

Yes, many libertarians have been conned by the GOP and vote for them, which I think is quite contrary to libertarian principles.

As the poster above advocated left-libertarianism I'd assume he is using the "left" prefix to differentiate from them. Plus left libertarians do not stress laissez-faire capitalism as "right" libertarians do.

Personally I'd prefer to avoid the labels as they tend to lump people together who might not really agree, and separate others who may be close in their beliefs.

There are libertarian sites which are quite critical of Bush on the war, etc.

Bill Maher calls himself a libertarian (at least a big tent libertarian) and while sometimes he says things I disagree with, he is far closer to liberals than the GOP in his views on the subjects you mentioned.

Kos is calling himself a "libertarian Democrat" lately and plans his next book on this. If Kos is a libertarian, by this definition much of DU also is.

[blm]

7. well, I'm an ANTI-CORRUPTION Democrat who believes in Open Government, and

many Libertarians like Kos have fucked over anti-corruption Democrats in the pursuit of a dollar.

[Dr Ron]

10. Bringing Kos into the mix does confuse the issue

We know that ultimately Kos goes with tactics and style over principle or ideology so there are limits to using him as an example. Still, his use of the term Libertarian Dem does show the limitations of labeling people.

[blm]

11. And in his egoistic effort to create an impact he's concocted a label

that is at odds with actual, good governance - typical of his Republican roots.

[KoKo]

4. Thanks for the Heads Up on this Ron! Mentioning "values" here might

get you some folks thinking you are peddling us to move to the right the way the talk was back after 2004 when our party started to make some noise about how Dem values maybe weren't conservative or religious enough...but your Blog sounds like it's taking a different tack.

Thanks and I've bookmarked.

[Dr Ron]

5. Values do not mean conservative values

I'm definately taking the different tack. I hope I don't lose readers because people think I'm meaning moving towards the right. I'm hoping to stress the point that liberals have meaningful values which we must defend.

[KoKo]

8. Yes...I understood that...but you might have some who want to keep

their SS and have universal health care...not a libertarian viewpoint. On issues of the Blown Up Bush War Machine we are funding you might find that we Dems agree with Libertarians, though. And there are a few other points we share in common. It's just that we lock horns on some basic issues that might not be able to be bridged.

Still...good luck with your blog. I will check it out.

[Dr Ron]

9. True, there are areas of agreement and disagreement

Considering the degree to which the authoritarian right controls everything (at least until November) I think it is more important to seek common ground with libertarians on issues like the war, protecting civil liberties, and separation of church and state.

After the GOP is thrown out, there will be plenty to fight about, but I also think that is true among liberals who don't all agree on the issues.

Hardcore libertarians will want to do away with Social Security but others don't stress this as much. One Libertarian Party Presidential candidate ran on a platform of returning government to the level it was under JFK. That would preserve much of what we have, but unfortunately do away with some important programs like Medicare. On the other hand, the Kos style libertarian Dems would back such program and see them as increasing the freedom of those who need such assistance.

[KoKo]

12. Yes...I can see avenues to explore on these issues...but also have to

question how far Libertarians are willing to go since they were so "compliant" in the Bush I and II and Reagan years.

You might have seen your issues progressed by Reagan and Bush I and only hit a "roadblock" when the "trainwreck" of Bush II and our NATIONAL DEBT in the TRILLIONS finally took hold after years of Libertarians sticking heads in sand following the Right Wing Fundies.

Now..you come "knocking on our Dem Activist Lefties Door" and we are supposed to "welcome you?" I did and many progressives like me are open minded given the CRISIS WE FACE...but the point is...building a NEW LIBERTARIAN MOVEMENT ON the Backs of US...is not really something many of us would applaud.

But, we are open to new ideas...and Good Luck with your Blog.