I never understood a blanket endorsement of a President by a whole party. Party's are made up of so many different interest groups and ideologies that it seems impossible to make on person appealing to a full cross section of the party. This season has been a difficult one for the Republican party because you have a disgruntled base with the Presidential candidate, a disgruntled middle with the Vice Presidential candidate, and 75% of the total party is disgruntled with the incumbent President. There is a lot of disgruntling going on.

This is the 191st post in 2 months since starting this blog. I had a goal of 60 posts by the election and though some of the posts were just plain silly, some at least had some substance. I thought that Watching Phoenixville was too limited in its scope so I wanted to broaden some views here in Phoenixville. Besides, summer and fall of an off election year Council session is pretty lame before the budget.

I am a Republican. I believe that global warming exists and that polar bears are pretty important. I believe that a $10 trillion dollar deficit is a bit high and quite unhealthy. I believe in God and accept the fact that those that believe in other gods, other religions, or even no god or religion, are people too. I don't like prayer in school but a moment of silence so my kid can check out the ass of the girl in front of him is OK by me. I think the war in Iraq has gone on too long and was probably illegal to begin with. I believe in checks and balances. I believe in a moderate Supreme Court. I believe in a limited Presidency. I am against abortion but as a white Christian male I don't feel comfortable legislating this against the rights of citizens who are not like me. I believe that there is an implied right to privacy in the Constitution that applies to all of us in an infinite number of scenario's. I think Exxon profits are obscene. I think that health care is a problem and if we are going to continue as a super power, we need to do more to insure that all our citizens are covered and that the quality of health care is raised. I believe that the sad erosion of civil liberties will be the one lasting legacy of the Bush administration. I believe that we should all vote for our own self interests but that we should never turn a blind eye on the interests of our neighbors. I am just a normal guy and a registered Republican. Nothing special. I consider myself a progressive though I am somewhere between a Rockefeller Republican and a Goldwater Republican. I am a moderate in an age of extremism in the Republican party.