I want to begin my stay here at Vox Nova by thanking Michael Joseph for his gracious invitation to join such a distinguished and thoughtful group of bloggers. I first learned of Vox Nova from Professor Rick Garnett, who blogs at “Mirror of Justice,” and, like him, I’ve been extremely impressed with what I’ve seen thus far.
One of the things that has impressed me most about Vox Nova, is that those who blog here appear to be genuinely interested in having an intelligent dialogue about important societal issues; and, for that, I commend each of you.
All of that having been said, I do think there is a perception in the Catholic blogosphere, and among some of Vox Nova’s more conservative readers, that this blog tends to lean heavily to the left. Now, for what it’s worth, I am not terribly interested in debating whether this perception is warranted or not. The fact is that there are those who hold such a view, and Michael, to his credit, is seeking to address this perception by inviting me on board to give Vox Nova (perhaps) a little more balance.
So, what are my conservative bona fides? Well, to begin with, I am a front-page blogger over at RedState, which is, arguably, the most influential conservative blog around (along with NRO’s ‘The Corner“). I have been an active member of the Republican Party and the Federalist Society for over fourteen years. I subscribe to only two magazines/journals: First Things and Crisis. I was a Calvinist Southern Baptist for several years before joining the Catholic Church in 2003 (and we all know that converts are nothing but trouble, right? 🙂 ). If I had to choose a politician who best encapsulates my political views, it would either be Sam Brownback or Rick Santorum. My (modern-day) intellectual heroes/mentors, in addition to the Holy Father, are: Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Clarence Thomas, Judge Robert Bork, Father Richard J. Neuhaus, Michael Novak, Professor Hadley Arkes, Professor Robert P. George, George Weigel, and pretty much every person Damon Linker went after in his book. In sum, I am a staunch theocon. And while there is much more that I could mention in this regard, I think the foregoing should give y’all a general idea of my worldview.
All of that having been said, I am not a knee-jerk Republican. I often find myself in disagreement with the GOP and/or conservative base on issues like: immigration, the death penalty, habeas corpus, torture, the need for military intervention in Darfur, flag burning (an act I find repulsive, but nevertheless understand to be a protected form of political dissent under the First Amendment), to name just a few. I am also the only conservative I know who doesn’t watch or particularly care for the television program “24.” I am more of a Stephen Colbert kinda guy, and that makes many of my GOP buddies deeply suspicious of me. 🙂
In all seriousness though, my primary concern in the political arena is that the government do everything in its power to respect the dignity of every person from conception until natural death. I strongly believe that Christians have a duty to participate in the marketplace of ideas, and to be a voice for the voiceless.
But I digress. I hope this entry gives you an idea of who I am, and what you can expect of me here at Vox Nova.
Administrative note: I am getting ready to go on vacation for a week, so I probably won’t post anything else until after I get back. My hope is that by the time July rolls around, I will be posting a regular basis. In the meantime, please enjoy the thought-provoking posts of my co-bloggers.
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