Perhaps the most popular blogs of U.S. origin are those featuring posts pertaining to politics. So, I dove into political blogging.

I launched my shtick at Wizbang on July 25, 2011 with a commentary about liberalism. In it, I write, "The problem with liberalism is that it promotes excellence of intentions while also promoting actions that are anything but excellent.”^x

By selecting liberalism as my debut topic, I had hoped to establish that my political leanings were anything but far Left. Still, I needed to clarify to Wizbang readers just where I was politically. So, I made use of the Political Compass, a political test originating from the UK.

The owner of the test explains it this way:

"“It's important to realise that this isn't a survey, and these aren't questions. They're propositions — an altogether different proposition. To question the logic of individual ones that irritate you is to miss the point. Some propositions are extreme, and some are more moderate. That's how we can show you whether you lean towards extremism or moderation on the Compass. The propositions should not be overthought. Some of them are intentionally vague. Their purpose is to trigger buzzwords in the mind of the user, measuring feelings and prejudices rather than detailed opinions on policy.”^xi

The Political Compass places the score of the test-taker on a two-dimensional graph. The following graphic is my re-creation of that graph.

As the graphic shows, when it comes to political leanings, a person isn’t strictly on the Left or strictly on the Right. Instead, a person’s political leanings are two-dimensional.

I doubt that anyone’s test score could land at the exact center of the graph, but mine comes as close to doing so as possible. Mine is slightly to the right of center and slightly below the center. In short, the test reveals that I am a Centrist who leans slightly Right and slightly Libertarian.

Prior to taking the test, I had no idea where my score would put me on the Political Compass. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my score matched what I thought my position on the Compass should be.

My position on the Compass is practically a neutral position politically speaking. The position is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because it prevents me from being trapped in a political echo chamber. It is a curse because political echo chambers are often desired by hyper-partisans. As a result, I often end up in the political cross-fire of blog readers.

Another way of describing my political moorings is to say that I am a moderate Independent, something that Right-wing pundit Rush Limbaugh loathes.^xii

For a short while, I was a Libertarian, although at that time, my state didn’t officially recognize the Libertarian Party. I joined the Libertarians in order to learn about the street-level workings of a political party. Being that Libertarians in my state were few and far in between, I wouldn’t get lost or overlooked during local meetings.

For me, my participation as a Libertarian was an academic exercise, one that allowed me to observe political partisans up close. It also gave me better opportunity to encounter people running for public office. One of the members of my local Libertarian group ran for Congress, and – unintentionally – I gave him one of talking points that he used during his campaign.

Although there were a few elements of the Libertarian Party that appealed to me, I had no love for the Party’s other elements. When my family moved to another community, I could no longer attend monthly meetings. Since my enthusiasm for the Party was waning, I decided not to renew my membership when it came time to pay my annual dues.

My political affiliation then reverted back to my original one, which was that of a nominal Republican. I wasn’t a registered Republican because I was thrilled about the GOP. Instead, I registered as a Republican so that I could vote in primary elections.

I try to be pragmatic when it comes to politics. Being that my state is a solid-red state, I knew that it was far more likely that a Republican would be elected to Congress than a Democrat would. So, I wanted to have a say in which Republicans would be in general elections.

Still, the Republican Party had elements that were distasteful to me. In particular, the GOP was the political home of people who wanted the USA to become a theocracy of their liking. All too often, GOP members tried to use the government to impose their religious beliefs on the general public. This situation bothered me because I cherish the freedom of religion that all Americans have. That freedom means that people are free to not conform to another’s religious beliefs.

Sure, I expect a person’s religious beliefs to influence that person’s politics. Such is inevitable. However, being a person of faith does not requires the undermining of the freedom of religion of others. I, too, desire to express my faith, but I decided to do so through writing.

Finally, during the 2012 presidential campaigns, some people went too far with their mixing of religion and politics. A 12/13/2011 Sioux City Journal story reports the following:

"“A group of conservative Christians took to the road Tuesday to convince Republicans to caucus for Michele Bachmann on Jan. 3. Calling Bachmann 'biblically qualified' to be president at a Statehouse news conference Tuesday, former state Rep. Danny Carroll of Grinnell, Iowa, said the group is calling on Christians in Iowa to back Bachmann's candidacy.”^xiii

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states, “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”^xiv

When I enlisted in the U.S. Navy, I took the following oath:

"“I, __________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”^xv

Requiring politicians to pass a religious test is a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution. Although I am no longer a U.S. Navy Petty Officer, I still adhere to my vow to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” If the GOP was going to blatantly violate the U.S. Constitution, then I wasn’t going to be a registered Republican. So, I re-registered to vote as an Independent.

Being an Independent gives me a bit of an advantage when I blog. Because I am an Independent, I cannot be legitimately accused of partisanship when I say something positive about one political party or say something negative about another political party.

My being an Independent helps me to avoid political blindness. I can confront the flaws of a political party that its members won’t acknowledge. Of course, those members object to me doing such. However, I have no obligation to please them.