I am inspired in content and formatting by Kind of Blue's wonderful post about being a "Bleeding Heart Liberal," here.  As I posted in my comment on Blue's post and have alluded to elsewhere, I'm as Republican as they come, and I'm praying that the 1994 congressional election repeats itself in 2010, and I even dare to hope that a Republican wins the White House in 2012. 

However, I agree with a good chunk of what Blue says when he's talking about reasons for being a "bleeding heart liberal."  My first eleven points directly parallel Blue's, and then I go my own way a bit.

Moreover, I've been irritated as all heck for years with the attitude, unfortunately for me pervasive in my chosen professional field, that Republicans are all greedy and uncaring and want to step on the little people.  Also, most troubling for me as an academic and educator is the attitude encapsulated in the old bumper sticker "Vote Republican: It's Easier Than Thinking."  With one exception, I've voted Republican ever since I've been able to vote, and here are the thoughts that underpin my doing so.  I may have been a Carter baby, but I was a Reagan child (and as an Anglophile, I am also quite a fan of Margaret Thatcher, from the same era), and to this day . . . 

I am a Reaganite Republican because, as the Gipper said, "Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem."   As the great Iron Maggie said, ". . . who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then also to help look after our neighbour . . . "

I want my government small.  I like my government off my back and out of my wallet.  I trust my family and friends, my neighbors and myself, not my government.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I believe in allocating more resources to education, but I never ever want to see another hour or penny spent on assessment, accountability, or administration.  Provide our students, K through grad school, with safe, clean institutions, appropriate resources, and content-expert teachers.  Then leave the teachers alone and let them do their thing.  For colleges, immediately close all the regional accrediting agencies and invest their funds in some kind of account that provides raises for professors in the region or scholarships for students.  Quit spending tax dollars on fiddling around with roads that won't need work for another couple decades and spend the money on raises for professors and tuition cuts for students.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I agree with Blue that "we are all entitled to full and effective health care coverage."  I believe, however, that this is not Europe, and this is not Canada, and that we as Americans need to find a way to provide health coverage for every man, woman, and child that gives no one other than individuals, their doctors, and their families a say in their treatment; that preserves choice of doctor, hospital, medication, et al.; that never generates the stories you hear from Europe and Canada about people being put on 6-month waitlists for tests and surgeries; that pays for it all without raising taxes a penny.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I believe our veterans are heroes and that we should all be on our knees thanking every veteran we know for keeping us free.  Of course they should have whatever the heck they need when they come home (as we all should, see above), but they are also entitled to sustained, public, unjaded respect and gratitude.  In my view, the pendulum hasn't swung far back enough from how people treated/talked about soldiers during the Vietnam War.  We need a little 1945.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, but I think that consenting adults ought to be able to set up whatever households they choose (operative word, in my opinion), name whomever they like as medical decision-maker, beneficiary, and so on, without the need for any government involvement.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I do believe that the Soviet Union was an evil empire, and I believe that Communism/Socialism/fill in the blank were scourges on the soul of humanity, and I believe that there is plenty more evil out there in the world that never sleeps and wants to attack our freedom.  I wasn't always thrilled during the last 8 years, but I slept much easier in my bed with regard to issues of national security then than I do now. 

I'm completely with Blue on the next two--his words are in quotation marks

I am a Reaganite Republican "because I believe that women should be paid the equal amount that a man is paid for the same work and/or job."  Fair is fair; sensible is sensible.

I am a Reaganite Republican "because I don't believe in discrimination in any way, shape or form against another person, regardless of race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex or sexual preference."   

This is not a contradiction with my belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.  Both my religious beliefs and my (layperson's) knowledge of Western history contribute to this opinion, but it is not, I repeat NOT, discrimination.  We on the Right are quite, quite tired of the national debate on these kinds of issues being framed in such a way that we're "hateful" before we even open our mouths.  I believe we're all equal before God and each other--no discrimination there.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I believe in a flat tax.  I believe every person, business, whatever, should pay the same percentage of whatever they earn, and that's all the money the government gets that year.  So called "progressive taxation" is often called "regressive taxation" on my side of the aisle, because too often all it does is punish/discourage achievement.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I, like Blue, believe that dissent is one of the highest forms of patriotism.  Right now, I am horrified that my government is spending all kinds of "stimulus" money instead of cutting taxes, stepping back from industry/market regulation, and letting the American people clean up this mess we've made for ourselves.  I am horrified by how my government is handling international events/threats.  I pray for our safety more fervently than at any point in these last 8 years.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I don't believe animals have rights, but I believe that humans have responsibility.  As a Christian, I believe we have to be responsible with the resources God gave us.  I also place much stock in the saying, "We don't inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children."  Environmental responsibility, to me, is about the safety and future of other humans, not about the notion that humans are somehow a threat to the Earth.  Earth can flick us off into the cosmos tomorrow, regardless of how much or how little carbon we emit.  Environmental responsibility is about protecting future people.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I believe that there is nothing the government can do better for people than they can do it for themselves.   I believe individuals who actually work for a living can make much better decisions about what to do with their money and other resources than 

I am a Reaganite Republican because I agree with the great Florence King: "The government has three duties: print the money, deliver the mail, and declare war."

I am a Reaganite Republican because 8 years ago, 3,000 members of our American family were murdered, just for going to work on a Tuesday.  I'll be seeing one's memorial while doing some errands this weekend.  Too many people I know (and I'm sure too many my readers know) have been to war since then to keep it from happening again.  Their bravery, and our leaders' hardnosed daring and determination, not diplomacy or international popularity-seeking, are oh so necessary.  Wasn't it Eisenhower who decided to invade Normandy by saying, "Okay, we'll go"?  Like I said above, we need more 1945.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I believe that life begins at conception, and I believe that in the days before Roe v. Wade responsible doctors found ways to provide medically necessary abortions, and I believe they'll do the same if there are ever days after Roe v. Wade, and I believe we as a culture ought to value marriage, children, and family.

I am a Reaganite Republican because I live in a rural area, and I'm devoted to my faith, and though I don't own any weapons I'm all in favor of the 2nd amendment, and I don't believe that any of this constitutes "clinging bitterly" to anything.

I am a Reaganite Republican because, like Blue, I love my country.  I thank God that I was born in this place and time in history, with all the freedoms and advantages this country provides and protects.  I'm sure it sounds cheesy, but I love my fellow Americans, even though various groups of us may not like each other very much from time to time.  I think what Blue pointed out, and what I've tried to extend in my discussion here, is that most ordinary Americans have a pretty similar set of general values and goals for the country; we just disagree about the ways to get to certain goals.

For example, I disagree with a lot of my friends here on OS about gay marriage, but in a larger sense we're all in agreement: we want to be left alone to live our lives as we see fit and to do what we believe is right.  We all want a safe nation, a free nation, individual freedom, equality across races, classes, genders, cultures, a healthy economy, our troops home from Iraq, Afghanistan, and everywhere else with decisive, stable victory concluded.  

 Two 1990s films really strike a chord for me.  Neither won any Oscars, but both Speechless and My Fellow Americans ended with hardcore Democrat characters and hardcore Republican characters coming together around the realization that, whatever their political differences, their larger civic values were in agreement.  I hope there's some of that left now.  That, and a little 1945.

To all--Happy Belated Independence Day.

*Please don't anyone throw specific policy decisions of the Reagan years at me.  I was 9 when he left office, I don't remember the specifics, and it's not a fair fight.  I'm using the term "Reaganite Republican" here in a broad sense for three reasons: 1) Like Blue whose post inspired me, I'm using a common label stuck on people in my party and saying what I mean by it; 2) I like the alliterative quality of "Reaganite Republican; 3) on my side of the political aisle, Reagan is our JFK.  We recognize he wasn't perfect, but he represents a golden age we want back.