Western Liberalism and the New Blue Review

Hello, and welcome to the first installment of the New Blue Review, a name that for children of the 1970s such as myself that recalls a weird old TV show (check out this clip) but is also intended to be a reference to the new, more liberal west. It's the discussion of this region and this sentiment -- and the future direction of both -- that will be the focus of this blog. Well, that and trying to make this an entertaining read each week.

I suppose every endeavor should begin with a mission statement, but before we get to that let me tell you about myself so that you will have a better idea of where my thoughts are coming from. This might help before you decide to either agree with my ideas or refute them, and then hopefully join me and others in a civil discussion of the issues.

My name is Todd Hartley, and I live in Basalt, Colorado. I'm a married father of one, a homeowner and a semi-employed writer/comedian/bartender. I'm originally from an affluent town back east, but I went to college in Colorado Springs starting in 1988 and have been a Colorado resident basically ever since. I'm like that old lame bumper sticker: "Not Native, but got here as soon as I could." I don't feel that this gives me any more or less of a right to an opinion than anyone else, regardless of how long their family has lived out here.

I write a weekly humor column for The Aspen Times called "I'm With Stupid," for which I received a 2008 Colorado Press Association award for "Best Humor Column." I had a weekly sports column, "Cheap Shots," that ran in the Aspen Times from 1998-2004, a time during which I was also a sports reporter for said newspaper. I'm a blogger, obviously, and an infrequent freelance writer, and I do standup comedy whenever I get the chance. For more of my writing, plus some standup clips and short films I made, you can take a look at my site: Todd Hartley's World.

Now, on to the mission statement: The New Blue Review, ideally, will seek to define and perhaps refine new Western liberalism -- manifested in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada voting for Obama in 2008 -- through informed and researched opinion on my part, followed by rational and well thought-out discussion on the part of you, the readers, if indeed you exist. That's the dream, anyway. We'll see if I or this blog ever actually reach those heights.

Before you go thinking that I plan to just be some mouthpiece for the left wing, however -- sort of a minor-league Keith Olbermann -- bear in mind that I don't necessarily agree with the Democratic Party on everything, and I don't think I'm alone. That, to me, is the gist of what separates Western liberalism from its more urban counterparts.

• We don't necessarily think that bailouts and vague stimulus packages are the best use of our money, but we're pretty sure that costly wars are not.

• We think as much land as possible should be preserved for future generations, but we think things like ski areas and golf courses and snowmobiles and ATVs and mountain bikes are pretty cool, too.

• We believe law-abiding citizens should be allowed to own guns for hunting and home protection and self defense, but we don't think anyone needs an AK-47 or an Uzi to do it.

• We agree that lower taxes and less government would be great, but we recognize that all 12 of the countries ahead of us on the United Nations' Human Development Index, a standard measure of well-being, have some form of universal health care. This makes us wonder why Iraq and Afghanistan both have universal health care that we as a nation are paying for.

That's what I believe. Some of what I believe, anyway. I can assure you there's more. I realize it may be a little presumptuous of me to use the word "we," as everyone else might completely disagree with me, but I'd love to know what other folks have to say. Let's start by throwing this out there for debate: How would you define Western liberalism? Leave a spell-checked, edited and rational comment, and I promise I'll do my best to respond.

Cheers.

Comments

[Social Construct]

Being from eastern Washington, where real men eat hippies for breakfast, carry pictures of Ronald Reagan in their hand tooled leather wallets and strangely identify their heritage with that of the short-lived Confederate States of America and the deep South, I, paradoxically, am proud to call these people my friends and neighbors while, at the same time, loathe just about every socio-political ideal and argument that they hold. I think that defines a part of what a western liberal is: finding the good in everyone as a way to keep from slapping your right-of-right neighbors silly some times.

[Todd Hartley - Huffpost Blogger]

Very well said. Here in Colorado we're seeing that situation more and more with liberals living cheek by jowl with old-time conservatives and getting along just fine. I think one thing that should define Western liberalism is the ability to understand the conservative point of view and respect it while disagreeing with some aspects of it. Sadly, it seems as if the ability to tolerate opposing viewpoints and still be good neighbors and friends is something that's in short supply in America these days.

[MimiK]

1) The West's orientation to the new and the future versus East coast old, established. Western Frontierism and open skies full of possibilities.

2) The West is better at being in the body as well as the mind, while the East is just mind. Neck Up talking heads versus the West's rugged pragmatism and survival ethic.

Obama is a pragmatist oriented toward the future. The vote for him was, I think, because he embodies the new blue spirit of "making sure the future works for all." Not a bad slogan for a new blue candidate.

3) Western environmentalism. It's different. We are talking Edward Abbey. Rebel environmentalism, versus East coast Romantic environmentalism.

4) Fun, Joyful, healthful existence. The West is a lot about that. I see the New Blue being shaped by the emerging economies of well-being, and the possibility that the West/New Blue will be a leader in creating a new politics of well-being.

In Sum: I see the New Blue as pragmatic, future oriented, self-determining and committed to well-being and flourishing for all. That could make for some very interesting politics, indeed.

[Todd Hartley - Huffpost Blogger]

Mimi,

You make some excellent points. I particularly agree with your assertion that the West is better at being in the body as well as the mind and understands the importance of a fun, healthy existence. To me these two points are very similar. I find it telling that Colorado has the lowest percentage of obese people of any state in the country. This says to me that we are very good at taking advantage of the recreational opportunities the mountains offer, and we value the great natural resources we're lucky enough to have.

Where I'm guessing we may disagree somewhat is on environmentalism. I think we all would love to preserve all the land we can, but is Abbey-style, no-growth, "rebel" environmentalism the correct approach? I think there has to be wiggle room for some development, provided it's done intelligently and is required to be as sustainable as we can possibly make it.