What I do: Put people to sleep… Both drugs and my writing seem to work pretty well.
What I Am: Father, Husband, Contrarian, Agnostic, Political Iconoclast, Curmudgeon, Conservative Libertarian
What I Like: Time with family, hanging out on Lake Champlain, Cycling the VT countryside, Talking politics, Reading, Gardening. Finishing the honey-do list (it hasn’t happened yet, but I have high hopes for the future). Old copper coins. A good dog.
What I don’t Like: Bigotry. Cruelty. Mindlessness. Egoism. Apathy. Self-absorption. Self-certainty. Professional politicians. Being called a consumer… I’m a citizen for God’s sake!
For What I hope: A good life for my kids. The love of my family. The return of the liberties this nation once held so dear. A bright future for America and its Citizenry. Retirement sans penury.
The Vermont Farmer's Blog 
RE: The formation of a political party that can speak to something other than the extremes.
Define that, please. Define extremes, then quantify them as related to the GOP.
Ben,
First, thanks for looking.
If one looks at the political spectrum as though it were a statistical bell curve, the majority of Americans will lie somewhere in the middle of that curve. What I see in American politics is that the extreme wings of both parties are currently driving the debate with push-button ideology, radical and reactionary statements, often designed simply to inflame. There seems little reasoned debate.
Our country has a number of significant problems, Ben, and frankly, I don’t see them being seriously addressed by either of our two major parties. They both seem to me to be more interested in rhetoric than dealing substantively with the problems that we face.
While an interesting reply, it still does not quantify a single policy i.e. plank of the GOP.
Ben,
Since I blog primarily only on the weekends, I will reserve till next week an attempt to reply more formally, and more precisely to your question. However, in general terms I will say to you that I am skeptical of the majority of politicians, both democrats and republicans (a.k.a. Republicrats) true interests with regards to their constituents. These two parties have been battling one another since before the Civil War, and although both have planks, or fundamental ideas or principles which guide them, these are often sacrificed for expediency or for self-interest. Washington has become a city of power brokerage (money=power) I have lived long enough to understand this, and I have little faith in either party. After a quick review of several of your blog posts, I believe that politically, you and I have much in common with regard to our perceptions of the role of government in our lives, but I have no faith in either of our current majority parties to promote those interests, and that is why I hope for a party that can truly be “of the people, by the people, and for the people” (A republican politician’s quote that you might be familiar with) Again, I thank you.
Harold
Ben,
I have responded to your question in my most recent Blog “My Problem with the Republicans”
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