Hanging out with the Republicans!
Its hard to beat the fast paced cosmopolitan nature of Hong Kong life… but as we approach the U.S. mid-term elections on November 2, I do feel a little nostalgic for some good old fashioned American partisan politics.
Republican style!
Granted, I have not been a huge fan of some of the direction the G.O.P. has headed in lately. When someone like Sarah Palin becomes the face of the Conservative movement, William F. Buckley Jr. is rolling over in his grave. It’s a pity the serious soul searching and in-house surgery that the party has desperately needed following our thrashing in the ’06 and ’08 elections has been erroneously shelved with the subsequent melt-down of the Democrats.
That short sightedness will come back to haunt us.
But hey, its election time and I’m in the mood to get political. So what did I do? I looked up Republicans Abroad here in Hong Kong and asked to join. The next thing I knew I was on the mailing list and being invited to their next meeting which involved a talk on climate change by Lord Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount of Brenchley at a private reception room at The Whiskey Priest bar in Lan Kwai Fong.
Wait a second…Let me get this straight…I’m being invited to a talk at a place called The Whiskey Priest, given by a British Lord to a bunch of American Republicans living overseas in Hong Kong?
God I love this place! I am SO there!
Anyhow, I was one of the first to arrive. Lan Kwai Fong is my old stomping ground and…truth be told, I knew exactly where The Whiskey Priest was 😉 Entering the room, I was immediately introduced to a man who held out his hand and said, “Hello, I’m Christopher”
I replied, “Hi Chris.. (and then the penny dropped that this was Lord Monckton)..topher,” narrowly avoiding an embarrassing fax paux.
The room began to fill up surprisingly not only with American Republicans, but no small amount of Australian Liberals; which is their conservative party (…I know I know…It makes no sense but best not to bring it up with them), and a few British Tories.
The talk Lord Monckton gave was quite good. He not only spoke on the politics behind climate change but proved himself to be very well versed in American politics. Chatting with some of the other guys before and after the talk I realized that I spend so much time with people of opposing viewpoints to my own (something I admittedly look for and enjoy) that it was nice to be in a friendly audience with people who, mostly, echoed my political leanings.
Anyhow, I hope to continue catching up with the Hong Kong Republicans Abroad and who knows…
…maybe becoming part of a vast global right-wing conspiracy
…but, only on the weekends because its hard to get off work sometimes…and I have a baby on the way…and I don’t know if my wife will let me… well you know how it is 🙂
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but no small amount of Australian Liberals; which is their conservative party (…I know I know…It makes no sense but best not to bring it up with them)
I think the explanation there is that is “liberal” in most of the rest of the world means something more like what the term classical liberal does in the United States…in other words pro individual freedom and small markets. It still seems to me that the right wing groups in other countries (in Europe I should say) still fall to the left of the US Republican Party on many issues.
Just another reminder that labels aren’t always so helpful…
Make that *free* markets not small.
Thanks Logan. You are most correct and I would have explained more but that would have distracted from my whimsical narrative :)I am aquainted with the classical reference to liberal sometimes refering to myself as a “Jeffersonian Liberal”
But as most people aren’t familiar with the history I wanted to clarify for the audience that we our little souiere hadn’t been invaded by the left wing 🙂
I think you were right the average person wouldn’t have picked up on the distinction. It does always amuse me how many people don’t seem to realize that the radical Left has never infiltrated American politics the way it has elsewhere…that type of leftist thinking in this country is found in academia, not so much in the Democratic Party on the ground. Then again, though, in many ways the United States is an outlier among Western nations when it comes to government and politics…