For those who wonder why I have not faded away YET, perhaps this will explain it -
Swords Crossed launches tomorrow. Markos has been kind of enough to add a link in the Kos Alumni Section of the blogroll.
What is the idea of Swords Crossed? For me it is this:
First, those who know me are aware that I am as fierce a partisan Democrat as you can possibly find. When writing at daily kos that is the hat I wear. While being faithful to the facts, I have always written with one thing uppermost in mind - how can this help the Democratic Party?
Here, my approach will be to try and discuss issues AND politics in a less partisan fashion. My beliefs will be the same. But my objectives will be different. My objective will be honest engagement.
Josh Trevino is a good friend and a good person. His political beliefs are anathema to me, as mine are to him. But I respect his integrity and his intellect. I admit that his conclusions sometimes amaze me, but generally (we're only human after all), I believe he arrives at them from honest thought.
To me, this is the important first principle that allows for honest engagement on issues and politics. I hope that participants at this site can take that approach as well. While both liberals and conservatives may marvel at the positions each of us holds, perhaps we can understand each other better by discussing them here.
That requires a leap of faith. Josh and I are taking that leap. We believe that each of us has arrived at our positions based on honest examination of the issues. We believe that it will be fruitful to discuss these positions and our thought processes in arriving at these positions. We believe it will be helpful to examine the underlying factual assumptions upon which our positions lie.
We hope SwordsCrossed will be a place that discussion of these things can occur in an open, honest, robust fashion. We will not assume the worst of anyone. There will be no trolls based on ideas. But personal invective has to be left at the door.
But crossing of the rhetorical swords on issues, facts, ideology and politics will not only be welcome, but encouraged. Swords Crossed will not be for the faint of heart. But it will not be a site where differing viewpoints will be shunned or censored. (Within reason of course, racism and sexism will not be tolerated.)
Faith and its intersection with politics will be an important subject. I am not a person of faith. Josh is. I respect that and insist it be respected by others. Sexual orientation, the right of privacy and choice and any number of hot button issues will be discussed, and in ways that will make a good number uncomfortable. But we are here to discuss the hard issues, in good faith.
This site will not be Red State or daily kos. It will be a bridge to both. Or so we hope.
At my diary at daily kos on the launching of Swords Crossed, someone questioned how this will work out. I responded:
As Lance (Eric Stoltz) said in Pulp Fiction, "I am curious about that myself."
Tomorrow Trevino and I debate immigration. I hope you can join us.