Wish I had more time to blog at this confab (Santa Barbara Retreat of David Horowitz Freedom Center), but we don’t have wireless in the meeting room.

After the first session this morning, I introduced himself to Michael Barone whose column I have enjoyed for about as long as I’ve been following politics.  I keep a copy of his Almanac of American Politics by my desk.  When I mentioned the blog, without prompting he identified me as GayPatriotWest (my blog moniker is not on my badge), then said, that we had a “terrific blog.”  Given my respect for this guy, as you can imagine, I’m bouncing off the walls.

He called “interesting” my idea that the presidential candidate of party out of power polls far better than the candidate of the incumbent party in power for eight years.  It seemed like he was going to look into it.

Flattering when perhaps the leading student of election polls and returns thinks you’ve offered an interesting analysis on politics.

I’d always been impressed with Barone because of the encyclopedic knowledge he has about elections and returns in various jurisdictions and his thoughtful analysis of politics. In person, he is even more interesting with a terrific sense of humor whose remarks kept us laughing while he offered his take on the election.

I will try to offer a few more details from the conference at a later date, should I get a moment, but have promised Tammy to join her for a cocktail later this afternoon, provided she doesn’t have to return to LA for her radio show.

Tonight I both gain a deeper appreciation of Stephen Green and a better understanding of why I feel more comfortable at conservative confabs than gay ones.

I’m in Santa Barbara now, semi-drunk blogging, actually the buzz is wearing off from the two delicious dirty martinis (the beverage which honors Goddess Athena) I had before dinner at the annual retreat of the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

It is the very name of David’s center (which I emphasized for the benefit of some of our critics) which explains why I am comfortable here. Conservatives today, at least the serious ones, those committed to a tradition begun in Philadelphia more than two hundred and thirty-two years ago, continuing through the founding of the GOP in the 1850s, the election of the first Republican president in 1860, the intellectual fervent engendered (in large part) by Bill Buckley in the 1950s, spearheaded by Barry Goldwater the following decade, championed by Ronald Reagan in his speeches and political campaigns of the 60s, 70s and 80s, (culminating with his electoral success in the three presidential elections of that last decade) see freedom as the defining idea of our movement.

We seek to preserve freedom at home and defend it abroad.

While conservatives promote freedom, the gay groups, even the ostensible Republican one, have become obsessed with equality, with the largest among them adopting the equal sign as its logo.

Perhaps, I should talk with the organizers of this event about supporting a gay group committed to advancing freedom, understanding that the greatest enemies of gay people are not social conservatives in the West who may question (what they call) our lifestyle and oppose legislation benefiting us, but Islamic theocrats who execute gay people in jurisdictions where they predominate and seek to destroy the nations with political systems which allow us to live freely.

And for those who think all conservatives are narrow-minded anti-gay troglodytes, well, you should know that when I have identified myself to my fellow participants, I have named this blog (which gives them a good idea of my sexuality) and they have treated me better than the average denizen of West Hollywood upon learning I am a Republican who voted for George W. Bush in 2004. Heck, they even have a lesbian moderating the first panel tomorrow morning. And I’m not the only one psyched to see Tammy tomorrow. A number of people here have expressed admiration for that gun-toting talk show hostess.

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