On Politics

Second-time political writer, long-time political junkie

Dear Readers (I have proof that more than one of you is reading these musings),

For those who don’t know Blas, let me introduce him.

Before the military, I went by my middle name, Blas. Pronounced blast without the “t. Blas loved politics. He became infatuated with politics at a very early age. (Yes, I realize I’m talking about myself in the third person - but this is an experimental site, so deal with it).

How infatuated? In the third grade, I did a mock presidential election for my class, where I predicted that Gary Hart would win. And my “analysis” proved prescient. Why? Because everyone loved his last name.

That’s the type of trenchant foresight I was born with, dear readers. Impressive, I know.

And my political nerdery blossomed in high school. I subscribed to every political magazine: The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, National Review, and Commentary. Before I could drive a car, I was immersed in Charles Krauthammer, George Will, Bill Kristol, and Christopher Hitchens’ articles, to name but a few.

Despite my love affair with politics, I didn’t start writing politically until after college. Why didn’t I write for Texas A&M’s school newspaper, the Battalion? I wish I could tell you it was because of some principled stance or because I found their writers blasé. But as Samuel L. Jackson said in Pulp Fiction, “Now I’d like that. But that shit ain’t the truth.”

I was solely focused on the typical pursuits of young college men: women and partying.

But, I finally sobered up and became an adult—I told ya it would happen, Mom.

Shortly after graduating with degrees in History and Philosophy, which really sent those HR recruiters into a tizzy, let me tell ya, I started writing about politics. Obviously, I didn’t publish anywhere that was very impressive, like this magnificent website. Instead, I wrote for newspapers, which were quickly used to line the cages of everyone’s favorite household pet.

Tragically, those few eloquently written articles were tossed into the proverbial “ash heap of history,” to borrow a lovely phrase by W.

After 9-11, I joined Team America, and Blas became Will. Why? First, because nobody could ever pronounce it. Then, everyone asked about the origins, which is a complicated story. Most importantly, I wanted to become a more serious person — epic fail, I know.

As an occifer in the world’s greatest Air Force (not a typo, that’s an inside joke), my days of writing about politics ended due to some understandable civ-mil norms. Occasionally, I would slip and go “postal,” as anyone who has been my Facebook friend knows. (Do people still go postal, by the way, or is that a bygone era?)

But now that I’ve achieved FREEDOM, I’m back. And I’m loving every minute of it, Jerry.

While I can never be Blas again, I want to relish in the freedom my chubby former self enjoyed before I sold out and became a lap dog for The Man.

So, I’m going to write quite a bit about politics. I will try to treat our politics as objectively as humanly possible. But since you’ve signed up to read these musings — G*d bless you — I probably should reveal my priors.

I considered myself a moderate conservative in the before Time (i.e., pre-Trump). I could go wonky and write about classical liberalism, the fusionism of the 60s/70s that gave us Ronal Reagan, and all the various shades of post-WWII American conservatism. But there’s probably some rule about putting your readers asleep so quickly on your second post.

So, let’s say I was a John McCain conservative.

Now, I would consider myself . . . politically homeless. But, as a Bulwark writer, I’m sure you can guess who I will pull the lever for this November.

Nevertheless, I want to spend some time over the next few months discussing how this —gestures wildly — happened. And why, in my humble opinion, we are in an incredibly dangerous moment in American history.

I will also write about geopolitics, civ-mil issues, and other non-serious topics, like living in the Midwest as an ornery Texan.

But, for the next exciting installment of Grumpy Combat Vet, I will explain how and why Trump took over the GOP. (Hint: Iraq and Social Media)

Until then . . .