Andy Levy posted over at Big Hollywood a set of rules for conservatives for the next four years under Obama. I think they're pretty good and they're very similar to my philosophy here.
I want to take a moment to add a few thoughts on blogging and Obama. There are a lot of people on the Left that think conservatives should just withdraw from politics. Some will even say so openly, calling for all of us to join together under the Big Obama banner singing Obama Youth camp songs. Others will try to intimidate anyone who dares to dissent from the Obama orthodoxy. Still others will even try to bring the force of law down on anyone who dares to utter a peep of criticism for The Obama.
They're also going to be a tad obnoxious. Okay, more than a tad; they will define obnoxious. They will be that stupid NFL player that does a dance because he gained two yards.
On the flip side, some on the political Right are going to try to use the Left's behavior of the last eight years as some sort of justification for being boorish, obnoxious and offensive. I see it already whenever Ann Coulter says something stupid and crowds of "stick it to 'em" conservatives rush to her defense.
There is going to be a double standard. There already is a double standard. There always was a double standard. Guess what? We get the higher standard.
That is okay with me. I would rather be held to the higher standard. I will gladly hold my own side to higher account because I expect more from us. I will hold myself to a higher standard, because I do not want to be just like them. If we are to call ourselves conservatives, then what else are we conserving if we are not defending civility?
This does not mean I will not make fun of the other side. I will. They will be relentlessly mocked for their foibles and failures. After all, funny is funny, and the Left is frequently unintentionally very funny.
This does not mean they will not be held accountable for what they say and do. They will, as much as time and subject interest allow.
This does not mean I will hold back just to be nice. I'm a nice guy but honesty in the asymptotic search for the truth is a necessity.
What it does mean is that we will continue to engage the Left and their ideas in as honest and as sincere manner as possible, and only ask (but realistically do not expect) them to behave in the same manner.
Tuesday's inauguration may have brought "change" but I still have a family to care for, a house and yard to tend, two dogs that demand my attention, and a city with a mayor with really, really bad taste in shoes. (By the way, if he gets really upset at someone, I suspect throwing a Croc is a lot like trying to throw a whiffle ball.)
This blog is not fading away. I am not giving up my interest in writing just because our side lost an election. And the clock on the end of the Obama reign has already started ticking.
