A Year of Drinking Liberally

Felicity, Jay, and I had a beer together at Jack of the Wood on the second Thursday of last December. We talked about politics, about drinking, and about talking about politics and drinking. It was a good night. An interview that day contained an excellent illustration of the political environment at the time:

"QUESTION: "Mr. Murtha, what do you say to Senator Lieberman whom yesterday said Democrats need to acknowledge that this president is commander in chief for three more years, that undermining his credibility..."

MURTHA: "Undermining his credibility? What has he said that would give him credibility?"

Some Congressmen were still tacking to the Bush right. Some were standing up and saying what the rest of us had been saying for years. The vast middle of them had their fingers in the wind, hoping they'd get a chance to make a difference or a buck. A local football hero was mounting a campaign to unseat The Lump (R-NC), covered that day at Scrutiny Hooligans:

"Maybe he ought to consider a run for the Politburo? Scrutiny Hooligans were unable to get a photo of the Russian medal Taylor received, so we've decided to give him a medal of our own. Here's to you, Chainsaw Charlie, Heath Shuler is going to kick your ass in '06."

A year has passed, and Drinking Liberally, that weekly gathering of political wool-gatherers and beery yarn-spinners, is gathering this Thursday to toast a year of friends well met.

Drinking Liberally has ranged from city planning to Quail Hunting to those godawful Republican hair-dos. We've dissected the immigration debate, seen the launch of a web legend, and celebrated Primary Madness. I even learned what liberalism means:

"Liberalism is an ideology, philosophy, and political tradition which holds liberty as the primary political value. Broadly speaking, liberalism seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on the power of government, wealth, and religion, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of minorities are guaranteed."

The whole crew migrated first to McCormick Field then to the excellent Asheville Brewing Company. We had months of conversation and debate about the candidacy of Heath Shuler, and, yes, Paul voted for him. We crawled from Patton to Clingman in a superhuman display of political drinksmanship. We've hosted authors and screenings and an election blowout I'll never forget.

Felicity bowed out as co-host, and Aric stepped in to fill the gap. We've grown from a festive gathering of informed, passionate people to a slightly larger festive gathering of informed, passionate people. It's been an amazing year of a unique, dynamic, political community. Please come out and raise your glasses to celebrate the scene you've created, to a year of Drinking Liberally.