Earlier today, you saw posts from Brian Schoeneman on “What it means to be a Republican [1]” and Shaun Kenney on “What it means to be a Conservative [2].” These posts exemplify what it means to be part of the BD team – intelligent, well-written, provocative, and fearless. To continue on the theme, here is my take on “What it means to be a Bearing Drift Contributor.”
[3]When I founded this site in 2004, The Virginian-Pilot only took one letter to the editor every six months. Was (is) considerably liberal. And there was precious little political coverage – particularly for conservatives.
This site was founded so that there was, is, and always will be a place for people to respond and comment on the news and develop new and innovative ideas. It is a place for the best of Virginia to express themselves.
As was happening all across Virginia at the time – citizens frustrated with the media, government, and their political parties took to the “blogs.” The mindset was (and still is) that there must be a robust examination of the media – and there must be citizen participation in our commonwealth’s governance.
When BD joined the blogosphere, Commonwealth Conservative, One Man’s Trash, Shaun Kenney, J’s Notes, Rick Sincere, and Waldo Jaquith, among others, formed the foundation of our network and set the tone for us to have an engaged and ethical community of activists. I am happy that today, they still form the foundation of our network and I call all of them friends.
When “The Squeaky Wheel” and I started BD, we never intended for the site to “jump the shark.” We always wanted it to be grounded in reality and stay focused on keeping it a place for ideas, info you won’t find elsewhere (or at least not covered the same way), and, most importantly, fun for us.
We’ve also been ground breaking.
Our podcasts and, now, full length radio show, “The Score,” are something you really can’t get anywhere else – citizens trained in radio and public affairs talking directly to candidates, elected officials, and leaders throughout the commonwealth.
Because of our experience, we know the questions to ask and how to get you the information you need.
Whether it’s Scott Lee on “The Score” or my “Virginia Politics On Demand” or one of Rick Sincere’s interviews – you’re going to get great information. We are conservatives podcasting for conservatives.
Squeaky and I were having so much fun that at one point, we even experimented once with conservatives and liberals posting here – just to have a good debate and discussion about public policy. I have always been a fan of ideas – provided they were grounded in fairness and, quite frankly, basic journalistic principles. In other words, have we, at least, sufficiently addressed the five W’s and sometimes how? Have we gotten the other guy’s perspective?
As BD evolved, we realized there needed to be a place for conservatives to collectively assemble and hash out ideas. So we focused exclusively on the “broad tent” that is conservatism. As both Shaun and Brian have just posted, you can see there are definitely varying interpretations, even among us, as to what this means.
We brought people in to contribute from many different perspectives and from all across the commonwealth. But here’s where we differ from everyone else: BD contributors are engaged and involved, we lead when we’re not blogging, and we are always respectful to each other. We are a family – complete with our ups and downs. But doesn’t every family have a crazy uncle?
Whether you’re a social conservative, “establishment” Republican, Tea Partier, fiscal libertarian, security hawk, etc. – we’re sure to write something you agree with, but also annoy you. Yet, always, our writing or podcasting comes from a conservative perspective. Perhaps that’s why so much of what we write touches nerves? As I have always maintained, only your friends and family can really rile you up.
Regardless, what is a BD contributor? We are leaders. We know how to write. We know how to interview. We seek to entertain. We are ethical to our core. And our focus is always on you – the conservative – bringing forth thoughts into the public square to make our commonwealth better for today and the future.
As we approach the decade mark (we’ll celebrate our 10th anniversary this November), how far we’ve come since 2004. Thousands come to Bearing Drift every day for news, information, original commentary, and new ideas. Conservatives from DC to Richmond to your city hall constantly check us – as does the media.
But we’ll never forget that BD is your platform. And each and every one of our contributors understands it. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your day.
We’ve only just begun.
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