From Jason Haas, the esteemed host of Milwaukee’s chapter of Drinking Liberally:
The past few DLs have been very invigorating as we’ve had people with ideas and stances that we don’t automatically agree with. And what a scene we had at last night’s Drinking Liberally! In addition to meeting Congressional candidate Paul Morel, who’s running against Rep. Gwen Moore in the primary, we had the unexpected pleasure of being joined by the masses from “Liberty on the Rocks.” I don’t think we’ve had such a raucous time at DL since firefighters chastised Mayor Barrett at a 2006 Milwaukee DL event!
In addition to a few very heated arguments over the nature of taxation, we had a lot of genuine discussion and debate over the role and nature of government, and the nature of efficacy of representative government. In short, there was some anti-incumbency in the air, though a lot of it seemed to be based in the very nature of representative democracy. Do we elect people to Congress to think for themselves, or to listen to their constituency and vote on their behalf? That question was never addressed. But it’s kind of hard to ask such heavy questions when you’re having such a fun time with all these people about having a grand time feeling their way about the very institution we’re discussing.
As Jason noted, the debate at last night’s Drinking Liberally was certainly spirited, but I think a good time was had by all, including Paul Morel, who did a fine job of answering some tough questions from those in attendance.
As Jason noted, Real Debate happened at last night’s edition of Drinking Liberally, and it was a great thing to see.
Could a conservative come and share a beer?
Why not?
Certainly! It’s been a thrill to have people of more and different views coming in lately. We welcome all types. Some of our best conversations are with people we don’t agree with.
You’d be more than welcome. It’s not only liberals who attend. One of the better meetings was when Dave Westlake attended to discuss his campaign for the Senate.
You’d certainly be welcome. The majority of the attendees are interested in sincere discussion of the topics of the day. One of the most interesting evenings was when US Senate candidate Dave Westlake and US Congress (WI – 5th) candidate Todd Kolosso both attended. There was a combination of casual conversation and an informal debate: question and answer and reply for a bit. And liberals aren’t the only ones in attendance.
This http://www.libertyontherocks.org/about/ ?
Yeah, John, they came out in droves. Generally nice folks!