Andrew Sullivan

Andrew Sullivan (born August 10, 1963) is a British-American blogger and journalist, known both for his heterodox personal-political identity (HIV-positive, gay, libertarian/conservative and Catholic) and for his pioneering efforts in the field of weblog journalism. Sullivan has described himself as being a South Park Republican, a phrase he coined in 2001 and which has gained considerable currency since.

Blogging

In late 2000 he began his blog The Daily Dish. In the wake of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, his blog soon became one of the most popular political blogs on the Internet (by the middle of 2003, it was receiving about 300,000 unique visits per month). Between starting his blog and ending his New Republic editorship, Sullivan wrote two works on homosexuality, arguing for its social acceptance on conservative grounds. His writing appears in a number of widely-read publications. He currently serves as the U.S.-based columnist for The Sunday Times of London.

Related Topics:
Blog - September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - Internet - New Republic - The Sunday Times of London

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sullivan's blog has been characterized by passionate argumentation (some call it stridency), a willingness to admit doubts and entertain changes of mind, and hostility towards The New York Times. The blog's core principles have been fiscal conservatism, limited government, and libertarianism on social issues. Sullivan is against government involvement with respect to sexual and consensual matters between adults (such as the use of marijuana). Sullivan believes recognition of gay marriage is a civil rights issue, but is willing to promote it on a state by state legislative federalism basis rather than trying to judicially impose the change. (see )

Related Topics:
The New York Times - Marijuana - Federalism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most of Sullivan's disputes with other conservatives have been over social issues such as these and the handling of postwar Iraq.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sullivan reluctantly decided to support John Kerry's presidential campaign due to his dissastisfaction with the handling of the post-war situation in Iraq by the Bush administration, their views on gay rights, and their fiscal policy. Sullivan is a supporter of John McCain and Arnold Schwarzenegger (see and other fiscally conservative but socially liberal Republicans.

Related Topics:
John Kerry - John McCain - Arnold Schwarzenegger

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sullivan also gives out parody "awards" each year on various public statements that mirror those of persons he disagrees with. These awards include: the Michael Moore Award (originally the Susan Sontag award) for "egregious anti-Americanism in the war on terror" (see ) later for "egregious moral equivalence in the war on terror"), the John Derbyshire Award (for "egregious and outlandish comments on gays, women and minorities"), the Paul Begala Award (for extreme liberal hyperbole), the Nicholas Von Hoffman (see ) Award (for "egregiously bad predictions on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars"), the Brent Scowcroft Award (for "continued punditry on Iraq after egregiously bad predictions on Afghanistan"), the Michelle Malkin Award (see ) (for "cliché-ridden writing from the left and right intended to insult"), the Matt Yglesias Award http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2005_09_11_dish_archive.html#112698968841546006]) (which is "an award for bloggers - or anyone else for the matter - who are prepared to alienate their core readership with some unpleasant truths"), and the "Poseur Alert" (see )

Related Topics:
Michael Moore - Susan Sontag - John Derbyshire - Paul Begala - Nicholas Von Hoffman - Brent Scowcroft - Michelle Malkin - Matt Yglesias

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In February 2005 Sullivan decided to go on "hiatus for a few months" after nearly five years of continuous blogging. (see )

Related Topics:
February - 2005 - Blogging

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By this time his blog was receiving over 50,000 visitors a day, and among the most linked-to blogs in the world. Sullivan planned to work on a book, do some traveling, and focus on other projects. His plan is to return to blogging "full steam" in roughly nine months. In the mean time, he still posts roughly three to five times per day (except weekends) and gains some blog revenue from advertising. In response to readers who asked whether his continuing blogging meant that he had given up on his "hiatus", he wrote:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:In deference to my relationship (and my sanity), I'm not blogging in the early hours any more... I blog when I feel like it... The pressure to promise something every day first thing no longer haunts me... But I'm making progress on the book and writing longer stuff. It's all about balance, no? (see )

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He attributes his ability to "blog, write my usual columns and work on my book" simultaneously to an increase in energy after being fitted with a CPAP machine to help him sleep. (see)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This has allowed him to return to blogging full time. His blog has remained very popular since then.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gay marriage

Sullivan made a conservative case for gay marriage in the 1980s, before the idea had become popular in the LGBT community. In the 2004 election, Sullivan criticized the Republican Party for what he saw as political exploitation of a hated minority:

Related Topics:
1980s - LGBT - 2004 - Republican Party

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:"I've been trying to think of what to say about what appears to be the enormous success the Republicans had in using gay couples' rights to gain critical votes in key states. In eight more states now, gay couples have no relationship rights at all. Their legal ability to visit a spouse in hospital, to pass on property, to have legal protections for their children has been gutted. If you are a gay couple living in Alabama, you know one thing: your family has no standing under the law; and it can and will be violated by strangers. I'm not surprised by this. When you put a tiny and despised minority up for a popular vote, the minority usually loses." http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2004_10_31_dish_archive.html#109949972677510025

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

War on terrorism

Sullivan strongly supported the decision to go to war in Iraq, and has generally been hawkish in the war on terror, arguing that weakness would embolden terrorists. However, he has harshly criticized the Bush administration for its postwar efforts, especially regarding the numbers of troops, protection of munitions, and treatment of prisoners. Sullivan has been strongly against the use of coercive force against detainees in U.S. custody and has had heated disputes with Heather MacDonald (see ) and fellow British-American John Derbyshire, among others, on that issue. Though Sullivan originally believed that enemy combatants in the war on terror should not be given status as prisoners of war because "terrorists are not soldiers", he currently believes that the "systematic abuse, torture beating" that has occurred against uncharged inmates since 2002 means that the U.S. government cannot be trusted to treat prisoners well unless constrained by the rules of war. (see )

Related Topics:
War on terror - Bush - John Derbyshire - Enemy combatant - Prisoners of war - Rules of war

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This opposition to Bush's policies has caused many disputes with other conservatives, who argue that he is changing his support on the war itself...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other disputes with conservatives

Sullivan has caused controversy because he frequently attacks other conservatives. In three days he wrote in three different places that "onservatism is a philosophy without a party in America any more. It has been hijacked by zealots and statists" (see ) that "e're getting to the point when conservatism has become a political philosophy that believes that government - at the most distant level - has the right to intervene in almost anything to achieve the right solution. Today's conservatism is becoming yesterday's liberalism" (see ) and that "the only real difference between the Democrats and Republicans at this point is that the Democrats believe in big, solvent government and the Republicans believe in an even bigger, insolvent government" (see . He has been particularly critical of some conservative's defense of the Administration's actions involved in the Abu Ghraib and other prison scandals.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Consistency

One of the most common charges Sullivan addresses is that he is inconsistent, that his views on certain policies (such as the desirability of invading Iraq) and people (such as George W. Bush) change radically over time. A typical defense of his changing views follows:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:If you want to read a blog that will always take the position of the Bush administration on the war, there are plenty out there. Ditto if you want to read a relentlessly anti-Bush blog, like Kos. But this blog is a little different. It's an attempt to think out loud, which means there will be shifts over time in argument and emphasis. It may appear wishy-washy or excitable or whatever. But it's my best attempt to figure things out as I go along. If you don't like it, read someone else... I try and read as much criticism of my fallible work as I can. (see )

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~