So does this make me a left-wing, media liberal? Or what?

The longer I stick around journalism, the more I hear the phrase “left wing, liberal media.”

I heard that phrase bandied about in regard to me these past several weeks, because I said in a column that Sarah Palin was not equipped to be vice president. (“Sarah Palin and the viper pit; nice job, GOP,” July 7). I also took the GOP to task for letting her hang out to dry, in the midst of the various hornets’ nests she became entangled in. (I’ll leave it to you to decide how she got there.)

So I want to make sure I’ve got this straight, because I’m not certain I even know what a left-winged, liberal media type is.

They sound like trouble.

Maybe you can help me.

Here is what I do and what I believe. What does this make me?

I vote independent, which is highly annoying when our state requires us to pick our party affiliations. I’ve voted for Republicans and Democrats, although overall the Democrats, in spite of a propensity for handwringing, have gotten my vote a lot more of the time.

But I love the Republicans’ call for personal responsibility, and that “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” attitude, which is what America is all about.

Republicans’ downside is a tendency to take that mantra too far, forgetting there are people who need help getting the boots on, before they can even think about pulling them up.

I believe in the Constitution and the right it gives citizens to bear arms. I’ve owned guns over the years (and am a pretty decent shot.)

I want that right, because frankly it would scare me to live in a society where the only people with access to guns are police and criminals. I have the right to choose how I defend myself, especially when the police aren’t around.

But I also have the responsibility to make good choices. That is the cost of a free society. I’d rather take the chance that someone will make a bad decision, rather than throw away the right to make my own decision.

By the same token, I believe in a woman’s right to dictate what happens to her body. But for my own body, I am pro-life.

Organized religion worries me, but not having a belief system at all terrifies me.

I don’t care for Sarah Palin, but Nancy Pelosi is no bargain either. She pulled a few stunts during the Bush era that demonstrated to the rest of the world that America was truly a house divided.

I admire Condoleeza Rice, although she’s got Iraq hanging over her head. But her Democrat Secretary of State predecessor Madeleine Albright had the Rwanda, Somalia and Bosnia debacles on her resume. I admire both unabashedly – they are intellectuals who added a level of polish and class to the administrations they were hired to represent. And how Rice managed to keep her personal life out of the media spotlight is a triumph for which Palin could only dare hope.

So, are these the rantings of a left-wing liberal type? Beats the heck out of me. I’ll call them as I see them, and let someone else pin the labels.

Laura Pierce can be reached at lpierce@kentreporter.com, or by calling 253-872-6600, ext. 5050.