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Liberal politics? This group will drink to that

By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published January 5, 2007

For members of Drinking Liberally, left-wing politics is part of the brew. Drinking is how they stay engaged.

For more than a year now, a troop of tipplers has turned up at Thursday evenings at Old Chicago Pasta & Pizza, 2042 Badlands Drive, to down beers and swap perspectives.

The local chapter of a national group of the same name felt like a support group for political outcasts, founding president Ben Whetstone said.

Until the November elections.

"We were all buying shots for each other," said Whetstone, 24, an Iraq war veteran and avowed liberal.

"I think we all pretty much expected the House," Whetstone added. "The Senate was a bonus."

Politics, partying

The national Drinking Liberally organization describes itself on its Web site as an "inclusive progressive social group" with chapters in most states.

If there is a necessary connection between drinking and liberalism, no one in this group knows what it is.

"We are growing way faster than Drinking Conservatively," jested Joe Litton, 49, at a recent gathering.

Like some conservatives, a lot of the Drinking Liberally regulars distrust the media and turn to the Internet for information.

"It's not that they are lying to us," said contractor Dave Hamel, 61, a new visitor to the group. "It's that they are omitting things they should be reporting."

Mike Russo, who trains employees at a Home Depot, tries not to talk politics on the job because he assumes his views would put him in the minority. Over time, he came to feel less isolated.

"I have realized that not everyone is blatantly conservative," said Russo, 25, a co-leader of the Brandon chapter.

Worrying aloud

But one midterm election may not absolve the sense expressed by some in the group that they are out of step with society.

"We are willing to put ourselves in debt so we can have better toys," said Chris Ranung, 55, who is a caterer for the casts and crews of movies.

Like some other Drinking Liberally members, Ranung cultivates a rich inner life. He once started but never finished a screenplay, Bleeding Kansas, about the life of abolitionist John Brown.

Whetstone also has dabbled with a screenplay. Chincoteague was to be a soap opera similar to Dallas or Falcon Crest. He lifted the title from a 1947 novel and subsequent movie about a pony, Misty of Chincoteague.

As the beer continued to flow, the conversation turned to Russo's favorite science fiction book: Carmen Miranda's Ghost is Haunting Space Station Three.

The evening's only moment of discord came when newcomer Mia Hamel, Dave's wife, said she believed that the U.S. government - not 19 hijackers - caused the 9/11 catastrophe.

As she advanced her case, Whetstone cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"We're a lighthearted group," he said. "I don't want people to think we are a bunch of 9/11 conspiracy theorists."

The group drank to that.

Andrew Meacham can be reached at 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 4, 2007, 19:46:50]