Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Interview with Verum Serum

Pundit Press is proud to present interview number 37 in our ongoing interview series. Today we're interviewing John, the editor of Verum Serum. Verum Serum is one of the finer conservative blogs out there and has broken many stories (including getting a picture on Drudge!). Please check them out!

1. When and why was Verum Serum created?

Co-blogger Scott Ragan and I had a little blog on our church’s website back in 2004. After a couple of our posts made folks there nervous, we finally sprung for our own hosting and changed the name to Verum Serum, i.e. Truth Serum. That was October 2005. With that added freedom to say whatever we wanted, we became a lot more political.

2. What is the best part about running the site?

At the moment it’s mostly me and Morgen Richmond, who joined the blog in 2008. The best part, honestly, is the discussions we have behind the scenes and the people we’ve met along the way. I’ve met some great people because of the blog, both other bloggers at events and people who stop by to comment at different times. We had a space shuttle pilot stop by recently. Another blog I like (Power Line) had a visit from Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult a couple years ago. You can’t beat that.

And it’s pretty exciting when you see something you know you contributed change the national debate in some way. That’s happened to us several times now but it’s still a little amazing to us each time.

3. Has President Obama been better or worse than expected/feared?

In terms of foreign policy, I actually think he’s been better than expected (apology tour aside). He didn’t close Gitmo, reneged on the NY trial of KSM, upped our commitment to Afghanistan and, let’s give credit where due, ordered the strike that got Bin Laden.

In terms of domestic policy, about as expected which is to say pretty awful. To choose a current example, there’s a real chance Medicare could be insolvent in as little as five years (and probably no more than ten). This will lead to a downgrading of our debt, making it very expensive to keep the entire system afloat. The financial disaster that follows could be on a scale that dwarfs what we’ve seen the last two years. And where is the President on all of this? Planning to use the Dems tried-and-true Mediscare campaign to win a second term. We need someone in office who will get serious about the debt in 2012.

4. Any favorites for 2012 yet?

Slightly-downbeat/realistic take on things: Like Ann Coulter said at CPAC this year, it’s Chris Christie or we lose. Sure, Romney has money and backing but for me Romneycare is a huge stumbling block I can’t get over.

Sunny/upbeat take: Pawlenty has a pretty good record. I was impressed with him when I met him about a year ago. He could still surge. I like Herman Cain though I think he’s not as qualified as, say, Pawlenty or even Palin. He’d make a great VP choice for someone.

5. What would happen in the press if WeinerGate involved a prominent Republican?

See Chris Lee and/or Mark Foley. By contrast, the press was deathly silent all this weekend. And now that we know Weiner is refusing to have the authorities investigate or even to deny he’s the person in the photo, I think every sane person is thinking he sounds guilty. But unless the media decides to do its job, i.e. treat him like a Republican, we’ll never really know.

6. Anything else you'd like to add?

Blogging is a lot of work. We’ve invited several people to write for the blog and usually after one or two posts they’re spent. Folks who can write well, research well, correct their own html, and keep it up week after week, not because they’re paid to but because they love it, are a special breed. I’m pretty proud to know a bunch of those people and even call some of them friends.

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