Instapundit - Political Views

Political Views

Reynolds describes himself as a libertarian, specifically a libertarian transhumanist. He favors free markets and distrusts bureaucracy. To this end he opposes government interference in both the economic and personal affairs of citizens. He strongly supports the War on Terrorism and has lent some support to the war in Iraq. He is an advocate for gun rights, has singled out European Union, the United Nations, Islamic governments, American academia, and mainstream media as targets of critical remarks and links; he also believes there is systemic bias in the "Mainstream Media". He believes there is an economic "bubble" forming in higher education, and that under most circumstances college students should avoid going into debt for the sake of getting credentials. He frequently points out that college degrees, or credentials, are not the same as an education.

Reynolds, who worked for Al Gore's 1988 campaign, now agrees with the conservative movement on many issues, including the war in Iraq, tax cuts, and some environmental issues. He has vigorously criticized Republicans for wasteful government spending for many years. His association with the conservative side of U.S. politics included a book-signing appearance at the 2006 Conservative Political Action Conference, after which he characteristically hung out on Bloggers Row and conducted interviews with much less well known bloggers, giving a few of them some critically important exposure.

Reynolds holds libertarian positions on many social issues. For example, he supports embryonic stem cell research, abortion rights, and same-sex civil unions. He has stated a number of times: "Personally, I'd be delighted to live in a country where happily married gay couples had closets full of assault weapons."

Reynolds believes global warming is "plausib" caused by man and that "burning less carbon is good planetary hygiene, and good practice generally." He believes "we should be pursuing global warming remedies regardless of what you think about global warming." One of his household vehicles is a hybrid SUV, and he has promoted hybrid technology in general—when he thought it was well-engineered.

In October 2006, Reynolds was criticized heavily by Rush Limbaugh over several days for posting a "GOP Pre-mortem" suggesting that the Republicans deserved to lose the 2006 Congressional elections.

Reynolds often blogs in support of Porkbusters, which he helped create. He has vigorously criticized politicians from both parties for pork barrel spending and earmarking; then-Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss) once remarked that he was "damned tired" of the Porkbusters. Reynolds has stated in the past that earmarks and pork are not just a waste of money, but a corrupting influence on the political process.

Reynolds has testified before Congressional committees on space law, international trade, and domestic terrorism. He has also served as executive chairman for the National Space Society, and was once a member of the White House Advisory Panel on Space Policy.

In June 2009, Reynolds changed his blog header to the color green from its original red, in support of the anti-Ahmadinejad/pro-Mousavi protests made after the Iranian Presidential election. This was originally supposed to be a temporary show up support, but it lasted about three months. On September 7, 2009, Reynolds replaced the green with his customary red, remarking, "I’m back to the original design. 'Going Green' was supposed to be a show of support, not a permanent change, and the summer’s over. My support for the Iranian freedom movement is no less, but symbolism takes you only so far."

In September 2012, Reynolds called for Barack Obama to resign from the Presidency of the United States due to the FBI's decision to question filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.

By sending — literally — brownshirted enforcers to engage in — literally — a midnight knock at the door of a man for the non-crime of embarrassing the President of the United States and his administration, President Obama violated that oath . You can try to pretty this up (It’s just about possible probation violations! Sure.), or make excuses or draw distinctions, but that’s what’s happened. It is a betrayal of his duties as President, and a disgrace.