Sullivan describes himself as a
libertarian conservative who has argued that the
Republican Party has abandoned true conservative principles.
[12] He views true conservatism as classical
libertarian conservative, where economic control of a citizen's daily life by the government is very limited. However, this style of conservatism differs from classic libertarianism in that some governmental control or regulation is acceptable in order to preserve a functional society as it currently exists. Stances on social or cultural issues, under this style of conservatism, resemble the stances of classical libertarianism or modern U.S. liberalism. While stances on foreign policy are more
hawkish than classic libertarianism, this style of conservatism differs from current
neo-conservatism and arguably more closely resemble U.S. liberalism from the early 1930s up until the late 1960s. In the foreign policy sphere, Sullivan's views have become somewhat less hawkish following the difficulties of the Iraq War.[
citation needed]
Sullivan supported G.W. Bush in the 2000 election, calling
Dick Cheney "sexy" on
Real Time with Bill Maher.
[13] In 2004, he gave a rather late endorsment to John Kerry, primarily as a vote against what he saw as severe problems with the Bush administration. In 2006, he supported the Democratic Party's takeover of
Congress. His political philosophy includes a broad range of traditional conservative positions: He favors a
flat tax,
limited government, privatization of
social security, and a strong military, and he opposes
welfare state programs such as
publicly-funded health care. However, on a number of controversial public issues, including same-sex marriage and capital punishment, he takes a position typically shared by those on the
left of the U.S. political spectrum. His position on
abortion is more mixed; saying that he personally finds it immoral and favors overturning
Roe v. Wade, but he can accept legalized abortions in the first trimester. Sullivan endorsed Senator
Barack Obama for the
Democratic Nomination in the
2008 U.S. Presidential Election, and Rep.
Ron Paul for the
Republican nomination. On his blog, Sullivan has been highly favorable toward Obama, and has denounced McCain for running misleading campaign advertisements, and endorsed Obama for President on the eve of the election.
[14]
In 2009
Forbes magazine ranked Sullivan #19 on a list of "The 25 Most Influential Liberals In The U.S. Media." The magazine said that "he clings unconvincingly to the 'conservative' label even after his fervent endorsement of Obama. His advocacy for gay marriage rights
puts him at odds with many on the right." It stated that Sullivan tends to see issues through an ideological lens based on his homosexuality, and that determines his writing.
[15] Sullivan rejected the label and responded that he did not fit the article's own criteria for a liberal, such as support for
progressive taxation,
universal healthcare, and support for the "
war on terror." He concluded that Forbes considered him a liberal because he does not subscribe to the view of conservatism as a religious movement, and because "the real truth is that many on the Republican right just
read everything I write through an anti-gay prism, because their homophobia - benign or not-so-benign, conscious or unconscious - is so overwhelming it occludes any genuine assessment of a person's thoughts outside this fact. See how Forbes cannot even keep the word gay out of quote marks. Just imagine the same sentence with the word "Jewish" replacing the word gay. It tells you everything you need to know about the moral core of conservatism today. It's sad and will one day be seen as embarrassing."
[16]
