Reasons You Might Suspect (Wrongly) That I Am A Conservative

There are a variety of data points about me that might cause you to suspect that I am a conservative, even though I am not. They include:

* I was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

* I am a married, middle aged, white, heterosexual man.

* I have a mortgage.

* I am entirely Northern European by descent according to DNA tests.

* I am a father of two children (both of whom are also children of my wife).

* I got married when I was 23 years old and my wife was 22 years old, after a two year engagement, in the Protestant church which my wife attended growing up, and which her parents still attended at the time.

* My native language is American English and I am not fluent in any other language.

* My father's parents and my extended family on his side, whom I visited often while growing up, lived in rural Northwestern Ohio. I have many relatives who still live in that area and have attended numerous family reunions, funerals and a wedding in that area.

* My mother's parents and part of my extended family on his side, whom I visited often while growing up, lived in rural Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I have many relatives who still live in that area. I have attended many family reunions and some funerals in that area.

* I grow up in a small town in Ohio attending a high school where the biggest student groups were the Future Farmers Association and the Future Homemaker's Association.

*  I was an Eagle Scout (some would say that I "am" an Eagle scout).

* I used to read the Wall Street Journal on a regular basis.

* My father was a military veteran.

* My father showed me how to use a rifle when I was a boy.

* I attended a Protestant church regularly and continuously, except for one year while abroad as an exchange student, until I left for college, I was part of that church's youth group, and was confirmed in that church. My wedding reception was in my in-laws country club.

* I attended a Protestant church while in college and was a Sunday school teacher for a while at that church.

* I attended the Protestant church where I was married for about a year, when I moved to the city where I was married after finishing my last semester of higher education, until I moved to Colorado because I was basically unemployed.

* I attended a Protestant church for about three years while living in Grand Junction, Colorado, which is where I first lived in Colorado and is on the conservative Western Slope of Colorado.

* When I lived in Grand Junction, Colorado I went to lunch at the country club once a month.

* I read at couple of blogs written by conservatives regularly.

* I have never been arrested or charged with a crime (other than traffic offenses and parking tickets).

* I studied economics in high school and continued with economics through second year college macroeconomics.

* As a history minor, a very large component of my studies was the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

* My major, mathematics, was apolitical.

* I was considered when I was in college to be a conservative and wrote an article or two for one of the most conservative student publications on campus.

* I was part of the Chamber of Commerce for a while.

* I am self-employed.

* I was a friend of the president of the college Republicans in college.

* I am not opposed to nuclear power.

* As a lawyer, I do considerable work in areas of tax law pertaining only to the very affluent, and I do some oil and gas law. Much of my other legal expertise is only relevant to business owners and the affluent. I have many very affluent (e.g. $10 million in net worth or more) clients.

* I have been employed as a lawyer at a very large (700+ lawyers) law firm.

*  I have never owned a hybrid or electric vehicle.

* Part of my college credits came from Miami University of Ohio, one of the most conservative public colleges in Ohio and in the United States (the most conservative are almost all private).

* My hometown was represented in Congress for many years by John Boehner (from 1991 to 2015), who served as the Republican Speaker of the House (2011 to 2015).

* I've spent time at a country club in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on a vacation.

* A good friend of mine from college grew up in Idaho.

* A good friend of mine from college grew up in North Carolina.

* A good friend of mine from high school lives and works in North Carolina.

* A good friend of mine from college lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

* My best friend growing up, who was the best man at my wedding, served in the U.S. Army National Guard.

* One of my more embarrassing moments in college was asking a question that demonstrated that I didn't know that husband and wives could have separate property.

* I am not very good at spelling.