My last post as a solitary blogger

It is just about midnight on the West Coast as I begin a post I have long looked forward to writing. This will be my last post as a solitary blogger. THE GayPatriot, the man who founded this blog will be returning later this morning. It’ll be nice to have him back where he belongs.
GP founded this blog on September 4, 2004, vowing to “prove that gay conservatives exist, are relevant, and outspoken.” Four days later, I e-mailed him offering kudos for telling “LCR to stick it.” He wrote back. We exchanged e-mails and Instant Messages. Less than a month later, he invited me to join him here on the blog, a task I gladly undertook.
I appreciate what he had done in founding this blog, providing a voice in the blogosphere for gay conservatives, especially for those of us, who, despite our occasional differences with President Bush, supported his re-election. For the nearly six months that he and I blogged together, our styles complemented each other. I’m glad he’s back to take up the work he began last fall and to balance once again my more philosophical posts with the wit and punch of his prose.
But, more than anything, I appreciated his inviting me to join this blog. Since he left, an average of just under 500 people visited this blog per day. While that represents fewer readers than we had when he and I were posting together, to me, someone who has longed to share his views since he first learned to speak, that’s a lot of people eager to read my writing–even if some of them expect to disagree with me. Just a few hours ago, I received an e-mail from a reader who thought I was doing a great job even though he is frequently at odds with me.

It’s nice to know that many who disagree with me value my opinions. And it’s just as nice to know that there are many people out there who share my views. I have found that there are a lot of gay people with views similar to my own. And a lot of straight people who are eager to learn what this man who happens to be gay has to say.
I know that I would not have gained such an audience had GP not invited me to join him here. I am as grateful to him as I am to our readers. That based on just a few e-mails and Instant Messages, he had enough confidence in my writing — and my opinions — to ask me to help him with his “baby.” I didn’t fully realize how similar our worldviews were until we started blogging together.
I’m glad that for the past eighty-two days, I have been able to keep the fires burning at the blog that my blog-league founded. I have appreciated the support I have received from many of you, especially those who have recognized the burden of maintaining GayPatriot.org in GP’s absence. Now that he’s returning, I won’t worry so much if I don’t have as much time to blog as I would like. I have often stayed up well past midnight in order to have a fresh post up for those who check the blog first thing in the morning.
While there was something nice about being a solitary blogger, it felt a little lonely here from time to time. For nearly three months, this blog lacked the wit and insight of its founder’s postings. I am delighted that he’s coming back. It’s so nice to have my blog-league back where he belongs.
-Dan (AKA GayPatriotWest): GayPatriotWest@aol.com