Political ruminations go better with beer

By Anne Marie Distefano

The Portland Tribune, Aug 12, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

The sun is slanting diagonally onto the covered back patio of the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub.

Squinting, we make our introductions. Nicole Vanderhoof and her parents, Sue and Roy Vanderhoof, are sitting at a picnic table, sharing a pitcher of beer. An upright red, white and blue sign that reads “Drinking Liberally” lets newcomers know that this is their group.

Nicole Vanderhoof founded the happy hour get-together in October, when the tension surrounding the presidential election was at its peak. “I would sit there and read all this news,” she says, and she thought, “there’s got to be other people who want to talk about this.”

She was right. Not only that, but nearly a year later, she’s still drawing 20 or more people to her monthly, liberal-leaning gatherings.

I have brought along my sister’s husband, who is visiting from Pennsylvania. We get pints of beer from the bar inside, and sit chatting with the Vanderhoofs as more people arrive. Nicole Vanderhoof, along with co-organizer James Riddle, explain to me how Drinking Liberally, which is a national organization, works. Founded in New York City in 2003, it has branches spread across the United States.

The organization’s political tenets are loosely defined, by intention, but the majority of participants probably are registered Democrats. “They try to stay far away from setting any kind of topic,” Riddle says of the national leadership, which limits itself to helping new groups get started, staying in touch with regional organizers, and most importantly, maintaining a Web site.

It was on the Internet that Nicole Vanderhoof learned of Drinking Liberally, and most of the people who attend tonight also found out about it online.

As we talk, more people arrive. My brother-in-law, John, is talking to a gray-haired man in a tropical print shirt about labor unions. The man wants John to contribute to his blog. Then everyone starts talking about Lance Armstrong, and from there, how the United States is viewed by other countries. The conversation dwells on the 2004 presidential election, as well.

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