As the sensational news of someone who is not a European-American male having a realistic shot at the presidency has become mundane reality, I find it necessary to reflect upon some of the core principles of liberalism. I, like many Coastal California voters, am a liberal Democrat. Like most progressives, I would love to see a woman or a person of minority ethnic descent in the Oval Office. Yet, I will not vote for or even favor a candidate because of race or gender. Doing so would contradict the ideology to which adhere. The core principle of liberalism is a belief in personal liberty. A belief in maximizing personal freedoms translates directly into believing that the effects of ascribed statuses - characteristics that are not attributed to a person's actions - ought to be minimized. I, therefore, refuse to judge a person on the basis of their ethnic origin or gender. My liberal ideology prevents me from favoring a candidate based on ancestry, ethnicity or gender

About the Author

I am a rational, creative, intelligent and, as you may have thought, liberal person with a passion for politics and the social sciences in general. I am from a progressive professional (upper middle) class background and pride myself in being someone whose actions and opinions are based on rational thought. My political ideology largely rests on three main principles. First, human beings should be as free as possible. Thus, I advocate the