This Boston Globe Correspondent Is A Self-Described “Staunch Conservative”

Photo Credit: Timothy Valentine via FlickrThe Boston Globe's Mattias Gugel covers political issues like Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) reaction to the ongoing government shutdown and the tea party -- but he also has a right-wing resume and is a self-described “staunch conservative.”

On October 2, Gugel authored an article highlighting which staff members in Sen. Elizabeth Warren's office were furloughed due to the on-going government shutdown -- a shutdown led by conservative Republicans in the House that Warren has argued against. Gugel wrote:

Despite the government shutdown, Bay Staters seeking to contact most members of the Massachusetts delegation in Washington can still reach a staffer by phone, with the exception of Senator Elizabeth Warren's office .

Warren, a Democrat, determined that having staff answer phone calls is not an essential part of her office's job during a shutdown, leaving constituents to go to voice mail when they call to give their opinion or to seek services or assistance.

Also on October 2, Gugel wrote an article for the Globe centered on congressional tea partiers' reactions to the shutdown -- characterizing them as “combative, defiant, defensive, and resolute.”

But Gugel has previously been vocal about his support for tea party Republicans and once wrote in their defense that, “Bipartisanship ended during the glorious reign of President Barack Obama.”

Gugel also previously worked as an intern for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and as a staff assistant for State Sen. Joe Leibham (R-WI). He praised a list of “leading conservatives” from Wisconsin that included Republicans Rep. Paul Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker, and hoped that, “someday my name might be added to that list.”

Gugel, who once described himself as “a pretty staunch conservative all around,” believes that Obama's 2012 re-election campaign slogan “Forward” is a Marxist code-word aimed at “diehard liberals because of these socialist connotations”:

The president's approach to this problem is evident in the radical imagery the new slogan invokes. Leftists have historically used the word as a rallying cry for progress, and many Marxist publications were named “Forward” (or its foreign equivalents). And for those naysayers who think only conservatives believe Obama is a socialist, he himself chose the direct symbolism this time.

Photo Credit: Timothy Valentine via Flickr