Rigorous Introspection (or "I'm Just Like Them...Sort Of." -- Kelly

During George W. Bush's presidency, I and others who share my political persuasion would be having a conversation about some political event or administration position. Sooner or later someone would pose some variation of the following question:

"How can someone who has

* lost a job while CEOs plundered
* found himself with no health insurance and ended up paying through the nose for private or "risk pool" insurance
* living on a fixed income and struggling with high cost of whatever
* been forced to work 2 or 3 part-time jobs with no benefits thanks to the corporate trend of eliminating full-time jobs.
* some combination of the above

possibly vote for Bush?"

During the last election cycle, we asked a variant of that question:  "How can someone whose life has been decimated by Republican policy even consider voting for McCain?"

Now I think I know the answer, and it isn't pretty.

During the year or so leading up to the election, I was a passionate constant consumer of political writing. I paid attention and spent countless hours informing myself.

But ever since the inauguration my consumption of such media has dropped by about 75%.

At first I thought I had political burnout or a simply too much on my plate, but now I'm investigating an unflattering possibility:

Could I be a blind follower, too?

I have little interest in following issues these days. I no longer read Huffington Post, Daily Kos, fivethirtyeight, or Wonkette three times a day. I no longer watch CNN during my time in the kitchen. I no longer read the newspaper regularly.

I am, according to this hypothesis, exactly like the individuals on the right I used to castigate.

So I want to ask for your help.

Will you let me know, in the comments, if you (as a conservative) are now consuming more political media or if you (as a liberal) are consuming less?

Please throw your virtual two cents' worth into the fray.