Drew Heidgerken may be growing out of his punk phase, but the founder of the conservative-punk Web site GOPunk.com is still plenty conservative. His hair, once bright green, has reverted to its natural brown, and he’s traded his combat boots for sensible sneakers. His metal-spiked leather jacket–with “NRA-USA-GOP,” “NEOCON,” and an elephant painted on its sleeves and a big Uncle Sam above the words “I want YOU to vote Republican” on the back–comes out only in cold weather. He’s a company man now, too, working for a north-side marketing and design firm. And this year, in his most aggressive act of anti-antiauthoritarianism yet, he ran for political office–losing miserably to incumbent 11th Ward committeeman George Preski.
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In a recent thread, a user calling himself Heydrew–Heidgerken’s political opposite and an infamous fire starter on the board–quoted a Sunday Telegraph article about Iran giving safe passage to Al Qaeda members. “Why isn’t this talked about more?” another poster asked. Capitalistpunk, who can always be counted on for a quick, para-noid response, typed: “Because the media would rather report ‘Bush is out looking for oil,’ and then, when Bush finds out that there are terrorists in Iran, they’ll say ‘Bush is gonna take out another country for THERE oil now.’ The media is so liberal and so anti-bush.” One of the liberals on the board challenged him to name a media outlet that does this, and so the dialogue went on, with varying degrees of intelligence and civility, for days. Such arguments are the bread and butter of the board, and although Heidgerken pops in for a spat every once in a while, “a lot of people post more than I do,” he says. “They might have more free time than me or more energy than me.”
Growing up in the 80s, Heidgerken was a straitlaced kid–he did his home-work and watched the news with his conservative parents. He had already lived in six states by the time he started high school in Iowa–his family followed his dad’s military career.
He started wearing his brother’s leather jacket, which had a picture of Reagan on the back, when he went out. People would inevitably ask about it. Depending on their attitude, he’d either explain himself or tell them to “piss off.” “If people laugh about it and say ‘good joke’ or whatever, I’ll set them straight and say I’m dead serious,” he says. “Most people just shut up and say ‘Oh,’ but some people yell at me.”
His motivation to run for committeeman came from his feeling that Republican incumbent Preski wasn’t doing his job–that his election judges weren’t loyal to the party, and that his investment in the 11th Ward over the course of his long tenure had been minimal and detached. “I’ve never seen anything from him,” Heidgerken says. So he knocked on every Republican’s door in the ward, shaking hands and giving out flyers. He believes his efforts pushed Preski into action. “Preski actually went out and did more campaigning than he’d done in a long time,” he says. “That’s a bonus, even if the wrong guy won.”
