A nook in Brophy's Irish Pub on Aug. 28 filled with political debate quicker than the pitchers could be topped off with local draft.
The debaters were union workers, politicians, students and radicals. They are Drinking Liberally, a social network of progressive thinkers and activists.
Drinking Liberally hosts dozens of UF graduate students -though the group is open to anyone - on the fourth Wednesday of each month, and attendance is doubling as the November election approaches.
In July, Brophy's was stuffed like a sardine can when campaign representatives and speakers for Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama gathered at an event to gain support for the fall election.
Chapters aren't allowed to endorse a specific candidate, and they try to be "as open-minded as possible," said Devorah Beher, the Gainesville chapter representative.
Because of this election's popularity with underage students, Gainesville's Drinking Liberally chapter encourages a younger group to meet, sans beers, to talk about political issues so as not to encourage underage drinking.
"This is a perfect opportunity for college students to become galvanized in the political process," Beher said.
Drinking Liberally is a spin-off of Living Liberally - a New York-based, nonpartisan organization that offers a forum for local and national political involvement.
"Once it began to take hold across the nation, other people who didn't drink began to express other areas of interest," Beher said.
"University of Florida students may be interested in Laughing Liberally or Reading Liberally," she continued. "There are areas in film and food that can be easily registered on the Web site."
There's even Shooting Liberally, but for a less violent breed, some cities offer Crafting Liberally.
Ray Willette casually sipped on his frothy beverage and described issues like Gainesville's labor unions and Florida's Second Amendment.
Across the table, Jacque Betz spoke of her days in the Everglades sugarcane fields, where she worked against the mistreatment of migrant workers.
"There's a lot of talk and not enough doing," Betz said.
She will travel to Afghanistan this fall to help bring education to the struggling cities throughout the country.
Willette compared Gainesville's chapter of Drinking Liberally to the show "Cheers."
"We're just a group like anyone else that meets at a pub, jokes around and discusses real issues," he said.
