In today’s column on Harriet Miers, David Brooks includes this comment on the difference between Rebublicans and Conservatives:

You know you are in establishment Republican circles when the conversation is bland but unifying. You know you are in conservative circles when it is interesting but divisive.

When applied to United Methodists, I’m inclined to think “establishment Republican” could be replaced by “establishment Methodist” (or Moderate) and at least in some cases UM liberals could be lumped in with the conservatives for generating “interesting division.”