The Late Adopters

Robert Draper's article in today's New York Times Magazine is brilliant and truly beyond the GOP's grasp given their predilection for ignorance.  It's hopeless for the old guard but not young conservatives who are natural Libertarians given their belief in the individual, liberty and free markets.  They just need to shuck aside the Authoritarian influence of their elders. With regard to the modern techniques of politicking that the Romney campaign seemed have missed out on, it's not something that is exclusive to Obama Democrats.  The retro McCarthyite, Senator Cruz of Texas,  appears to have used similar tools to get himself elected.

Rubio and The Zombies

Again I have to agree with Paul Krugman's editorial today that Senator Marco Rubio's reply to the State  of the Union Address appears to have been scripted by the GOP dead heads in charge.  Marco is interesting because he is intelligent and nuanced.  Unfortunately the powers that be dumbed him down.

BTW Paul,  I resent your mention of Cato Institute as a bullet point favoring your argument against the free market.  It puts you in the same unthinking zero nuanced camp that you are attacking in your editorial.   An Adam Smith Wealth of Nations style free market requires many intelligent players for the benefit to society derived by the invisible hand to come about.  The housing bubble developed becasue of greedy, ergo stupid as in pigs get slaughtered, and concentrated banking and non banking institutions so that I don't see a repudiation of free markets here.

Studied Ignorance

Paul Krugman has a point in his editorial today in the New York Times labeling the GOP's "Ignorance Caucus".    On my tangent of Separation of Church and State for example I find purposeful insistence by the Evangelical right to promote creationist theory in the classroom to be the equivalent of dulling the brain of their adherent's children with a shot of whiskey every day. It kills the natural inquisitiveness of children on how things work when every answer is God's will, or Inshallah in Islam.  I doubt a doctor could be a doctor without understanding evolutionary theory and I resent Christian Authoritarians as much as Islamic ones who would take us back to the middle ages.

After Ron Paul, then what?

Brian Doherty's rumination in today's New York Times regarding the Republican party and a possible change toward a libertarian ideology is wishful thinking.  The GOP is authoritarian with neocons wanting to exert influence abroad and evangelicals here at home.  Libertarian is the counter to authoritarian and the two find the other repellant.  My preference is to let the GOP die off.  It already has in New England and Libertarians should work on making political inroads there to fill in the vacuum.