â€ÂI don’t want to weaken the Patriot Act. I want to repeal it.” This is the future face of the Democratic Party.
Over at the Cato Institute Sexiest Man Alive, Markos Moulitsas, tries unsuccessfully to make the case for a so-called ‘Libertarian’ Democrat. Apparently, he’s noticed that some of our hallowed rights have come into question in the last five years and that the Republicans are spending money like it’s going out of style.
While I am happy about neither development–truly–I have noticed that the GOP has encountered two unforeseen problems in the last five years that might, possibly, explain it: the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe the GOP just wakes up every morning trying to decide what can do to piss me off more–take away a terrorist’s right to murder me with impunity, or put me in debt for the sake of Americans who’ve lost everything. Decisions, decisions.
In any event, Kos suggests that one of his blog posts was a major revelation. It seems a significant portion of Kos Progressives–that is, the entire Democratic party for whom he speaks–actually disagree with some of the leftist crap being foisting on them at his blog! Anyway, he thinks he’s got enough going here to start A Movement.
…there’s a whole swath of Americans who are uncomfortable with Republican/conservative efforts to erode our civil liberties while intruding into our bedrooms and churches; they don’t like unaccountable corporations invading their privacy, holding undue control over their economic fortunes, and despoiling our natural surroundings; yet they also don’t appreciate the nanny state, the over-regulation of small businesses, the knee-jerk distrust of the free market, or the meddlesome intrusions into mundane personal matters.
This is a revelation? Of course, a good portion of Kos readers don’t swallow the whole party line. Political parties are only groups of unique personalities gathering on the basis of one or two common interests. But this revelation gives him the idea that, instead of fighting the tide from the right, he can co-opt it. For example, by starting to support the idea of capitalism.
Some of his observations are humorous and throw a weird light on what Progressives believe about how economics works. It seems it has something to do with ass-kissing:
This is free market activity seemingly at its best, and it works precisely because these individuals are able to take risks and be judged by the results of their work, rather than be judged by who they are, where they’ve been, or who they know.
So, Kos, himself, finally noticed that a free-market economy has some value? Good for him. Now he should read Adam Smith. He’ll be a regular at this blog before we know it. And I can’t wait to see his successful conversion of the thousands of neo-Marxists in his coterie who have been trying to take my wealth and share it amongst themselves all these years. Apparently, they were misinformed. “Embrace the Market”, guys.
He ends with this:
For too long, Republicans promised smaller government and less intrusion in people’s lives. Yet with a government dominated top to bottom by Republicans, we’ve seen the exact opposite. No one will ever mistake a Democrat of just about any stripe for a doctrinaire libertarian. But we’ve seen that one party is now committed to subverting individual freedoms, while the other is growing increasingly comfortable with moving in a new direction, one in which restrained government, fiscal responsibility andâ€â€most important of allâ€â€individual freedoms are paramount.
In other words, the same old leftist crap. I still don’t see the most remote acknowledgement of the truly alarming problem we face with resurgent Islamism. No…no, there’s nothing written about that here. He pretty much covers it with the quote I mention at the top.
In the end, Kos is caught trying to dress a skunk–the Progressive movement–as a fox. It’s still a skunk. And he and the Progressives are still twiddling about the periphery of America’s real problems, out in left field, clueless.
I gotcha movement RIGHT HEEYA!!” (he said from the Brighton Beach public baths.)
Absolutely Hee-Larious. Ahem, you are on a roll!
Kosplay. Heh.
Why is it that everytime I see “sexy” Moulitsas Zuniga on TV he looks like he’s about three wheezes away from death by TB? Seriously—hollow yet bulging eyes; moist, waxy pallor. That Oprah pic made him look almost lifelike.
Progressives are to the Democratic Party what ticks are to a dog’s ear. They’ve been threatening to jump ship for decades, but they’ve got nowhere else to go.
Angie,
Almost Lifelike–that was that Rolling Stone movie with Kate Hudson, right?
Inspector,
Please, we refer to them here as Proggs or Porgessives.
And all movements need their leaders, right? And if the Democrats truly won’t acknowledge his wonderfulness and leaderishness, why then he’ll leave the party that he has had bought and paid for and taking his followers start anew, colonizing an unknown territory – Moonbatistan.
Moonbatistan:Where jihad is fought with creme pies and smoothies.
DUCK!
Major fallacy of the workings of the human mind: “I have a special revelation/idea/understanding! therefore, I must start a special movement (with me as the leader, naturally.)
Seekers of truth only create a movement if their ideas really have power. All other movements come from 1. People with real power 2. People trying to squeeze power out of ideas. (There might be others, I guess.)
Markos is a #2… He seeks the truth for the sake of power. Or rather, he seeks power. The truth better yield to his desires.
Actually, Kos reminds me of nothing so much as a child–a small, earnest, child.
Hmmm. So this revelation came about at the same time George Soros proclaims he is “quitting politics”?
I QUESTION THE TIMING!
Thank goodness for you, oh great warrior. Without you I would be unable to keep up with the myriad, byzantine complexities of conspiracy timing.
Do all of these people have some kind of digital political timing clock? An issues oriented Rolex?
Somebody needs to check with Andrew Sullivan.
I SMELL A ROVIAN GAMBIT. CHECK!
Repeal the Patriot Act!
Sure, even the ACLU admits that the vast majority of it is unobjectionable, and nearly every critic of it I’ve ever questioned on the subject has no objection to it based on what it actually says and does apart from “library records!! my holy library records!!”, but obviously it should be repealed. Because of the rights.
(I mean, library records? Come on, people. A power that’s never been used, and that was already given to grand juries? Spare me the talk of a shredded constitution, and explain to me how the expectation of privacy in library records ever came about.
Remember card catalogs? Remember your name on the card in the book?
Jesus Crap, what’s wrong with people? Even sincere civil-liberties activists should cringe at this, since it makes any possible serious issues look like bedwetting whining by association.)
That Democrats would even consider pandering to libertarians is a significant development. They are desperately in need of new ideas, and they have to get them from somewhere.
For too long?
Say what?
I think that is a very revealing clause in what amounts to an informercial for Cato readers to vote Democrat.
Furthermore, the Democrats are playing libs for a chump. The socially liberal-libertarian agenda advocated is only useful to the Democrats as a foil to the Republicans. The Democrats were in power for many years and never once worked towards drug decriminalization. They did or do little to reduce “bedroom legislation”. They not only do absolutely nothing about electoral issues, they take advantage of them. They institutionalized Political Correctness, f’r’chrissakes. They created thought (aka hate) crimes. They create tax policies that favor the extremely wealthy and hurt small business owners (the bulk of this country’s employment). They’re elitist assholes who work cynically to acquire and maintain power by using identity politics to play one group off against another.
Yeah. I’m looking forward to Democrats in power.
Even more revealing is that the Democrats may be so desperate for numbers that they are courting the most unclubbable and unpartisan of political people – libertarians. Libertarians are to an organized political party (I know, I know, it’s the Democrats, but stil) like anarchists are to the Rotary – matter and anti-matter colliding. Cognitive dissonance taken to the nth degree. Cats and dogs living together.
They are going to collapse into a black hole of total contradiction and disapeer.
Somehow making Nancy Pelosi speaker, Barbara Boxer chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Edward Kennedy chair of the Senate HELP Committee, and Charles Rangel House Ways and Means Committee chairman doesn’t strike me as a credible first step towards a night-watchman state.
“Heightening the contradictions,” perhaps?
Or is there some other subtlety of logic I’m missing?
Never happen.
Don’t forget Alcee Hastings is in line for the Intelligence chair.
tw: designed69 -> just stop please.
Great googly-moogly, doesn’t Joe Biden get Judiciary? Or is that Dick Durbin (he moans pitiously.)
Yup, I’m looking at all of the names mentioned above and the first thing that comes to mind is “liberal-libertarian.” NOT!!!
Let’s be serious here. Does our Daily Dose of Kooks really think that his political base is going to embrace classical Liberal/Libertarian ideals and apply those to the likes of Kennedy, Lamont, Boxer, Rangel,
Shumer, Feingold,..(ad nauseum?)
I’m giving myself a rash writing this but WWAS (What Would Actus Say?)
Dammit all, I used to respect CATO. Didn’t always agree but at least could respect the organization. Now it has the credibility of a pathological liar combined with a kleptomaniac. Grrrrrrr…
I’ve got my fingers crossed, but I’m hoping that Cato allowed this just for the intellectual excercise (of seeing Kos get eviscerated.)
Cato has always struck me as very essentially libertarian– I don’t consider them an enemy (ideologically or politically) but really wouldn’t call them an ally either. They stand for something that I don’t always agree with, and that is the reason.
This was an intersting Kosplay.
Hey, Cato–
Will you pick me up a serving of kostard while you’re at the liberteria?
God Damn it. Your home team losing+beer+steak+this post=trouble.