Left-wing Feminists for Palin has two new members, as Ms. Magazine editor Elaine Lafferty and former Edwards, Clinton, and Obama speechwriter Wendy Button both defend her. They both point out the nasty behavior on the part of left-wing opponents and although they both disagree with Palin on plenty of things (particularly on social issues), “I disagree with you” doesn’t imply “You’re an idiot.” Button points out that no idiot can successfully take down a sitting governor and her own corrupt party, rising so quickly in a major party. Speaking of which, Todd Zywicki notes that glibness isn’t the same thing as intelligence and “I don’t understand; could you clarify?” is a perfectly legitimate question and much better than making things up out of whole cloth as many politicians are wont to do.
Practice wealth redistribution small-scale. It’s a hilarious story about taking Obama seriously and how many people are all for “wealth redistribution” unless it means their wealth being redistributed.
John Hawkins also has a post up asking “have libertarians been driven out of the Republican party by McCain’s raging Christianity?“ That’s the argument by Ryan Sager at Reason and Hawkins points out how ridiculous it is. Libertarians and small-government conservatives have every right to be angry at the Bush administration for 6 years of poor economic policy (save for minor tax cuts and—notwithstanding those stupid steel tariffs—a pro-free trade policy) and not vetoing a fiscal bill until after Democrats took over Congress and libertarians and conservatives are going to disagree about foreign policy and the appropriate margins in the ever-lasting Security vs. Liberty debate, but any libertarians who think Obama would be any better for them on any front will quickly become disappointed. Don’t like spendthrift Republicans? Wait until Barney Frank & co have a President who wants to increase spending and raise taxes, not to mention socialized health care and an expansion of the regulatory bureaucracy. Think Bush has gone too far with regards to civil liberties? Wait until Obama’s “Truth Squad” in Missouri and underhanded and illegal records searches on anybody who dares question The Messiah become standard practice. Don’t like corrupt politicians like Ted Stevens and ex-politician Duke Cunningham? Obama himself is bringing in millions of fradulent dollars by turning off any credit card checks and not following campaign finance laws and is closely affiliated with ACORN. Think that Bush has done a bad job on foreign relations and has alienated allies? Obama’s already getting called immature and arrogant—by the French!—and is harming international relations by opposing free trade. And for those who want detachment from foreign affairs (particularly Iraq), Obama’s already talking about his own brand of foreign policy expansionism, most particularly in Darfur, so, just like during the Clinton years, you can expect to see demoralized American troops sent into areas which have nothing to do with the American interest to fight wars in politician-friendly ways, exactly the opposite of what the military’s job is. Meanwhile, expect American enemies to, as Joe Biden points out, make a strong move against the US to take advantage of an inexperienced and weak Obama. This will have a strong effect particularly in but not limited to eastern Europe, central Asia, and southeast Asia as American allies in tight spots (Israel, Colombia, Taiwan, Kuwait, Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, the Baltics, Iraq & Afghanistan, etc.) come under increased pressure from confident dictators and anti-American strongmen, potentially causing a reversal in the recent advances in liberty abroad. And, just to add to the fun, Obama wants a civilian paramilitary force; that can’t possibly have any negative ramifications for liberty and libertarian causes! In all seriousness, I can’t see why a libertarian (as opposed to a libertine) would actually support Obama. I can see why they would oppose a good number of Republicans and I could see them not voting for McCain because they really dislike his foreign policy and regulatory instincts, but Obama is, by far, the worse of two evils, particularly with a Democratic congress.
