What do the Tea Party ideologues mean when they speak of liberty and freedom and the Constitution that they supposedly revere? Sometimes they are described as libertarians, but the behavior of their leading candidates betrays an authoritarian streak just beneath all the sonorous rhetoric.
The latest example is Joe Miller, the Republican Senate candidate from Read More
When American politicians talk about the legacy we are leaving to the next generation, their usual theme is financial deficits, as if there were no other kind. Figured on a per-capita basis, the real and imputed debt that today’s children will assume some day as taxpayers can seem daunting. But what our political leaders rarely Read More
Let nobody accuse the Tea Party enthusiasts of lacking intellectual sophistication, no matter what their favorite candidates might say about evolution, civil rights, masturbation or alcohol prohibition.
According to The Times, the movement’s reading list includes works of political economy by such right-wing thinkers as Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek and Frederic Bastiat. (And Read More
“By the way, your sushi sucked,” I slurred to the handsome chef as he painstakingly assembled a spicy tuna roll. I was three martinis deep at this point, and batting my eyes so furiously at my prey that I’m sure he thought I’d lost a contact.
The fact that this offensive line actually worked should Read More
For Americans still suffering from persistent unemployment, falling incomes and rising inequality, politicians of either party probably generate little enthusiasm. Yet although political ennui is understandable, the disaffection and demoralization of Democrats has created a dangerous political vacuum that is being filled with misleading data, urban legends and outright lies. Indeed, the entire Tea Party Read More
The Republicans have announced the forthcoming release of the “Contract from America” — a set of legislative proposals presumably intended to replicate the “Contract with America” used by their leaders in the historic 1994 midterm when they won control of both houses of Congress. The question immediately raised by this news is why John Boehner Read More
I don’t blame Christine O’Donnell, Carl Paladino, Sharron Angle, Joe Miller, Rand Paul, Ken Buck and others in the Far (F)right. I blame the voters – at least Republican primary voters and kvetching Democrats. As Mel Brooks said in the guise of Louis IV in The History of the World, “the people are revolting!”
While Read More
As voters ponder the curious failure of the ruling Democratic Party even to pursue meaningful economic relief for millions of desperate and jobless Americans, it might be useful to recall certain passages from President Obama’s best-selling campaign manifesto, The Audacity of Hope. Of particular interest is a chapter titled “Opportunity,” wherein the ambitious senator discusses Read More
With their loud voices and antic style, the “tea party” activists may lead voters to expect something new and different if the Republican Party returns to power. But observing the man who would wield that power if his party wins a midterm majority should swiftly dispel that illusion.
There is nothing fresh or surprising about Read More
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana’s adage has long been part of the conventional wisdom of the age. And in the immediate aftermath of the ninth anniversary of 9/11, questioning whether morality has memory inscribed on its DNA has to seem like the cruelest kind of nihilism. But Read More
