Will the GOP--and Dems--Rue Paul Next November?

That's the question columnist Ron Hart asks. Snippets:

Little noticed in the increasingly shrill sniping, however, is the emergence of a purplish centrism. These centrists who will shape future elections are we libertarians - fiscally conservative and socially moderate. We believe in personal responsibility and minimal government - and not just while running for office. In short, we say smoke all the crack you want, just don't expect us to pay for your rehab. We do not meddle in places where it is not our business, e.g., Iraq, your bedroom, your religion. Libertarian thinking is gaining traction in our culture by those fed up with the far left and the far right....

Ron Paul is not your typical politician. He strikes me as the only one running who is more likely to be listening to a constituent in a bar rather than getting a $400 haircut or running his opinions by a focus group. He is a smart, conscientious and an accomplished private sector doctor who went into politics for the right reasons. He is a man who stands firmly by his beliefs and does not pander to the worst in human instinct. As such, and if history is any guide, rest assured that he has no chance in hell of winning.

Whole thing here.

reason on Ron Paul here.

Matt Welch and me on RP and the libertarian ascendency here.

Comments

Pig Mannix | December 20, 2007, 7:38am | #

And a great John Derbyshire article on Paul, too.

Eric Dondero | December 20, 2007, 8:00am | #

Rudy Giuliani has just been admitted to a hospital in Missouri for "flu like symptoms."

Hey you all Rudy Bashers out there, including Reason Editors.

I've got a great idea. Why don't you kick the man while he's down? Come up with some sort of front page article saying how Rudy is "Hitler" or something to that affect.

Don't report on all the libertarians supporting Rudy like Sally Pipes, Steve Forbes, Clint Bolick, Martin Anderson, Dennis Miller, et.al.

No, better to just say he's a "Fascist" or something to that affect.

Don't report on Ontheissues.org that lists Rudy as a 60/60 "Moderate Libertarian," second only to Ron Paul on the libertarian scale among all 20 some major party candidates.

No, just make up some lies on how Giuliani is a tax raiser, or is anti-Choice on abortion, or how Giuliani wouldn't really fight back against Islamo-Fascism.

Kick the man while he's down. Someone gets sick. Perfect opportunity for Reason and the Paul-bots to kick 'em in the teeth with such accusations.

Eric Dondero | December 20, 2007, 8:01am | #

Oh, and don't forget it's Christmas.

Best opportunity for the Giuliani haters to really spew their venom towards Giuliani.

Gotta destroy that libertarian-leaning GOPer in the primary, so that our boy "Ron Paul" can improve his poll numbers from 4.7% to 4.9% in the RCP average. Right?

Fluffy | December 20, 2007, 8:02am | #

Well, the last time Rudy was going to lose an election and wanted to run away and hide, he got a doctor's note excusing him from class.

Maybe he's going to do that now, too.

"I have 45 day flu! I cannot continue! Excuse me while I go trolling around cigar clubs looking for a new piece of ass!"

Fluffy | December 20, 2007, 8:04am | #

Eric, are you actually giving us some of the credit for "destroying" Giuliani?

Well, thank you! That's very nice of you.

Now I can puff my chest out and think proudly, "I helped to destroy Rudy Giuliani!"

Is this the part of the interview where I thank Jesus for making this possible?

Taktix® | December 20, 2007, 8:05am | #

What's that in the sky?

A bird?

A plane?

No, it's Giuliani's campaign going down in flames.

Oh, from the Derbyshire piece:

If those people are crazy, though, I want to be crazy with them.

Crazy like a fox!

Fluffy | December 20, 2007, 8:07am | #

No, just make up some lies on how Giuliani is a tax raiser, or is anti-Choice on abortion, or how Giuliani wouldn't really fight back against Islamo-Fascism.

Link please.

All the criticisms of Giuliani I remember are:

He employs genocidal sociopaths like Norman Podhoretz.

He favors endless war.

He has a history of nanny statism.

He has a history of opposing free speech.

He has a history of hating due process, even when he was an officer of the court.

He has a history of standing up for police brutality.

He stands up for and longs for the chance to expand upon Bush's extrajudicial system of detention and torture.

Did I miss anything? I'm sure I did, help me out here people.

Taktix® | December 20, 2007, 8:11am | #

Fluffy,

You forgot about how Giuliani rubs one off every night to video of his speech after 9/11...

wayne | December 20, 2007, 8:13am | #

Maybe Rudy is suffering from the turd flu.

wayne | December 20, 2007, 8:14am | #

"Did I miss anything? I'm sure I did, help me out here people."

YES! He ignores the second amendment to the constitution, so no bill of rights garantee is safe.

Taktix® | December 20, 2007, 8:23am | #

Can someone explain to me why I should give a fuck about the opinion of Dennis "Needless Analogies" Miller?

Oh, and Forbes is currently National Co-Chair and a Senior Policy Advisor to Giuliani's 2008 campaign...

mike | December 20, 2007, 8:23am | #

Holy jumping threadjacks, Batman!

Got to give Dondero his props for taking a post about Ron Paul and making it a post about a guy who thinks freedom means submitting to righteous authority.

Edward (not) | December 20, 2007, 8:24am | #

Neo-Nazis Say: Ron Paul is One of Us:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=28341_Neo-Nazis_Say-_Ron_Paul_is_One_of_Us&only

OhioMichael | December 20, 2007, 8:25am | #

I heard that Rudy Giuliani had an allergic reaction to his new pair of pantyhose.

Eric Dondero | December 20, 2007, 8:27am | #

9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy! 9/11! 9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy! 9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy! 9/11! 9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy! 9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy! 9/11! 9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy! 9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy! 9/11! 9/11! Islamo-Fascism! Commie-Nazis! Rudy!

oh, and 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11
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Chucklehead | December 20, 2007, 8:29am | #

Donderoooooooooooooooooooo,

Shouldn't you be washing Ghouliani's feet with your tears?

John-David | December 20, 2007, 8:41am | #

What kind of a pussy goes to the hospital for "flu-like symptoms"?

Kevin Houston | December 20, 2007, 8:42am | #

Eric Dondero,

Just because someone holds a few liberal social positions while at the same time holding a few conservative economic positions, that does not make them a Libertarian.

Sure, Rudy is pro-choice - but he thinks the state should pay for the abortion (because it's a "Right", you know, and if it's a right, and you can't afford it, then the state should pay for it. ... huh? I wonder if that is how he feels about the 2nd amendment?)

Rudy is for tax cuts - OK, I'll give you that, but he is for tax cuts because he believes they will let him raise more revenue that he can throw around the marketplace (business and social) buying support with.

And sure, he's for open immigration, but he wants every immigrant to have a bio-metric enabled ID card. (he doesn't explain how it will only be for immigrants, so one assumes that means you and I will have to show one to get a job/open a bank account too.)

But ask Rudy how he feels about the DEA and the drug war, and he will give you a solid drug-warrior answer.

And ask Rudy about gun control, and he will tell you that you have a "right" to own a gun since the supreme court decided that way, but he wants to sue every gun manufacturer so your right will only be a theoretical one.

I could go on, but I think I have made my point: Libertarianism is not an "ala carte" philosophy - otherwise Bill "gun of the month club" Maher would have to be considered a Libertarian. Libertarianism is about the NIOF principle, and Rudy Giuliani is all about initiating force to solve social, economic, and diplomatic problems.

It's kinda like the old Doonsbury comic where uncle Duke says "Sometimes you have to shove freedom down peoples' throats whether they want it or not."

Even if we give him a huge benefit of the doubt and accept that he only wants to initiate force on the side of liberty, (he doesn't, but let's just pretend for a moment that he does,) that doesn't make him a Libertarian. Even if it's freedom and liberty, by initiating force you cede all legitimate claim to the title "libertarian" at best you are a coercive Libertine, at worse, a fascist. (by which I mean economic/soft fascism, not national socialist/racist fascism.)

Later.

gaijin | December 20, 2007, 8:45am | #

What kind of a pussy goes to the hospital for "flu-like symptoms"?

Someone who has no concern for the cost of his medical treatment!

Lost_In_Translation | December 20, 2007, 8:46am | #

Why do I picture Dondero sitting in the corner of a room with a bottle of vodka in one hand, weeping over his signed photograph of a smiling Giuliani while his life size portrait of Putin looks on the scene disapprovingly (has Putin ever smiled...ever)

Ska | December 20, 2007, 8:47am | #

Shit Mike, that's my favorite quote too.

tarran | December 20, 2007, 8:47am | #

I'm puzzled why anybody falls for Giuliani's bullshit claim that he is a tax cutter.

After all, he spent alot of time in Albany begging them to send him more money extracted from taxpayers who didn't live in the city.

In other words, sure a guy living in New York might have paid a smaller amount in taxes to the city, but a guy living in Schenectady ended up taking up the slack.

Believing that Giuliani is a tax-cutter requires a great deal of gulliblility; I think the only people who would fall for that are the kind of morons who think that Al Queda has Scud missiles.... Oh wait, yeah....

John-David | December 20, 2007, 8:51am | #

tarran,

If we surrender to the Islamo-Fascists, they will be on our border lobbing scud missles at Brownsville, El Paso, Tucson, and San Diego faster than you can say "Allah AhuAhkbar.

Wow. Just wow. I knew Dondero was a bedwetter, but I don't have the time to follow him all around the internet and read all his looniness. Somehow that gem slipped passed me.

Obviously, Mexico is in cahoots with Al Qaeda. We need to nuke Mexico ASAP.

John-David | December 20, 2007, 8:55am | #

Taking the thread back from Commander Pee Pee Pants,

“Politics should be limited in scope to war, protection of property, and the occasional precautionary beheading of a member of the ruling class.”

Love that P.J. O'Rourke quote. Let's start with the lobbyists mentioned in the article.

Other Matt | December 20, 2007, 8:56am | #

Did I miss anything? I'm sure I did, help me out here people.

He lost me when discussing his use of firearms bans in NYC was a "tool", showing his arrogance that he was the one who got to decide who was "tooled" and who wasn't.

Episiarch | December 20, 2007, 9:01am | #

The fact that DOONDDERRRROOOO believes that anyone who was not only a power player in NYC, but actually mayor, could ever be a libertarian is...amusing.

markh | December 20, 2007, 9:01am | #

Hey E.D., the first thing I did this morning when I saw the headline was pray for him and his doctors, that he would make a full recovery. Can't stand the man myself, think he would make a more horrible president than W, but hey, he is a fellow human being, and I wouldn't wish ill on him or anyone else. Why don't you grow up and start acting like a human too instead of a mean-hearted little troll. Or if you don't want to do that, just go away. You bore me.

Jessica | December 20, 2007, 9:04am | #

Dennis Miller, a libertarian? I seem to remember him having some pretty hawkish positions, e.g. his asking Ron Paul in an interview on his radio show: "Don't you think its time to 'get it on' with radical Islam?"

N.Crown | December 20, 2007, 9:10am | #

Steve Forbes campaigned for Ron Paul with Nolan Ryan back in the 90's, and is a supporter of Paul's.

Chris S. | December 20, 2007, 9:10am | #

How quickly you've gone from "Rudy is the only viable candidate," to "boo hoo, don't hurt him."

Sad, really sad.

Balloon Maker | December 20, 2007, 9:15am | #

In pro sports, when they report that a player is sitting out for "flu-like symptoms," it means he's hung over. Maybe Rudy went on a Mexican bender.

sage | December 20, 2007, 9:17am | #

Did I miss anything? I'm sure I did, help me out here people.

He's a gun grabber.

iowan | December 20, 2007, 9:19am | #

What kind of a pussy goes to the hospital for "flu-like symptoms"?

Without knowing anything about rudy's situation, I can tell you my daughter was one held over night in the hospital due to the flu. Symptoms so severe, she couldn't even keep plain water down. They put three bags of saline solution in through an IV drip. Dehydration can kill.

Cesar | December 20, 2007, 9:25am | #

Hey Dondero, did you see that Rudy is plummeting in Florida and California, losing ground to Huckabee?

sage | December 20, 2007, 9:26am | #

I'm not going to blame him for seeing a doctor. It's easy enough to attack his position on the issues.

Bronwyn | December 20, 2007, 9:29am | #

I'm so excited! This morning, my mom told me that Ron Paul was going to be on Meet the Press this Sunday.

The exciting part isn't the fact that he's appearing on Meet the Press, it's the fact that she's paying attention! She mentioned Paul's response to critics when he didn't give back a $500 donation from a neo-nazi (Why give it back so he can spend it? The less money a neo-nazi has, the better!) And she said, "to think he gave me a gynecological exam 32 years ago! Wow!"

And she was smiling!! A few months ago, she would point out the staff mistake in mixing up her file with another patient's. Now she focuses on how cool it is that the greatest candidate ever was once her physician.

Yes!! I've brought her into the fold :-D

John-David | December 20, 2007, 9:32am | #

sage,

Part of Dondero's fascination with Rudy is that whole "tough guy in the aftermath of 9/11" facade. It doesn't quite jibe with "my tummy hurts and I have a headache so rush me to the emergency room" Rudy we're getting to know. Or, as mentioned earlier, the "playing the cancer card to avoid getting my ass kicked by Hillary in the Senate race."

However, you do bring up a fair point, and his health concerns should not be used against him.

sage | December 20, 2007, 9:36am | #

John-David, not that I'm saying anyone else shouldn't point out his wussery. I won't blame them for that either.

Bingo | December 20, 2007, 9:40am | #

In the hospital for flu-like symptoms? Bah, nothing a shot of whiskey and nyquil every hour for a day or two couldn't cure.

Must resist... horrible joke... | December 20, 2007, 9:41am | #

It doesn't quite jibe with "my tummy hurts and I have a headache so rush me to the emergency room" Rudy we're getting to know.

...are you saying Rudy is a pussy? Because maybe he should have seen Dr. Paul for his illness.

Episiarch | December 20, 2007, 9:43am | #

In the hospital for flu-like symptoms? Bah, nothing a shot of whiskey and nyquil every hour for a day or two couldn't cure.

Nyquiladas are the best.

J sub D | December 20, 2007, 9:44am | #

This is an attempt (in vain?) to get back on topic.

He [Ron Paul] is a man who stands firmly by his beliefs and does not pander to the worst in human instinct. As such, and if history is any guide, rest assured that he has no chance in hell of winning.

This is friggin' hard to argue with. I pretty much agree with the assessment of RP's chances in the noble quest. Why did I donate money? Why do I talk him up so much I irritate people on occasion? I'm getting better at avoiding that, after all it IS a campaign. Because we are going to change the friggin' debate parameters this time around! Paul loses, but his primary showing, coupled with the enthusiasm of his spectrum wide supporters is going to rattle the teacups of both parties.

Freedom is popular! Ya gotta love it.

ed | December 20, 2007, 9:45am | #

Rue Paul.
Har har har!

Taktix® | December 20, 2007, 9:55am | #

Just got a chance to watch the Glenn Beck interview with the good Doctor.

Beck's questions were 50% decent, 50% insane. (And they call us the kooks.)

Dr. P handled then pretty damn well. He has gotten exponentially better at these things since the campaign started.

Let's keep this momentum going through Sunday and beyond.

End the tyranny.
Join the r3OVLution.
Ron Paul 2008!

R C Dean | December 20, 2007, 10:01am | #

Well, the last time Rudy was going to lose an election and wanted to run away and hide, he got a doctor's note excusing him from class.

My vague recollection is that he was a pretty solid favorite, since you could expect NYC residents to cast more votes for him that they usually would for a Repub.

THE RUMOR STARTS HERE | December 20, 2007, 10:11am | #

What kind of a pussy goes to the hospital for "flu-like symptoms"?

A pussy with AIDS.

J sub D | December 20, 2007, 10:13am | #

Please forgive me.

Donderoooooooooo, Screwing around on your wife is not a violation of libertarian principles. Sending your paramour's chauffeur tab to the taxpayers certainly is.

I couldn't resist. Go back on topic now.

BakedPenguin | December 20, 2007, 10:16am | #

Does anyone else see an analogy between the Paul campaign and Anderson's '80 campaign? Not in the specific positions they hold, of course, but rather in the "inner-party outsider" status of the candidate, and the fact that they both had/have views which were/are anathema to their parties?

John | December 20, 2007, 10:24am | #

It has been pretty obvious for about twenty years now that the majority of the country is fiscally and economicly conservative and socially pretty moderate. People are tired of high taxes and regulation and tried of endless culture wars over government policy. Ron Paul tapped into that. He is the only one in either party who isn't a slave to the various one issue interest groups that make up the major party's bases.

If he were ten years younger and hadn't read just enough economics to be dangerous, Ron Paul could be a real force. But the mantle of true independent politics is still there even after Ron Paul. The fact that someone as certifiably looney on so many issues like Paul could do so well, shows how desparate a large part of the electorate is for someone who will reign in government, taxes and spending and shut the hell up about social issues.

horsewithnonick | December 20, 2007, 10:31am | #

Beck's questions were 50% decent, 50% insane.

50% decent, 50% insane...that seems to me to be a pretty spot-on description of Beck's usual on-air behavior.

I have only read the transcript, so missed any nonverbal communication going on, but the interview seemed to me to be an excellent showcase for Dr. Paul.

P Brooks | December 20, 2007, 10:34am | #

Rudy Giuliani has just been admitted to a hospital in Missouri for "flu like symptoms."

Rudy's a junkie?

Adam | December 20, 2007, 10:36am | #

Mmm...wishful thinking. Americans are sick of the "far right and far left," and so naturally they will gravitate to the sweet sensible moderation of libertarianism.

Actually, it will lead them to a Bill Clinton-ish centrism. Americans are for the most part socially moderate and fiscally conservative, and that probably spells Democratic in the medium term.

I understand that the Democratic Party is an unholy mess, but that's because it's a real party that practices actual politics in the real world, not in Libertarian Fantasyland.

John | December 20, 2007, 10:39am | #

"I understand that the Democratic Party is an unholy mess, but that's because it's a real party that practices actual politics in the real world, not in Libertarian Fantasyland."

That is why their winning of the 2006 elections resulted in a complete pullout of Iraq and the impeachment of the President.

John | December 20, 2007, 10:40am | #

Adam,

Bill Clinton only got popular after he started selling out liberals to the Republican Congress. He was very unpopular his first two years when he had a Democratic Congress and his main inititives were the BTU tax and socialized medicine. Then with a divided government, you shockingly got centrist policies and both parties were re-elected in 1996.

Dangerman | December 20, 2007, 10:49am | #

I cannot believe that no one linked here.
Eric, this is one you have to see. Your boy Rudy's on the front page of The American Conservative. Good going Rudy!!

Yours in Danger,

Dangerman

Bingo | December 20, 2007, 10:50am | #

John:

Unfortunately, about 15% of the nation are a bunch of Bible-thumping luddites that want to shove an American flag down every brown person's throat and 15% are a bunch of Euro-weenie wannabes that think they can fix every societal ill.

The problem isn't that these groups exist, its that they see the federal government as the solution to every problem and that the major parties have declared them to be their respective bases.

Most people are socially moderate and fiscally conservative, but they don't seem to realize there is an alternative to the views of those two groups.

Bingo | December 20, 2007, 10:51am | #

**note: All statistics are pulled from the great compendium of information that is "my ass"

Rattlesnake Jake | December 20, 2007, 10:53am | #

"The fact that someone as certifiably looney on so many issues like Paul could do so well, shows how desparate a large part of the electorate is for someone who will reign in government, taxes and spending and shut the hell up about social issues."

And it shows how desperate a large portion of the public is tired of our meddling foreign policy. My wife and I have talked to lots of people who question our meddling overseas. They believe we have enough problems to settle in this country without trying to settle problems overseas.

P Brooks | December 20, 2007, 10:54am | #

the only one running who is more likely to be listening to a constituent in a bar rather than getting a $400 haircut or running his opinions by a focus group

Exactly; a surprising (to MSM "analysts" anyway) number of people actually want to hear the candidate say what HE thinks, as opposed to what the candidate's team of political consultants and marketing wizards say they want to hear.

John | December 20, 2007, 11:03am | #

Bingo,

Most people I know who are outside of the intellectual class have one view on foreign policy and wars; rubble makes no trouble. I am not kidding. This includes Republicans and Democrats. I am always facinated by my wife's family's views on these things. They are died in the wool working class Democrats from the Northeast. Their attitude towards Iraq is that we should have just turned the place into a parking lot and gone home. Bush got into trouble not for starting the war but for trying to rebuild the country. I am not saying that is the right way to think. I am just saying a whole lot of the public left and right thinks that way.

J sub D | December 20, 2007, 11:12am | #

**note: All statistics are pulled from the great compendium of information that is "my ass"

The best disclaimer I've read in a long time.

Dave T | December 20, 2007, 11:17am | #

I have the flu, can I kick Rudy while we are both down?

Jennifer | December 20, 2007, 11:29am | #

"As such, and if history is any guide, rest assured that he has no chance in hell of winning."

Recent history, perhaps. But, if you look back far enough he actually has a great chance. Personally, however, I don't think either ancient or recent history can be much help. What I take away from history is that change is inevitable, and surprises happen when least expected. That doesn't mean Paul will win, but it means we don't really know. We just have to do our best then wait and see. Everybody's obsession with polls and commentaries is sort of like the way more primitive cultures would consult oracles or prophets or other fortune-tellers. As humans we like security, and we like to pretend we have it even if we don't. How about we all just grow up and accept that the future is a mystery, a tale yet to be told, but at the same time something that we will all end up being responsible for.

BakedPenguin | December 20, 2007, 12:01pm | #

Most people are socially moderate and fiscally conservative, but they don't seem to realize there is an alternative to the views of those two groups.

True, but they are neither as socially moderate nor as fiscally conservative as we are. There is also the inertia factor. A lot of people simply cannot believe that things would work without the government. The reason for this is that the government has been doing these things for a long time, and they have no memory of the time prior, and lack the imagination, or desire, to see a world where there is much less government than there is now.

Imagine thinking that everything the libertarians say we are going to get rid of in the government will be replaced by nothing, and you'll understand the mindset. The tax money taken from the rich will simply go back to them, while the poor and middle class will be no better off. (keep in mind - I am not saying this is what will happen, only what I believe many people think). Until we can address this mindset, it will be hard to sell libertarianism.

Nick | December 20, 2007, 12:11pm | #

Dondero,

I don't want Rudy to die. I want him to live to be completely embarrassed in the primaries where I think he'll not only lose but get beaten by Ron Paul, Huckabee, and Romney in no particular order. Maybe even McCain and Thompson.

Jennifer,

I agree. There are too many things that have happened in the history of the world that were unexpected to consider it a foregone conclusion that Ron Paul won't win the nomination.

R C Dean | December 20, 2007, 12:28pm | #

The tax money taken from the rich will simply go back to them, while the poor and middle class will be no better off.

We've lost the sense in this country that "you won't be hectored and henpecked by petty bureaucrats" is a perfectly good answer to "What's in it for me".

mAD FOR rON pAUL | December 20, 2007, 12:29pm | #

Mock and denegrate anybody who deviates an inch from the Truth as we define it. Civility is for statists. We are the only ones who truly love liberty. LONG LIVE RON PAUL!

Bingo | December 20, 2007, 12:54pm | #

BakedPenguin:

I've noticed the key difference between libertarians and... well pretty much every other political subset is that libertarians understand the concept of emergent behavior.

Neither conservatives nor liberals seem to "get" the fact that complex behaviors can result out of a simple and limited set of initial rules. Both conservatives and liberals think that you need to govern every possible outcome otherwise people will either a) not know what to do or b) do evil things.

grumpy realist | December 20, 2007, 1:39pm | #

Try saying "but we must get rid of the EPA! Globalization is great!" to a lower-middle class mother worried because the Xmas toy (made in China) she got for her kids has been recalled due to excessive lead and cadmium levels.

That's the problem. Libertarians come off as a bunch of selfish "I've got mine, who cares about you" free-market zealots who don't give a piss about whether anything is regulated. "If your kid dies, you can just sue the company!"

Ironchef | December 20, 2007, 1:58pm | #

Grumpy, libertarians don't wish all regulation to just go away. We just don't believe all is necessary, and that the government should not always be involved. There are plenty of examples of succesful, private regulation. ABA, AMA, higher education (accrediation), the insurance industry. . .

Graphite | December 20, 2007, 2:15pm | #

Yeah, clearly we need to roll back globalization because 1/1,000,000,000th of the toys sold to us from China had high levels of lead, a transgression for which they actually executed one of their apparatchiks.

Am I supposed to feel bad for challenging the "lower-middle class mothers" who hold mass-produced, half-baked opinions like this?

Neu Mejican | December 20, 2007, 2:27pm | #

Bingo,

emergent behavior

Greens include the concept in their platform.

Libertarians have a limited understanding of emergent behavior at best...regulatory mechanisms are emergent phenomena in all complex adaptive systems, fur instance.

joe | December 20, 2007, 2:35pm | #

You've been waiting for two years to use the phrase "Rue Paul," haven't you?

Brandybuck | December 20, 2007, 2:41pm | #

Wait... Is Eric blaming Ron Paul supporters for that Rudy/Nazi cover? Wholly crap, this guy is so far off the deep end he probably gets off doing self-trepanation.

Emergent Behavior | December 20, 2007, 3:22pm | #

A successful adaptive system will operate on a limited set of initial rules that interact with context to produce complex behavior.

The system that is able to adapt those initial rules to optimize performance as the context changes will, more often than not, outperform the system that can not adapt the initial rules.

Flexibility is an important trait of successful adaptive systems.

The framers of the US constitution understood this principle and allowed for mechanisms to change the rules to adapt the system to the changing context.

Modern libertarians are often less wise and see the initial rules as sufficient to meet any and all challenges posed by the context in which the system operates.

While some of the initial foundational rules are necessary for the system to function, they are often not sufficient to the context.

Randolphi | December 20, 2007, 4:51pm | #

Hart is dead on again. He is the best at putting this in prospective. Too bad more voters have not bought in. The ? is does RP run with smurff Bloomberg? And too, who will rue Paul the most, the Dems or Repubs? Is RP going to be the Ross Perot of this deal and get us that mean witch Hillary?

WillieWanker | December 20, 2007, 4:58pm | #

Hart says: "Big money flows in D.C. these days, so much so that Ted Kennedy got the largest book deal ever, in the millions, for his upcoming memoir. I just hope it so big that it can be used as a floatation device." Now that is funny, I do not care who you are!! I wonder what percent of the country will get that reference? Great column, Hart may be the best writing today.

R C Dean | December 20, 2007, 5:03pm | #

Modern libertarians are often less wise and see the initial rules as sufficient to meet any and all challenges posed by the context in which the system operates.

Perhaps, but many of us are just pissed off that the "mechanisms to change the rules to adapt the system to the changing context" (that is, the amendment process) as proven inconvenient for Our Masters, so they have just disregarded said mechanisms, in the process erecting the gigantic, rigid, non-adaptive edifice of the Total State.

Neu Mejican | December 20, 2007, 5:08pm | #

RC Dean,

The amendment process is only one of the mechanisms in our constitution to allow for adaptive change...

See Articles I-IV...

Eric Dumbdero | December 20, 2007, 6:17pm | #

Eric Dondero is so funny, I find him on every news site I visit bashing any reasonable Ron Paul reporting..

He thinks Rudy has a libertarian message? Wow Eric, whatever drugs your taking you oughta start selling them that way you can be the one non-special interest to give Rudy a nickel or two.

Rudy is really hitting it off with those conservatives isn't he, he has so many things going for him...
No family values, married his cousin, kids endorsing Obama, sanctuary city, 9-11, 9-11, 9-11, 9-11, 9-11, bomb Iran, stay on the "offense," Yankee fan flip-flopping.

He sure is the man for the 9-11, 9-11, and 9-11. Just ask the NYFD.

Keep smoking your crack-pipe.

John | December 20, 2007, 7:35pm | #

My nose is running. can I get the name of Rudy's doctor?

9/11

NoStar | December 20, 2007, 7:52pm | #

Bronwyn's comment about Ron Paul giving his mother a gyno exam made me think of a great bumbersticker:

VOTE FOR RON PAUL/he's seen more pussy than either of the Clintons

Col DuBois | December 20, 2007, 8:47pm | #

If we're to believe the Many Worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, there are an infinite number of universes in which Ron Paul wins the presidency. Indeed, there are an infinite number of universes in which Ron Paul wins the presidency and then fucks Paris Hilton on the House floor after his first State of the Union.

Ron Paul is a joke | December 20, 2007, 10:10pm | #

You know, maybe, just maybe, someone would take what Reason has to say about Paul seriously if you guys ever criticized him on anything he has done in the past. It is sickening how much this site fawns over Ron Paul.

NathanD | December 21, 2007, 8:43am | #

Hey dumb ass, it is a libertarian blog, who did you expect to get cheered--John Kerry?
One thing is for sure, Hart writes one of the funniest, brilliant and most insightful columns around today.