Comments on: I want punditry that challenges my bias http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias New Mexico news and politics Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:15:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-23792 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 23:41:02 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-23792 you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU

]]> By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-23791 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 23:37:30 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-23791 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way--just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats--the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side. 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way–just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats–the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side.

]]> By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-19962 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 18:41:02 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-19962 you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU

]]> By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-19961 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 18:37:30 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-19961 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way--just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats--the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side. 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way–just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats–the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side.

]]> By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-10534 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 17:41:02 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-10534 you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU

]]> By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-10533 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 17:37:30 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-10533 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way--just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats--the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side. 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way–just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats–the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side.

]]> By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-5912 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 16:41:02 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-5912 you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU you also have Barmy Frank , Nutty Pelosi and Runty Romero at the ACLU

]]> By: zabjw http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-5911 zabjw Sun, 10 May 2009 16:37:30 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-5911 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way--just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats--the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side. 250 Years ago our country's current government was started by Anglo-Europeans based on individual freedom under self government. You can find these stated ideas in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Granted, it is a work in progress. SPECIAL INTERESTS on the left and right have and continue to subvert the basic concepts. More than just the people who call themselves Republicans relate to and would like to vote for a fiscally responsible government that allows for individual freedoms and a realistic limit to government interventions while providing EQUAL security and opportunity to ALL of its citizens. By the way–just a few short years ago media commentators were bemoaning the decline and failure of Liberal Democrats–the political world is constantly evolving as each side swings too far to their crazy side.

]]> By: arthuralpert http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-5894 arthuralpert Sat, 09 May 2009 13:52:11 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-5894 babyfatt, great, thoughtful comment. <br>I, too, find the libertarian idea of less government attractive where it deals with individual behavior. The War on Drugs is as damaging as the war on Iraq. <br>But to the extent the federal government shrinks, corporate America's influence swells. Taking power from government does not make Americans more powerful.<br>In any case, small government is not going to happen in a world driven by powerful forces, institutions and technology.<br>So the least worst alternative may be a powerful federal government attuned to democracy instead of plutocracy. That's rare in our history; it took a catastrophe, the Great Depression, to produce the last such era. (Bush's disastrous years and the current great recession produced a move from the far right to the rational center but no further; witness the Obama Administration's scorn for "single-payer" health reform.)<br>One other thought. You cite the religious basis of authoritarianism. The Judeo-Christian tradition also involves community, the common good, the polar opposite of libertarianism's fantastic jungle where every-man-for-himself produces Eden. <br>Arthur Alpert babyfatt, great, thoughtful comment.
I, too, find the libertarian idea of less government attractive where it deals with individual behavior. The War on Drugs is as damaging as the war on Iraq.
But to the extent the federal government shrinks, corporate America's influence swells. Taking power from government does not make Americans more powerful.
In any case, small government is not going to happen in a world driven by powerful forces, institutions and technology.
So the least worst alternative may be a powerful federal government attuned to democracy instead of plutocracy. That's rare in our history; it took a catastrophe, the Great Depression, to produce the last such era. (Bush's disastrous years and the current great recession produced a move from the far right to the rational center but no further; witness the Obama Administration's scorn for “single-payer” health reform.)
One other thought. You cite the religious basis of authoritarianism. The Judeo-Christian tradition also involves community, the common good, the polar opposite of libertarianism's fantastic jungle where every-man-for-himself produces Eden.
Arthur Alpert

]]> By: babyfatt http://newmexicoindependent.com/27017/i-want-punditry-that-challenges-my-bias#comment-5877 babyfatt Fri, 08 May 2009 17:59:26 +0000 http://newmexicoindependent.com/?p=27017#comment-5877 I agree that we need a full spectrum of thoughtful political debate. The problem with the right wing, however, is not that it lacks skillful, literate advocates for its positions; rather, the problem is the inherent contradiction, the cancerous flaw at the heart of modern conservatism: the tension between libertarianism (the belief that government governs best when it governs least) and interventionism (the belief that 'judeo-christian' values should be imposed militarily throughout the world and socially--think doctors' offices, bedrooms, and schools--throughout America). Until conservatives come to grips with these contradictory impulses, ain't no amount of fancy writin' gonna do 'em any good. <br><br>Of the two tendencies--libertarianism versus interventionism--the most threatening for progressives is libertarianism. Although progressives believe in effective, activist government, we've learned the hard way (three decades of Reaganism will do this to you) to be wary of institutional authority, which can work just as easily for ill as for good. Libertarianism thus becomes attractive to those of us who have experienced institutional oppression firsthand (for instance, the USA has the highest rate of imprisonment per capita in all the world, many for drug crimes; also, those who advocate for marriage equality for gays are label 'extremists', as I have been in the NMI by Trip J.). <br><br>As for interventionism, this argument has already been lost to demographics. Its basis in 'judeo-christian' values (code words for racism, homophobia, and intolerance of 'the other') is in the process of being overwhelmed by a new, multicultural, multiracial, tolerant world (ask a group of twenty-somethings what they think of gay marriage--most couldn't care less either way: battle lost for the fundamentalists). <br><br>If the Republican party wanted to emerge as something more than a regional (southern), mostly white party of (aging) christian fundamentalists, it would become more actively libertarian and argue against institutional authority per se (think Gary Johnson). This is unlikely to happen though, because the right wing seems firmly in thrall its most small-minded, mean-spirited elements (Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh). <br><br>Meanwhile, I don't have a lot of sympathy for the current, ongoing frustration felt by right-wingers. They've held sway for three decades, and America is the worse for it. It's refreshing to watch our current president (with whom I disagree on many subjects) because it's refreshing to see such an effective spokesman for what the Bushies referred to condescendingly as the "reality-based community." <br><br>We have Barack; they have Rush. Cool. I agree that we need a full spectrum of thoughtful political debate. The problem with the right wing, however, is not that it lacks skillful, literate advocates for its positions; rather, the problem is the inherent contradiction, the cancerous flaw at the heart of modern conservatism: the tension between libertarianism (the belief that government governs best when it governs least) and interventionism (the belief that 'judeo-christian' values should be imposed militarily throughout the world and socially–think doctors' offices, bedrooms, and schools–throughout America). Until conservatives come to grips with these contradictory impulses, ain't no amount of fancy writin' gonna do 'em any good.

Of the two tendencies–libertarianism versus interventionism–the most threatening for progressives is libertarianism. Although progressives believe in effective, activist government, we've learned the hard way (three decades of Reaganism will do this to you) to be wary of institutional authority, which can work just as easily for ill as for good. Libertarianism thus becomes attractive to those of us who have experienced institutional oppression firsthand (for instance, the USA has the highest rate of imprisonment per capita in all the world, many for drug crimes; also, those who advocate for marriage equality for gays are label 'extremists', as I have been in the NMI by Trip J.).

As for interventionism, this argument has already been lost to demographics. Its basis in 'judeo-christian' values (code words for racism, homophobia, and intolerance of 'the other') is in the process of being overwhelmed by a new, multicultural, multiracial, tolerant world (ask a group of twenty-somethings what they think of gay marriage–most couldn't care less either way: battle lost for the fundamentalists).

If the Republican party wanted to emerge as something more than a regional (southern), mostly white party of (aging) christian fundamentalists, it would become more actively libertarian and argue against institutional authority per se (think Gary Johnson). This is unlikely to happen though, because the right wing seems firmly in thrall its most small-minded, mean-spirited elements (Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh).

Meanwhile, I don't have a lot of sympathy for the current, ongoing frustration felt by right-wingers. They've held sway for three decades, and America is the worse for it. It's refreshing to watch our current president (with whom I disagree on many subjects) because it's refreshing to see such an effective spokesman for what the Bushies referred to condescendingly as the “reality-based community.”

We have Barack; they have Rush. Cool.

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