An attack on the "anti-government" straw man...from a conservative?

Reader comment on: Michael Gerson on Rand Paul and the Tea Party

Submitted by Brett (United States), May 21, 2010 18:56

I'm not surprised when I see Barack Obama or Eugene Robinson at WaPo or Salon.com's daily attack on the anti-government straw man argument: "if you disagree with my view on the proper size/role of government, then you hate the government." Or its various relatives: "If you don't think that the answer to every problem is giving government more power and control...then you are basically a government-hater."

But when I see a former George W. Bush speechwriter beating the "government-hater" straw man "...if you reject intrusive government intervention in response to every financial hiccup, then you're one of those fringe Libertarian fundamentalist people."...I get very worried.

It seems that for Michael Gerson, the concept (not unique to Libertarians, Mike) of letting people fend for themselves in the free market and forcing them to face the consquences of their actions is just some doctrinaire Libertarian pipe dream.

What's next Mike? Why don't you take a swipe at one of my favorite straw men, the one put forth by those living on the planet where bankers and investors run wild in the chaos of a completely unregulated financial jungle with zero government intervention: "Unfettered free market capitalism caused the financial crisis."


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Other reader comments on this item

Title By Date
The refounding of the Constitutional Republic in 2010. [514 words]Fernando RuizMay 30, 2010 12:15
It's too late [32 words]LisaMay 21, 2010 20:28
⇒ An attack on the "anti-government" straw man...from a conservative? [198 words]BrettMay 21, 2010 18:56
The meaning of the 10th amendment was changed by the Civil War [130 words]LyleMay 21, 2010 10:44
It worked pretty well for whom?
[w/response] [202 words]
benjaminMay 21, 2010 10:22

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