David Bernstein calls this the “most depressing presidential election for a libertarian since 1972.” It is. The idea that freedom works – even when it advances ideas hostile to you – has been consigned to the margins of discourse. Kerry is a statist; Bush is a statist. Kerry hankers after liberal conformity in most areas; Bush has done more to sever the GOP from individual freedom at home than anyone since Goldwater. Money quote:
I find virtually nothing to admire about John Kerry. W. deserves credit for a certain steadfastness in the War on Terror, but his administration is suffused with the sort of hubris, sense of entitlement to power, and belief in the ameliorative powers of government action (in both the foreign and domestic realms) that one normally associates with the worst types of statists. And let’s not forget the Administration’s blatant lies about the cost of the Medicare law, and Karl Rove’s apparent plan to drive all well-educated, secular folks out of the party in exchange for the votes of the most ignorant elements of the fundamentalist community, a traditional Democratic stronghold.
Yes, depressing. But freedom will re-emerge. It’s just a dark day right now.
The Dish 