Correspondence
Correspondence LIBERTARIAN PAGE OF OUTRAGE In “Up from Libertarianism” (Aug. 19), David Brooks unfortunately (and entirely) misses the philosophical essence, the driving force, of...
...Libertarianism goes beyond cutting the disliked programs...
...If the government took less, people would expect less...
...According to a report by Citizens for Tax Justice, if there had been no changes to the 1977 tax code, nine out of ten American families would have paid less than they did under the tax code of 1990...
...Few of the cuts connected with the electorate— to cut something the electorate actually sees or feels is political suicide...
...Brooks says that while the country distrusts government, which is libertarian, people expect government to do something when things go wrong, which is not very libertarian...
...To most, the activity was an exercise by people far away in a town few trust...
...Upon examination, transfer of responsibilities to other agencies might have been a more accurate description...
...The question is whether the various factions of conservative grassroots movements (e.g., pro-Second Amendment citizens), who were responsible to a significant degree for the November 1994 congressional revolution, will be given enough incentive to vote for the Dole-Kemp ticket...
...I hate country music because it stereotypes Southerners as ignorant, maudlin hicks...
...With the government demanding its current tax burden, it is understandable for people to expect something...
...And we have had two rather tidy increases since then...
...It is a failure of the Republicans to implement their agenda...
...With that being the case, most opt for the latter, keeping alive this vicious cycle...
...The Republicans of the 104th Congress failed to implement the cuts they sought...
...DOUGLAS BEIJER HERNANDO, MS Country Music Stinks I take issue with John Berlau’s description of me as a “then-liberal” in his reference to my 1974 Harper’s article in which I criticized Merle Haggard (“The Battle Over ‘Okie From Muskogee,’” Aug...
...Libertarianism (as hijacked by the Republican party) translates into terrific campaign jingoism—“lower taxes, reduced spending, smaller government”—and has been fairly successful in exposing the failures of liberalism...
...This may be less true today than it was in 1974, but I don’t change with the times...
...19), David Brooks unfortunately (and entirely) misses the philosophical essence, the driving force, of Republican conservatism...
...The rise of populist conservatism in the 90s has hardened my opinion so much that country music has become for me what Carthage was for Cato: I’ll knock it anytime, anywhere, for any reason whatsoever...
...MIGUEL A. FARIA, JR...
...Yet government grows larger and more expensive each year...
...In doing so, he may also have inadvertently put his finger on the real problem at hand...
...There is a substantial difference...
...Constitution gives Congress the power to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States...
...The Republicans presented an impressive list of agencies for elimination...
...It is a belief in minimal government...
...If they choose the latter, they will sink the hopes of the Republican party’s regaining the White House or even retaining the Republican majority in Congress...
...The electorate behind these forces could very well sit this election out, or they can simply vote for Harry Browne, the Libertarian party candidate...
...It happened with Reagan (the revolution fizzled in less than two years) and Gingrich as well (minimum wage...
...MACON, GA David Brooks expertly explains the difficulties with libertarianism as a governing philosophy...
...For as long as most of us can remember, politicians have been “cutting government, waste, and taxes...
...Seems our taxes have not been reduced, either...
...The U.S...
...The government has been rearranged many times before, but the result never seems to be a reduction of government...
...So call me a snob if you like, but not a liberal...
...They also failed to offer the substantial tax cuts the public sought...
...The failure of the Republicans in the 104th Congress is not a failure of libertarianism...
...Thus, libertarians are forced to choose between two paths: either wait for their knight in shining armor to win office and remain faithful to the ideology, or, as Brooks points out, resign themselves to some form of conservative government to achieve some form of libertarian ends...
...But if a party were to propose administrative cuts along with tangible reductions in taxes, the public would very likely provide the support necessary for success...
...FLORENCE KING FREDERICKSBURG, VA...
...The idea that people want government off their backs is well established...
...While occasionally dusted off in the interim, libertarianism is left largely for policy wonks, purists, and think tanks to kick around while Republicans tend to the matters of (increasing) government...
...Dole, Kemp, and the Republican leadership will ignore these forces at their peril...
...It does not give Congress the power to provide or dictate the specific defense and welfare of every individual or interest group...
...It is, therefore, an irresistible election-year mantra...
...We here in the real world have come to suspect that the well publicized “cuts” are more than offset by the “minor increases” elsewhere...
...Today, like it or not, the Religious Right and constitutional conservatives—the NRA/civil-libertarian coalition—are the driving forces...
...NICK RAGONE WESTCHESTER, NY I think David Brooks’s piece falls rather wide of the mark in its assertion that libertarianism, a philosophy for governing, cannot be established...
...I was then what I remain today: an elitist conservative...
...With the unifying message coming out of the Republican convention (and the expected punch of the Democratic counterpart), the swing vote will have clear-cut, well-defined choices...
Vol. 1 • September 1996 • No. 49
