Who's a Republican? - About
Who's a Republican? - About twenty years ago, I was a committed far-left Democrat who was just starting to fray a bit about the edges. I was reading things that were challenging a lot of the assumptions I'd grown up with, in my Democrat household (Dad was a public school teacher and probably a Scoop Jackson-y Democrat, while Mom was probably two steps to the right of Abby Hoffman, and still is).
Reading the usual stuff - Ayn Rand, Solzhenitzyn, Paul Johnson, Tolstoii - began the process of starting my invincible liberalism to crumble. But to me, Republicans were still the country-club crowd, and did not act like me - play guitar, dig the Ramones, slobber over Justine Bateman...
Then came PJ O'Rourke, and Republican Party Reptile, and his tenure on the National Lampoon. He coined the phrase "Pants Down Republican" - people who liked loud music, free markets, the odd drink or three, limited goverment, driving fast, constructionism.
Today's analogue? The South Park Republican:
The most important Southpark Republicans are not famous. They are the millions of people of every age, race, sex, and religion that generally agree that government spending is usually not the best way to deal with the nation's problems. Many of these individuals can tell you why Ayn Rand should displace some other authors in high school literature classes. They know firsthand from endless hours at the DMV, at the post office, and preparing income tax forms that government wastes time and money. They know a nation cannot tax its way to greatness.
Y'know, as a father with two overly-impressionable kids, I'd pretty much banned South Park from the house. Now, I'm not so sure...
FBI Cluster...hug? - There are serious questions regarding what an FBI informant in San Diego knew about two of the 9/11 hijackers, according to Mickey Kaus.
If worse comes to worst, it could be a bungle more colossal than the one that left Moussaoui's computer unsearched in the days before the attacks.
Posted by Mitch at
October 7, 2002 10:18 AM
