[Peace-discuss] Teapartiers & the Left

[Robert Naiman]

Even Raimondo, who clearly has a pike against Gary Johnson and wants
to discredit him in favor of the "pure" Ron Paul whom Raimondo
supports, concedes that Gary Johnson is against the war in
Afghanistan, which is the central story at the moment. Obviously folks
for whom Ron Paul's goldbug and anti-abortion views are central may
not accept Gary Johnson as a "counterfeit" for Ron Paul; but I suspect
that this is a small number among libertarian-leaning Republicans;
after all, Ayn Rand supported abortion rights:

"One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning.
Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving,
the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living: the right
of young people to set the course of their own lives."
- Ayn Rand, "A Last Survey — Part I", The Ayn Rand Letter Vol. IV, No. 2, 1975.

P.S. Raimondo makes much of the fact that Gary Johnson has indicated
openness to supporting "humanitarian interventions" in principle; but
Raimondo neglects to inform us that Gary Johnson is against the
military intervention in Libya.

On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 9:07 AM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu> wrote:
> These views among Republicans obviously resemble those among teapartiers
> (often the same people).
>
> But could Justin Raimondo be right in his view (characteristically
> expressed) that Johnson is "a cheap knock-off" of Ron Paul?
>
> "...I doubt many will fall for the counterfeit ... It is all too clear to me
> what the Johnson campaign represents: the attempt by the so-called
> 'cosmopolitan' (cosmotarian?) wing of our movement [i.e., libertarianism] to
> create 'the next Ron Paul' – and dump all that antiwar, anti-Federal Reserve
> 'kooky' stuff, which the Beltway libertarian organizations funded by the
> so-called 'Kochtopus' look down their noses at..."
> <http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/04/21/gary-johnson-caveat-emptor/>.
>
>
> On 4/25/11 8:23 AM, Robert Naiman wrote:
>>
>> Meanwhile, according to the Washington Post: the majority of
>> Republican voters want to raise taxes on the rich and the majority of
>> Republican voters want to see a substantial withdrawal of combat
>> troops from Afghanistan this summer; half of Republican voters say the
>> war is not worth the cost.
>>
>> If Gary Johnson's candidacy for President prospers, these anti-war
>> sentiments among Republican voters could get significantly more
>> attention...
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 8:02 AM, C. G. Estabrook<galliher at illinois.edu>
>>  wrote:
>>>
>>> Poll: 70% Of Tea Partiers Oppose Cuts To Medicare, Medicaid
>>> Jon Terbush | April 20, 2011, 3:05PM
>>>
>>> ...In a McClatchy-Marist poll released this week, 70% of registered
>>> voters
>>> who identify with the Tea Party opposed making cuts to either Medicare or
>>> Medicaid -- the government-run health programs for the elderly and the
>>> poor
>>> -- to help reduce the nation's deficit. Meanwhile, only 28% of tea
>>> partiers
>>> said they'd be willing to cut spending on those two programs.
>>>
>>> Tea partiers were not alone in opposing Medicare and Medicaid cuts. An
>>> overwhelming 80% of all respondents said they opposed such cuts, with a
>>> majority of every demographic measured in the survey lining up against
>>> them.
>>>
>>> ...The Tea Party has led the charge to slash government spending, but the
>>> Marist poll suggests they're loathe to touch what amounts to about 20% of
>>> the entire federal budget.
>>>
>>> The Marist poll was conducted April 10-14 among 1,084 registered voters
>>> nationwide. It has a margin of error of 3.0%.
>>>
>>>
>>> http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/poll-70-of-tea-partiers-oppose-cuts-to-medicare-medicaid.php
>>>
>>>
>>> Paul Ryan Gets Booed By Constituents For Opposing Tax Hikes On Rich
>>> Benjy Sarlin | April 20, 2011, 2:37PM
>>>
>>> Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), architect of the House GOP's budget, drew a
>>> resounding chorus of boos at a town hall appearance in his district after
>>> touting the benefits of tax cuts for the wealthy.
>>>
>>> In a video posted by ThinkProgress, an attendee at the event this week
>>> told
>>> Ryan that he believes the rich should pay higher taxes to help close the
>>> deficit and strengthen Social Security.
>>>
>>> "The middle class is disappearing right now," he said. "During this time
>>> of
>>> prosperity, the top 1 percent was taking about 10 percent of the total
>>> annual income, but yet today we are fighting to not let the tax breaks
>>> for
>>> the wealthy expire?"
>>>
>>> Ryan protested that "We do tax the top," before being drowned out by the
>>> audience's jeers.
>>>
>>> Polls have shown increasing taxes on the wealthy enjoys strong public
>>> support across the political spectrum despite near-universal opposition
>>> from
>>> GOP lawmakers ... Ryan's budget proposal ... cuts taxes for the rich
>>> while
>>> making major cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
>>>
>>>
>>> http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/paul-ryan-gets-booed-by-consituents-for-opposing-tax-hikes-on-rich-video.php
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
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-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org