Justin Raimondo on the Beltway ‘Libertarian’ Attack

Writes Justin:

So the major libertarian figure in American history was … Abraham Lincoln, the president who jailed his political opponents, banned newspapers, and centralized State power to an unprecedented degree. Of course, this whole bizarre perspective is dictated by what’s happening in Washington, D.C., where “the first African-American president holds court and anti-racism” is the ruling ideology. Forget the American middle classes, our goal must be to convince E. J. Dionne that we aren’t racists.

This is all about geography: it’s a D.C.-centric view.

What’s funny is that back in the day, when the Radical Caucus was trying to reach out to non-straight, non-white types, it was Boaz and his then-pal [another Beltway “libertarian”] who opposed Ed Clarke taking out radio ads against the Briggs Initiative, and generally disdained our efforts to reach minorities by making police brutality an issue. Today, when the kind of cultural Marxism that influenced our youthful efforts is fashionable, and acceptable, they are attacking libertarians for not reaching out to those who aren’t straight and white. The one consistent principle animating Boaz and the Catoites is adaptation to the conventional wisdom, whatever it may be.

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10:38 am on April 7, 2010