On deadline again and dealing with family stuff, but meanwhile, this may be one of the more brilliant pieces I’ve read lately.
Sample:
At the heart of the Left’s indulgence of political corruption lies the mistaken conviction that “public service†transforms politicians into exemplars of civic virtue, or that political office attracts a large percentage of such civic-minded individuals. In reality, the political class is even more greedy and selfish than wealthy businessmen… because they spend much of their time in the company of such wealthy men, and believe themselves entitled to riches and luxuries. Max Baucus doubtless attends a lot of campaign events sponsored by rich supporters who can afford to fly their girlfriends to Europe for a romantic getaway, and he believes himself morally and intellectually superior to these men – the remorseless logic of statism demands it. It only makes sense to place politicians in control of industry if they’re better than the industrialists they control, after all.
Doctor Zero doesn’t spare the right-wing trough-feeders, either. Full piece here.
That was about the most cogent argument for term limits as I’ve read.
The really eerie thing is that day the group in Washington is getting more and more like the vermin populating the pages of Atlas Shrugged. There is no reason that politicians need to be involved in so many areas of commerce, not to mention our private lives. The system provides for more occasions for corruption, not fewer.
In the past, when asked about libertarianism, I would usually respond with the non-aggression principle. Lately I’ve been saying “Libertarians do not believe in social stratification”.
Those bastards really believe they are our saviors.