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Saturday, August 25, 2018

Post #3782 M: In Memoriam: John McCain passes; The Libertarian Divide: Anarchism vs. Minarchism

Quote of the Day

One man with courage makes a majority.

Andrew Jackson  

RIP John McCain

When this blog began in 2008, I was secretly vested in McCain's Presidential candidacy. In the 2000 campaign, I had admired his independent, bipartisan, straight-shooting persona, but I thought Bush's executive performance as Texas governor and bipartisan record had the edge. I soon regretted my decision with Bush's performance in the White House--his doubling the national debt, his unpaid for Medicare drug expansion benefit, failed immigration reform, his naming an unqualified crony to the Supreme Court, his politically naive attempt to reform social security, his abominable performance during the 2008 economic tsunami, etc.

In early 2007 it was clear VP Cheney would not be running, and McCain was an early heavy favorite, but his campaign imploded. Activists did not like his positions on campaign finance and early votes on the Bush tax cuts; McCain backed Bush's new surge policy in Iraq and returned to his populist base, famously flying coach and carrying his own baggage on a shoestring budget. Against his adversaries, most prominently Romney, he prominently noted his recent pro-Bush voting record/ Giuliani had surged to a lead after McCain's collapse, as McCain barely retained single-digit support in the fall, but quickly pinned his hopes on a Florida victory to give his momentum.

McCain's rise from the ashes to capture the nomination is the stuff of legend. But it was destined to fail in the end. It was a change election year, and Bush now had among the lowest approval ratings in recent history. Obama could raise maybe 10 times the money McCain got from public finances. After the economic uncertainty caused by the economic tsunami, McCain was all but finished because the Dems are willing to spend taxpayer money on what social welfare security frightened workers wanted. He had made monumental unforced errors, like nominating an inexperienced first-term Alaska governor as a running mate and suspending his campaign to help pass TARP.

My emerging libertarian views surfaced post-election, particularly in the aftermath of the disastrous Iraq and Afghanistan wars and a string of Obama trillion-dollar deficits really exacerbated my already skeptical views on government competence. McCain had to fight to retain his Senate seat in  2010; he was put on the defensive on unauthorized immigration. His "straight talk" had degenerated into predictable political spin. There were no longer any centrist Democrats to bargain with, and when he cast a deciding vote against repeal of ObamaCare, never mind his hawkish and/or populist views, I had lost whether faith I had left in the man as a politician (most recently, I had taken a shot at a bloated defense bill being named after him), other than an admiration for his integrity and character, his honorable service to the nation, particularly as a POW. My thoughts and prayers for his surviving family members.



The Anarchist/Minarchist Debate

I will likely have more to say on the topic in a future article or book. I think the idea that defense and justice are best served by competition is intuitively obvious, but a key issue is how to reconcile rival claims under natural law, hence my own minarchism.


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Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Michael Ramirez via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Madonna, "Like A Prayer". Hands down, my favorite Madonna song. I've fantasized performing the song fronting a group of monks singing chorus in robes with a Gregorian chant backdrop. Who says I don't have a fertile imagination?

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