Charlatans Left & Right

[Nancy Bauer/Dennis Perrin]

>> The Dems, I'm sorry
>> to say, are for the
>> most part in favor of police state measures,
>
>But this is surely only relevant to a critique of the
>Democratic Party, and would only support the
>"conservatives are saying more sensible things ...."
>if the Republican Party was against the use of police
>state measures in the War on Drugs.  Which, so far as
>I'm aware, they aren't.  You've got to compare
>equivalent points on the spectrum.  If your (or
>Hitchens' -- I'm not sure if you're channelling him
>here) point of reference for "a conservative" is the
>libertarian party, then you should take Chomsky or
>Doug as the equivalent on the left for comparative
>statements.  If you're taking Scalia as a token of
>conservative thought, then you shouldn't be comparing
>him to someone standing for election.  
>
>dd

Is W. against police state measures? To the extent that he understands the
concept, I rather doubt it. But a growing number of Repubs are, like the
Repub governor of N. Mexico, to name one. Many Repub figures, from William
F. Buckley to George Schultz to Richard Brookhiser have also called for a
halt in the Holy War. As for capital punishment, the Repub governor of
Illinois has proposed a moratorium on executions, as have some of the
editors of the Weekly Standard and the National Review -- two organs
connected to the Repub Party. Are there conservatives who stand with the
Dems on continuing these awful policies? Of course. But overall, I've seen
more protest from the right than from the Clinton/Gore crowd. Measure it any
way you like, but bottom line remains the same: The Dems are the chief
supporters of the Drug War and of capital punishment.  

DP