So one should criticize Dems for being awful on liberties, but the responsibility is as much on the right as with the Dems. The operational component of Republican libertarianism is pretty limited, IMO. A lot of it is double standard, and thus not philosophical at all, i.e., it's ok to incinerate some black folks in Philly, but a high crime to do so in Waco, TX.
Some of the Republican flexibility on this derives from a basic characteristic of partisan politics -- the relative ease of selling out your base, whether it's african-americans or Christian fundamentalists. The Repugs can be more relaxed if they choose on liberties because their rep for being anti- crime is better than the Dems.
The interest of Cockburn and now Hitchens in the militia is indeed bizarre, but they are such fun guys I can't hold it against them. If they are groping for the populist heart of America, they are looking in the wrong place. To get at the interests of the many vs. the few, one must consider the collective interests of the many, meaning bread peace and land, not rights from an individualistic perspective.
thalmus