If you think the above headline is inspired by the
paranoid imaginations of EXTREMISTS like myself, think again. The very button-down George Will said it in response to Chris Christie’s attacks on Rand Paul and libertarian-minded
Republicans.
“Well,
actually there is a rising libertarian stream that Chris Christie has said is
‘a very dangerous thought,’” Will said. “So let’s be clear about what
libertarianism is and what it isn’t. It is not anarchism. It has a role in
government. What libertarianism says — it comes in many flavors and many degrees
of severity, and it basically says before the government abridges the freedom
of an individual or the freedom of several individuals contracting together,
that government ought to have, A) a compelling reason and B) a constitutional
warrant for doing so. Now, if Mr. Christie thinks that’s a dangerous thought, a
number of people are going to say that Mr. Christie himself may be dangerous.”
Exactly. If
Christie doesn’t see the need for robust downright libertarian resistance to
federal government overreach, then he is a “dangerous” part of the problem.
By the way, he is dangerous to the Republicans’
prospects of regaining the presidency as well. He now seems the Republican establishment’s favorite
potential candidate at the moment.
But if he gains the nomination, it will practically hand the presidency
back to the Democrats. Especially
after his attacks on Rand Paul, many conservatives will refuse to vote for
him. The turnout for Romney was
shockingly low, and nominating Christie will ensure a repeat.
FWIW, I actually did vote for Romney in November 2012. But I can’t see myself voting for
Christie in November 2016. I would
almost certainly go third party. By
enabling and putting a Republican face on fed tyranny, an establishment
Republican like Christie can do every bit as much damage to this county as a
Hillary Clinton. He is indeed “dangerous.” And he has already alienated me.
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