Simply put, b/c David Weigel is not a libertarian. Moreover, I don’t think he knows any libertarians. Oh, of course, there are those hipsters over at Reason and Cato, two tentacles of the Kochtopus, that proclaim to be for free-markets and individual liberty so long as it only involves ingesting drugs or being gay. But, when it comes to anything that might actually upset the apple cart built and paid for by the Bros. Koch.. oh no, sorry can’t have freedom for those people.
The timing of this article with the announcement of Paul’s chairmanship of the House Sub-Committee on Monetary Policy couldn’t have been more predictable. This is the same David Weigel who lamented Ron Paul’s run for the presidency in the pages of Reason in 2007. An article I took to pieces then. This one reads like a re-hash, right down to the title. It’s not like this guy has ever held a unique position ever in his life and his exposure earlier in the year over comments he made on Journolist only prove this. Libertarian? Conservative? How about just garden-variety apologist for the state, regardless of his ideologic stripe du jour. I’ll take Justin Raimondo’s opinion on L’affair Weigel thank you very much (scroll down to the “Notes in the Margin).
However, I have to ask what the brouhaha is really all about. Weigel’s “reporting” has never been objective: he’s always been a fierce partisan of the Militant Center, eagerly policing the political margins to make sure no politically incorrect ideas get past the gates. Here, after all, is a guy who wrote, at the height of the Iraq war:
“So here are all my least favorite things about this war – the lack of a sense of national duty or sacrifice, the partisan pissing contest, the unwillingness of leaders to listen when people talk to them.”
Yes, we have to “sacrifice” for the war effort – in the sacred name of National Duty, no less! He doesn’t mind all that killing of innocents, or being lied to: what’s really important is that we aren’t being asked to sacrifice enough. Now that’s a real “libertarian” talking! In bemoaning Weigel’s fate, the Huffington Post tried to spin him as a “left libertarian.” What a laugh! This guy is the exact opposite of a libertarian, left-wing or otherwise: he’s bad on economics, bad on foreign policy, and just plain bad all over.
But, like all good soldiers for the regime, Weigel keeps turning up like a bad penny, and in this world of monetary inflationistas gone wild, that truly is the most apt metaphor I can think of for such a slimy little weasel. He’ll do his masters’ bidding for as long as the funny money keeps going ka-ching into his bank account.
Ta,