I know all there are scores of too-cool-for-school kids who hang out on Bill Maher’s Facebook page and stoke this little man’s enormously fragile ego.
Bill’s always been a big fan of Ron Paul’s, although he’s not too keen on Rand Paul. I can’t figure out why, because their idealogy is one and the same. I mean Rand learned his tricks at the foot of the master.
But I get it. Bill and his barely post-pubescent (emotionally and intellectually) gang think Paul’s ke-wel because he wants to bring the troops home from just about everywhere (no plan for what to do with the masses of servicemen discharged thereafter) and he wants to legalise pot, prostitution and pinball.
OK. Fine. But, in case you don’t see anything wrong with what Ron Paul’s saying in this clip, from May 2011, in case you don’t know why Chris Matthews is going into spittle-flecking mode, here’s a quick history lesson for you: PROPERTY RIGHTS is a euphemistic racist term. PROPERTY RIGHTS was what slave-owners claimed under the Constitution when the government in Washington was conflicted within itself (nice to know some things never change, eh?) during the 1850s, when it attemptedconstitutionally to halt slavery or, at least, halt the expansion of slavery. And PROPERTY RIGHTS is the euphemism used by Abraham Lincoln when instructing the invading Union Army not to interfere in freeing any slaves who absconded from their masters. The only way around that was for General Ben Butler to treat slaves who escaped to his lines as contraband, or “appropriated property” so as to avoid any abuse of “property rights.” So, you see, even the Yankees were constrained, at first, to treat the slaves as chattel.
And PROPERTY RIGHTS was the cry which went up amongst Southern white businessmen in the 50s and 60s, like Lester Maddox, the axe-wielding restauranteur who became governor of Georgia, in order to enforce segregation from the schoolroom to the storefront.
PROPERTY RIGHTS is a subject dear to any Libertarian’s heart, and it’s the reason why any Libertarian thinks the Civil Rights’ Amendment of 1963 is wrong, wrong, wrong. As you can see, the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, because last year, Rand Paul used the same argument against the Civil Rights Act, when Rachel Maddow so aptly handed him his ass on a silver platter.
Part I
Part II
So there you go. Like Bill’n Hill, ya like Ron, ya gotta like his boy Rand. Their philosophies are the same – no picking and choosing. Why is it the daddy’s ideals are more attractive than the son’s, especially since they’re one and the same?
But, still, I guess the spawns of the culture of instant gratification fit in well in the selfish me-first idealogy of the Libertarians. Just remember to bone up on your property rights when you’re hanging out with Bill and the Aqua Buddha.
MArion – your emphasis on their property rights is spot on. What amazes me is that they also claim to be slavish devotees of the Constitution. Well – there is NO defense of property rights other than the 4th and 5th amendments on due process and compensation under eminent domain. That’s IT. No right to have property. No triumph of property over people. The Constitution is repleat with HUMAN rights – nothing at all about property rights.
Case law, yes. Constitution? Nope.
So how do they justify all their yammering about rights they in fact do NOT have?
Bill can be pretty funny. He basically earns his living by making fun of others. Yet, I think he is pretty thin skinned himself. And maybe a little dense. He has been on a long campaign against PBO. Just wasn’t the kind of black man Bill was looking for.
In other words, Bill is incredibly fickle. As to the Ron and Rand issue, I think the reason he likes Ron is because he wants to legalize all drugs. This issue is a major priority in Bill’s life.
Marion, thank you for the work you put into this piece. It was great fun seeing those videos again.