Good diagram, it reminds me of something I would see on http://www.xkcd.com

Hilarious.

So the full version would be “screw you, it’s my money… and here is why it is morally right for people to own the fruits of their labor [...]”

If the results are good, that’s a bonus. Moral rectitude is more important to me than getting a desired result. I loathe pragmatism — the grandfather of socialism, communism and fascism in all their flavors.

Government never persuades. Just try not paying your taxes once.

Also, I’d say that the “haughtiness” you allude to is a big reason why Ron Paul’s campaign (who, if I remember correctly, you supported) didn’t get a lot of traction.

Maybe if there was a bit less “screw you” in that campaign and a bit more “hey, this is why we’re right” it would have been more successful.

Probably the only place where we diverge on domestic policy is that I’m not willing to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

It’s all well and good to say “screw you, I want to pay the wages I want to pay.” The reality is that there are a lot of people in the country who aren’t convinced by that argument.

Political reality is that we must persuade, not say “screw you.”

Put simply, when you say “screw you” I agree with you. But the whole reason I spend the time and resources I do on writing about politics in public is that I want to educate people about my way of thinking (which, like you, I think is the right one). To do that, I have to persuade.

And that means making valid, real-world arguments.

I wish things were simple as saying “F-you, it’s my money, use your own money to fund your charity.” But they’re not, alas.

I’ve just come to be tired of having principles reverse-engineered from pragmatic judgments. And as most of politics is pragmatic, I’ve grown cynical and, yes, a little bit haughty about the popular political landscape. It’s actually rather liberating. I don’t care which of McCain or Obama wins the election, because they both are enemies of freedom. And more generally it allows me to stand up for my convictions not because I think they are advantageous to the country’s prosperity, but because they’re right. e.g. I don’t have to argue that the minimum wage is bad because it results in a lowering of real wages. I can just say “screw you — it’s my money, and if I want to pay someone $4.00 an hour, that’s my business.”

I think we’re probably fairly closely in sync on domestic issues… it’s probably just the foreign policy stuff where I’ve diverged. But my main point was, an Obama presidency gives Republicans, Conservatives, and Libertarians a chance to commiserate about a common domestic enemy.

Those consumers who use less oil win.

Conservation driven by market forces! Shazzam!!

-danny

The “I’m libertarian/green party/constitutional party/whatever party and above all the Republican/Democrat partisanship” stuff is irksome. As if libertarians, etc. aren’t every bit as capable of being stupid and trite and overly-broad in their pronouncements and Republicans and Democrats.

And I’m not even sure how conservative I am. I don’t have a problem with gay marriage. I think marijuana should be legal. I think we’re putting far too many people in jail in this country. And I think most Republicans in office only pay lip service to the limited government ideals that are supposedly at the heart of their party.

I am what I am, and when I doubt I tend to err on the side of liberty.