What's a Conservative to Do?

Pat Toomey of the Club for Growth has an op-ed attacking Senator John McCain. His organization has already gone after Governor Mike Huckabee and the Governor, once a dark horse that seemed destined to break out into the top tier, is lagging behind. If you want to know who the next Republican nominee is going to be, you're going to have to look at this group: former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Governor Mitt Romney, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senator Sam Brownback, former Governor Jim Gilmore, or maybe (just maybe) former Senator Fred Thompson. Yeah, that's a big list, but I think that once the Republican establishment settles on one of them, the other candidates will fall in line. Right now, Giuliani may seem the front runner, but his total lack of foreign policy experience and his background as a "life long liberal" make him vulnerable within the Republican Primary. And as for the idea that he's a "libertarian Republican" just check out this quote:

Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it.

That's not the view of a libertarian, that's the view of a fascist.

"Liberty is the mother of order"

It's on!

Usually I think referring to a Republican as a fascist is a trite throw-away line for screaming activists -- but in the case of Giuliani, the jackboot fits.

I do think it's fair to call Giuliani a libertarian by GOP standards.

Of course that says a lot more about GOP standards than it does about Giuliani.

Giuliani is a libertarian in that he values economic and personal liberties. Compared to the rest of the Republican party, I am sure Giuliani would choose to give the American people more freedoms more often.

However, Giuliani's record shows that he is not a fan of procedural democracy or any limits on his power while in office. As mayor of New York, he shown that he has doubts that the optimal solution should be left to the rational chaos of a free society. Time and time again he has pushed for the heavy hand of executive power to correct perceived wrongs.

Giuliani wants to be the enlightened despot in the tradition of Thomas Hobbes and will grab as much power for the president as he possibly can if and when he is office. Perhaps Giuliani will make the United States a better place to live while he is in power. Perhaps he won't, but there is no doubt he would set dangerous precedents, and lay the groundworks for an unenlightened despot to come to power.