rssBarney Frank: Libertarian?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 5:38 pm
- 9 Comments
Turning the popular concept of partisan politics on its head, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) this month reintroduced legislation to legalize some Internet gambling, which has been banned since 2006. The New York Times ran a short piece today on the proposal, which would empower federal regulators to license wager-takers catering to customers in the United States:
At a news conference announcing the legislation, Mr. Frank, who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, pointed out that the federal government could collect increased tax revenues if Internet gambling was regulated. But he said online gambling should be legal as a matter of personal liberty, calling it an activity the government should neither encourage nor prohibit.
“Most actions the government should stay out of,” Mr. Frank said.
Of note here, Frank is among those Democrats on Capitol Hill most often criticized by members of the right, who contend he epitomizes the large-government interventionism they say has threatened free markets, and thus the economy as we know and love it.
Funny, then, that the opponents of Frank’s Internet gambling bill are mostly conservatives who claim to champion small government, Adam Smith-style capitalism. For example, here’s Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the senior Republican on the Financial Services Committee, according to The Times:
Illegal offshore Internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise, and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age.
Frank’s bill arrives roughly a month after he, along with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), introduced another proposal legalizing the farming of industrial hemp — another concept opposed largely by conservatives under the false premise that it also somehow threatens the nation’s youth. (Industrial hemp is non-psychoactive).
Frank the socialist? Not really. On these issues he trusts free markets much more than most GOP colleagues.
9 Comments
Comment posted May 27, 2009 @ 6:41 pm
The reality is that conservatives and Republicans are authoritarians at heart and that is simply how they roll. They give lip service to freedom and the Constitution but the proof is in the pudding-they legislate like this is the Reichstag and demand a firm hand at the tiller, a daddy figure who will make everything better. Sometimes they remind me of Stewey on Family Guy when he sidebars into non sequiturs about dominatrixes and fetish fantasies. That explains a lot about Cheney's torture fetish and his daughter's bizarre role in defending his unregulated playtime with swarthy foreigners.
Comment posted May 28, 2009 @ 3:05 am
Normally, democrats and socialists support “social” freedom but do not support economic freedom.
Normally, republicans and fascists do not support “social” freedom, and support a tiny bit of economic freedom.
Neither of them are libertarians. Libertarians believe that people should be permitted to make their own decisions in both *their* personal lives and *their* economic lives.
Comment posted May 28, 2009 @ 6:09 am
How about him doing something about mandatory seat belts laws? The Feds are now forcing the States to make them into primary offenses nationwide. It's only Republicans who are opposing these encroachments on States' rights.
I don't gamble, but I do drive a car. I would submit forcing one to wear a seat belt in one's car is 1,000 times more important a civil liberties issue to most Americans than internet gambling.
Comment posted May 28, 2009 @ 10:05 am
Normally, democrats and socialists support “social” freedom but do not support economic freedom.
Normally, republicans and fascists do not support “social” freedom, and support a tiny bit of economic freedom.
Neither of them are libertarians. Libertarians believe that people should be permitted to make their own decisions in both *their* personal lives and *their* economic lives.
Comment posted May 28, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
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Comment posted May 28, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
How about him doing something about mandatory seat belts laws? The Feds are now forcing the States to make them into primary offenses nationwide. It's only Republicans who are opposing these encroachments on States' rights.
I don't gamble, but I do drive a car. I would submit forcing one to wear a seat belt in one's car is 1,000 times more important a civil liberties issue to most Americans than internet gambling.
Comment posted April 10, 2010 @ 9:21 am
A social libertarian, an economic socialist. I think that's called a libertarian socialist. I think that's the best political philosophy.
Comment posted November 30, 2010 @ 6:00 am
I think that’s called a libertarian socialist. I think that’s the best political philosophy.
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