Totally Blanked On A Title, Who Cares

For D.C.'s few tea party residents, home can at times feel like enemy territory

Kinda refreshing to see tea partiers who actually aren't just more conservative Republicans.  When they first appeared, this is kind of what I thought they would be -- a mouthpiece for libertarianism, caring only about the size of government itself, reducing spending and taxing; not fearing for a military with gays serving or dithering about whether the President is a Muslim, a foreigner, or both.

Frankly I have a hard time understanding how smaller government parties in recent history have usually been "let's invade people's private lives" parties.  It just doesn't seem to mesh at a philosophical level.

------------------

And while we're on the topic of conservatives and Libertarians

CPAC 2011: The crowd loves Ron and Rand Paul, but does the party? - By David Weigel - Slate Magazine

Maybe it's just the generation I'm in, being more open on social issues, but I wonder why Ron Paul has always been brushed aside by the party's base, if the big issue is usually boiled down to the size of government (period).  Frankly, I disagree with a lot of what he says, and perhaps even more of what his son says, but damnit I liked the foment behind his 2008 campaign.  It had a real fire to it, a substance that was only really matched by Obama.   But unlike Obama, Paul wasn't taken seriously, and despite being a late hanger on in the primary, he was mainly just a thorn in the side, like Kucinich for the Democrats.

-- Knuttel