The shock defeat of Eric Cantor, House Majority leade, illustrates the mess American politics is in. While Epicurus might have wished a plague on all parties, the fact is that the US needs a government, and it is clear that the crazies want no government at all. This is bad for everyone and augments the feeling of alienation and near helplessness the average person feels, presented as he or she is by naked corporatocracy, corruption and a deeply misguided Supreme Court. Retiring into an Epicurean garden is an understandable urge, but we need democracy and an effective government restored. Eric Cantor was a dire House Majority leader, but he was thrown out for hinting that he might conceivably, possibly support an immigration bill of a sort, blah, blah, blah. Who on earth would want to be a politician?
The new fellow, Brad, appears to be a Libertarian. On a blog you should always try to say something nice, so let me comment that Brad seems to oppose stupid foreign wars – a bonus. On the other hand, Libertarians believe in using the benefits of other people’s taxes ( schools, roads, law courts, police etc.), but paying nothing towards them themselves. Ayn Rand misunderstood Epicurus. He was far from being the selfish, self-absorbed and anti-social person the Libertarians suppose him to have been.
A friend is checking out who supervised Brat’s dissertation at American University. Back in Brat’s day the AU economics department had the reputation of being “Marxist.”
Brat also came out unambiguously against the NSA and on Fourth Amendment grounds. Who knows if he’ll be “turned” on that issue. Apparently there was a significant Democratic vote for Brat, though it’s interpreted as mainly an anti-Cantor vote.