Wednesday, January 20, 2016

"...while there’s little to like about Sanders beyond his praise for Edward Snowden and condemnation of military adventurism, there’s virtually nothing to like about any of his rivals."

Bernie Sanders’ Critics, Supporters Are Ignoring the Most Admirable Thing About Him - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "Chait is actually glossing over a considerable advantage of Sanders’ candidacy—at least, from a libertarian standpoint. Sanders has not vowed to expand the powers of the executive branch, he has not promised new foreign entanglements—and has criticized those favored by his Democratic and Republican rivals—and he remains a steadfast opponent of the Patriot Act and unlimited federal spying on American citizens. With the obvious exception of Rand Paul, Sanders is almost completely alone in this regard. 

Indeed, it’s worth recognizing that among the five most plausible presidential candidates at this stage of the campaign—Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Clinton, and Sanders—there is only one articulating something approaching a libertarian position on a chunk of issues: civil liberties and foreign policy. That candidate is Sanders. 

 One can argue, of course, that Sanders’ sensible views on these subjects are more than cancelled out by his desire to impose higher taxes and cumbersome financial regulations on the American people. I would agree that the “bad” column outweighs the “good” column in Sanders' case, as it does for virtually every politician seeking higher office. But while there’s little to like about Sanders beyond his praise for Edward Snowden and condemnation of military adventurism, there’s virtually nothing to like about any of his rivals. When it comes to government policy, Sanders has signaled his preference for executive restraint on at least a few issues, which is more than Clinton, Trump, Cruz, or Rubio can say. He deserves some small praise for his stances on these issues, regardless of whether his liberal critics view them as a weakness."


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