Three Top TV Pundits Say: "I'm a Libertarian -- Sort Of"
In just the past few days, some of television's best-known political
commentators have referred to themselves as libertarians or
libertarian sympathizers.
Who are they? And what does this mean for libertarians?
Joe Scarborough is host of MSNBC's "Scarborough County." His
November 1 show featured a debate about pornography made and
broadcast by college students on a publicly-funded student-run
campus TV channel.
Scarborough made this remark:
SCARBOROUGH: "OK, OK, so Steve, this is where you lose me, though. I
mean, if you want to go out and film porn of yourself and girls, that
is your business. I am a libertarian, okay? But I don't want to pay
for it...."
This isn't the first time. A year ago, on November 8, 2004, during a
wide-ranging debate on religion and politics, Scarborough said:
SCARBOROUGH: "Take me, for instance. I'm more libertarian than
conservative. I supported George W. Bush, but I don't want federal
judges telling me what marriages people in Florida should accept. As
far as gay marriage, if somebody in Vermont wants to get married and
they are gay, I don't care. That is up to Vermont. But I don't want a
judge in Vermont telling me in Florida to accept that."
Then there's Catherine Crier: Court TV anchor and author.
On October 27, on MSNBC's "Scarborough County," she thought a guest
referred to her as a "liberal." She was quick to object:
CRIER: "No, no, no. I'm not -- I am a former Texas Republican judge.
I have never been called a liberal. I am a libertarian, if anything."
This would seem consistent with this statement in the first chapter
of her new book Contempt: How the Right is Wronging American Justice:
"I wrote the book The Case Against Lawyers in 2002. This book
castigated behavior on the left and the right of the political
spectrum... Today I consider myself a true independent with some
libertarian leanings."
And this is nothing new for Crier. Consider this excerpt from the
online campaign diary Libertarian Party presidential candidate Harry
Browne kept during his 2000 race:
BROWNE: "To my surprise, [Catherine Crier] makes it clear before the
interview begins that she thinks highly of libertarian ideas. She
says she hopes I get into the debates because otherwise this year's
race is very boring.
"The 10-minute interview itself goes beautifully. In the first
minute, I say, 'I want to set you free to live your life as you want
to live it -- not as Al Gore or George Bush thinks is best for you,
or best for the Fatherland. After all, you're the one who earns the
money, you're the one who gets up every day and goes to work. Why
should they be taking your money and deciding how much of it they're
going to let you keep for yourself? Why don't you decide how much of
it you're going to give to them?'
"To this, [Catherine Crier] says enthusiastically, "Yes! Yes!" We
cover repealing the income tax, getting the government out of Social
Security, and ending the Drug War. She adds her own comments to
explain why each of these steps would be beneficial. At the end she
insists that I come back for a longer interview. Happily, we've found
a new friend."
Finally, there's Tucker Carlson, host of MSNBC's "The Situation with
Tucker Carlson."
In 2004 and 2005, he hosted PBS's "Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered." A
PBS press release said that: "Carlson combines a conservative and
libertarian take on the news with a wry skepticism and unconventional
opinions."
On his MSNBC TV show Carlson continues to express many libertarian
views. He generally advocates a limited role for government, opposes
the Drug War, strongly defends free speech, and supports the free
market.
Unlike many conservatives with libertarian leanings, Carlson is also
a strong critic of the Iraq war. He reluctantly supported it at
first, but a trip to Iraq for an article for Esquire changed his
mind. "I think it's a total nightmare and disaster, and I'm ashamed
that I went against my own instincts in supporting it," he said. "I
want things to work out, but I'm enraged by it, actually."
This recent exchange with a telephone caller, from October 19,
probably nicely sums up Carlson's current views:
CALLER: "Hey, Tucker. I swear I'm a Democrat but you are turning me
into a libertarian. Not that there is anything wrong with that..."
CARLSON: "Thank you. I would just close your eyes and let it wash
over you like a warm wave of reason: libertarianism. I'm not a strict
libertarian -- I'm not completely insane. But I am informed by the
libertarian spirit, which I think [is] a good place to be."
It's clear that these three prominent opinion-leaders aren't
libertarians -- yet -- but they like and respect libertarian ideas,
and they understand and appreciate the label, too.
So what does this mean for libertarianism? A lot. It shows that
libertarian ideas are rapidly gaining ground. Among the most
influential segments of society, libertarianism is being recognized
as a legitimate and worthy political viewpoint, distinct from
liberalism and conservatism.
Further, libertarianism is more and more attractive to mainstream
Americans -- otherwise, these ratings-savvy hosts would never use
the word "libertarian" in describing their political beliefs. Of
course, this also means that millions of Americans have become
familiar enough with the word to have at least a general idea of
what it means -- or, again, these journalists/hosts would not use
it. And that's another very positive advance.
Finally, as Harry Browne's experience indicates, it may mean
that libertarians will receive increasingly respectful media
attention in the months and years to come.
All this is a sign of great progress. The persistent, positive
outreach that libertarians are doing is paying off. Keep up the good
work!
(Sources: Joe Scarborough:
msnbc.msn.com
msnbc.msn.com
Catherine Crier:
msnbc.msn.com
courttv.com
harrybrowne.org
Tucker Carlson:
weta.org
msnbc.msn.com ) |
