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Political Hay

"You guys are lame," Jason said.

"You guys? Which guys?"

I try to be patient with Jason. He belongs to the angry libertarian crowd, angry at George W. Bush for Iraq, prescription drugs and much more.

Jason and I were leaving an AEI talkfest featuring Newt Gingrich and Mike Pence, a member of Congress from Indiana and the current chair of the House Republican Study Committee. Gingrich and Pence had been talking about the future of conservatism. Everyone believed conservatism stood at a crossroads, had fallen into crisis, had corrupted itself with pork barrel spending.

"You know, conservatives. Newt was all over the place, and Pence didn't have any answers, just excuses."

Conservative? Jason had just issued ultimate libertarian swear word, but I wasn't going to take the bait. And I didn't want to talk about Iraq.

"I don't know about that. Newt says things out loud that I often think but would never say. He tries hard to be interesting and sometimes he is. Anyway, Newt did a lot to change the country so I listen to him even when he's annoying. As for Pence..."

"Pence is obviously a religious nut."

Jason says things point blank like that to provoke people. I'm never sure if he means what he says.

"You mean the stuff about the federal marriage amendment and the embryonic research?"

"Yeah, and the stuff about condemning Darwin as a heretic."

"Stop it. Have you been reading The Nation again? Actually I was thinking about going back to the office and sending Pence a valentine in the form of an op-ed..."

"Uh, I don't think he's cool with the idea of getting a valentine from a guy."

I laughed. "It's a metaphor you idiot. But did you listen to what Pence said? When was the last time a Republican member of Congress spoke with any passion at all about limited government or individual liberty?

"I mean, Pence meant it. At least I think so, and I'm pretty cynical. He warned against big government Republicanism and against a GOP that thought the federal government was the solution to every social ill."

topics:
Religion, Iraq, Conservatism