Conservative Gospel From … George McGovern?
PREPARE TO DO A DOUBLE-TAKE, PEOPLE
FITSNews – March 16, 2008 – As much as we may detest conservative commentator (and former criminal mastermind) G. Gordon Liddy, we always thought he hit the nail on the head when he said “a liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which he proposes to pay off with your money.”
So true … as is the critique of liberal ideology which holds that they view personal freedom and personal responsibility as antiquated values which have no place in the politically-correct, eminent domain-driven, welfare state in which we live.
That’s why we about flipped our collective sh*t when we saw this post on liberal icon George McGovern, the former Democratic presidential candidate who’s always been slightly to the left of, well, everybody. McGovern, it turns out, penned a recent oped for the Wall Street Journal in which he blisters the big government, nanny-state paternalism that seems to have pervaded the economic philosophy of both major political parties these days.
In his oped, McGovern writes:
Why do we think we are helping adult consumers by taking away their options? We don’t take away cars because we don’t like some people speeding. We allow state lotteries despite knowing some people are betting their grocery money. Everyone is exposed to economic risks of some kind. But we don’t operate mindlessly in trying to smooth out every theoretical wrinkle in life.
The nature of freedom of choice is that some people will misuse their responsibility and hurt themselves in the process. We should do our best to educate them, but without diminishing choice for everyone else.
Aside from the obvious educational implications, McGovern’s oped specifically calls out the anti-payday lending lobby, which all but controls South Carolina’s left-leaning State Senate these days.
“Economic paternalism takes its newest form with the campaign against short-term small loans, commonly known as payday lending,” McGovern wrote. “With payday lending, people in need of immediate money can borrow against their future paychecks, allowing emergency purchases or bill payments they could not otherwise make. The service comes at the cost of a significant fee — usually $15 for every $100 borrowed for two weeks. But the cost seems reasonable when all your other options, such as bounced checks or skipped credit-card payments, are obviously more expensive and play havoc with your credit rating.”
McGovern’s oped also cites data from a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York which shows that payday lending bans – like the one being sought here in South Carolina by the state’s largest newspaper and an ambitious clique of morally-bankrupt State Senators – actually increase bankruptcy rates in the states where they’ve been implemented.
“Net result: After a lending ban, the consumer has the same amount of debt but fewer ways to manage it,” McGovern wrote.
We honestly haven’t been this shocked by a public policy pronouncement since South Carolina’s most liberal U.S. Congressman, Jim Clyburn, endorsed the notion of tuition tax credits for children in underperforming public schools last November.
Seriously, conservative gospel is coming from some pretty odd places these days.
Which reminds us, you might want to start paying attention to what’s happening, South Carolina Republicans. After years of running to the left, it appears several smart Democrats are beginning to realize the efficacy of outflanking you to the right.
We never expected somebody like George McGovern would be one of those Democrats, but hey … freedom is just another word for “nothing left to lose,” right?
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