Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

The stopped clock is right!

Stop the presses: Rick Santorum is right here:

"I don't think the libertarians have it right when it comes to what the constitution is all about . . . or when it comes to our history," Santorum said at the Pennsylvania Press Club. "When there are clear wrongs in society, injustice in society - sure, you handle it at the local level if you can - but when the local and state governments are in cahoots with the injustice, then the federal government has to step in and do something."

As hard as I might try, I can't really find anything to disagree with there. That's what baffles me about Rand Paul's initial comments on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- why all the concern about the rights of a corporation like, in the case of segregated lunch counters, Woolworth, when the rights of individuals were being trampled on because of the color of their skin. I know the Declaration of Independence isn't quite as sacred as the Constitution these days, but it's hard to be engaged in "the pursuit of happiness" when folks aren't serving you lunch. But then seeing the rights of corporations and looking past the individuals is what the modern conservative movement -- libertarian or not -- is largely all about.

As for Santorum, the problem is he also believes "the federal government has to step and do something" in your bedroom, too, or in the Middle East in ways that are counterproductive.