Republicans insisted that Trump's $1.5 trillion tax aimed almost entirely at giant corporations and the ultra rich would not only pay for itself, but create a substantial windfall that would benefit all Americans. In fact, the entire reason the GOP has stood behind Trump ...read more
The conceit of libertarian philosophy is that the free market is the key to prosperity. History is very clear on this point, however... To continue reading this article, please go here. A Banter Membership gets you access to the magazine and all our Members Only content. Your ...read more
No single ideology holds a monopoly on wacky beliefs, unless you count ‘crazy’ as an ideology. But when it comes to the subset of wacky beliefs commonly known as anti-government conspiracy theories, it’s no accident that the American right embraces them with much greater ...read more
There are very few things as excellent as seeing a group of self-serious libertarians being royally trolled. That's exactly what Sean Shealy of San Luis Obispo, California is doing with an event that he announced on his Facebook page the other day. It's called BundyFest and, ...read more
There are so many layers of ridiculousness in the Bundy Ranch story, it's difficult to know where to begin. Above all else, it ended up being a fantastic opportunity for a pack of ignorant states' rights cowboys to get intimate with their rebellion and secessionist fetishes, ...read more
By Robert Parry An inconvenient truth for “libertarians” is that their ideology of a minimalist U.S. government grew out of the South’s institution of human bondage, i.e. the contractual right of a white person to own a black person, and from the desire of slaveholders to keep ...read more
By Robert Parry In the U.S. news media, there is often a distinction made between the racist Right, which emerged from the struggle to maintain slavery and segregation, and the “small-government” Right, which supposedly represents a respectable conservatism focused on the ...read more
I got into a very lively debate on Thom Hartmann's show on Friday night with Libertarian Marc Harrold and Republican Hughey Newsome. Amongst other topics, we go into it on the Sequester, Miranda Rights and genetically modified food labeling. The debate kicks off almost ...read more
Welcome to this week's edition of The Daily Banter Mailbag! Today, Bob, Ben and Chez discuss the impact of far-left anti-Obama voters on the president's chances in November; the potential of a Romney electoral bump from Paul Ryan's P90X good looks; and the threats of violent ...read more
And that, friends, is the current state of the art argument from libertarians. And people wonder why we just lump 'em in with Republicans anyhow (or in my case, take them even less seriously than the uber-peaceniks on my side of the aisle). I should also note that it was kind of ...read more
Bob Barr has secured the nomination of the Libertarian party. Hurrah! Now, what we need to do is to donate to Bob's campaign and make sure he's on the ballot in as many states as possible, including but not limited to: Colorado Pennsylvania Virginia Florida New Mexico ...read more