Are the Repubs trying to displace Dems with Libertarians... [View All]

[AP]

...as opposition party?

This may be crazy. Consider this:

I have thought in the past that, if I had total, dictatorial control of a gov’t, I would consolidate my power not by being dictatorial, but by creating the illusion of a two-party system. I’d create an opposition party that debated the issues along an axis that would still result in things working out in the favor of the interests I preferred.

In Eric Margolis's book, War at the Top of the World, , he says that one thing every SENSIBLE non-western government does when it takes power is that it makes sure there's an opposition party so that opposition to the gov't in power doesn't manifest itself through violence and subterfuge. Instead, it manifests itself through legitimate means. (To this end, it's important that all voices are represented.)

The debate along the Dem-Rep axis is over how much political and economic power should be in the hands of the masses vs. the ultra-wealthy. The Republicans, however, are now in a position of power – controlling all three branches of the government – so that they can create a different kind of opposition, thus shifting the debate to an axis which works better for them.

The axis along which Libertarians and Republicans would debate would be: how little government should we have. The Republicans would happily lose that debate once they finish shifting all the remaining wealth in America to the wealthiest Americans. The other axis they’d debate on is personal liberties. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about social issues it’s that the Republicans only care about them if they can be used as wedge issues to steal votes from Democrats.

Is this crazy? It probably is crazy, but it’s fun to talk about.

So, is the Republican party trying to displace the Democratic party and replace it with the Libertarian party as their legitimate opposition?