I have Duke University Professor of History and Public Policy Nancy MacLean’s book “Democracy In Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America”. Here is MacLean on Bill Maher’s Aug. 3rd show.
Her book begins in 1820s S. Carolina, with John C. Calhoun, a wealthy slaveowner who didn’t want to pay any taxes. She follows the “economic liberty for the wealthy” idea through the years with James M. Buchanan and George Mason University, right up to today, with the former Republicans being elected and guided by the Koch brothers.
The Republican party is no more. It is now the Radical Right Libertarian party, and it’s easy to see why. With the exception of people like Lisa Murkowski, Congressional Libertarians were put into power by Charles and David Koch and their dark money network. See “David Koch’s 1980 platform” to view the very scary goals they STILL WANT TODAY. More people must know this!
Donald Trump may not know about Libertarianism, but his cabinet members, people probably suggested by Stephen Miller, have set about destroying the agencies they head. This is part of the Koch plan, and so is Brett Kavanaugh.
Some familiar names from MacLean’s book: “U.S. senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, one of the first longtime Republicans to lose his seat for his failure to obey, referred to those who undermined him as “cannibals” who seek “the end of governing as we know it.” Others learned from experience how to survive.
The Reagan Republican and six-term U.S. senator Orrin Hatch of Utah exploded after being targeted by a challenger from his own party in 2012: “These people are not conservatives. They’re not Republicans. They’re radical libertarians. . . . I despise these people.”
Former House Speaker John Boehner left in 2015, calling Libertarian Ted Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh”.
Please read this book by Duke University professor of History and Public Policy Nancy MacLean, ($12.99 on Kindle) and tell others about it.
Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, Prof. MacLean returned my phone call, and was quite gracious. She gave me her email, and I sent her some questions about how I might get her book into the news.