Earlier this year, I was discussing the fall of Libya with an elderly uncle of mine. A keen intellectual with the ability to effortlessly run circles around most of today's garden variety Ph.Ds despite never having received a college degree himself, he mentioned that Gaddafi's demise would prove to be bad news for the United States, and, by extension, the free world as a whole. This prediction came as most in the punditocracy were cheering the indisputably brutal tyrant's removal from power. Needless to say, they would have certainly found my uncle's opinion to be premature at best or blasphemous at worst,.
Fast forward to the present, in which the Muslim Brotherhood and other assorted Jihadi-supported interests are experiencing a remarkable ascension to power from Tunisia to Egypt and everywhere in between, including, of course, Libya. Obviously, the rosy picture that so many armchair freedom fighters here in the West had painted simply was not chosen for display in Reality's Gallery of Fine Art. What a shame that was, but not unexpected to those of us analyzing the facts on the ground in regard to highly divisive and emotional subjects such as foreign affairs. The evidence that Jihadists were the most well funded and organized political force among the various elements attempting to take hold in the rapidly developing post-dictatorial Arab world was clear for all to see; it was widely broadcast, from the BBC to Fox News, on countless occasions. Still, a great many chose to be dreamers rather than realists, and now we have what we have.
Another seemingly unrelated high speed collision between fact and fiction is about to take place across the snow-swept plains of Iowa. Here, Texas congressman Ron Paul, libertarian extraordinaire, seems poised to sweep the Hawkeye State's presidential caucus. As even those who live under rocks surely know, it is scheduled to be held this coming Tuesday, and serves as the opening salvo of the 2012 campaign season. Paul, aside from having an impeccable ground game, is pulling grassroots support from disaffected voters who apparently feel fed up with the electoral system itself.
Article comments
1 - Baronius
Three years? I've been hearing complaints about the "new" Far Right for at least 30 years, but they're much older than that.
2 - Tommy Mack
Well, Joseph, it wouldn't be you without a departing shot at the Democratic Party and correctly using the word "agglomeration." But you are right, about Paul that is.
Considering that Iowa is all about 11 electoral votes, that would be a triumph for the Libertarian Party. Paul is thus a GOP spoiler that will make "peaceniks and corporatists" giggle privately.
Tommy
3 - Joseph Cotto
Baronius,
In my opinion, there is always a "New" Right, Left, or Libertarian front forming out there someplace. I was specifically referring to what has been taking place within certain factions of the Tea Party and the Religious Right following the 2008 presidential election.
Tommy Mack,
I try to call them as I see them; whether Democrats, Republicans, or Third Party followers are the subject at hand makes no difference. You are correct about Paul being a spoiler, and one that has the remarkable ability to gel with peaceniks and corporatists alike. He should prove to make the coming week a highly entertaining one.