Beltway Libertarians

There is something terribly wrong with (Beltway) libertarians.

The CATO Institute has a new study on corruption in Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, which calls for Chavez's removal from office.  Now, I have no doubt that Chavez is a crook and a thug, but why, out of all the many politicians around the world is Chavez worthy of a CATO study highlighting his offenses?  This would not be an attempt to curry favor with the neocons by lending support to the attempts to  remove Chavez from office?  Again, I am sure Chavez deserves the scorn of any friend of freedom, but for a libertarian think-tank to explicitly call for the removal of a foreign leader seems to at least raise questions about that institution's commitment to a non-interventionism. 

Instead of criticizing the neocons latest hate figure, perhaps CATO should spend more time on the US government's assault on liberty.  As James Bovard pointed out recently, CATO all but ignored the controversy over the US use of torture.  CATO was also largely silent in the recent debate on the bill authorizing military tribunals, suspending habeas corpus, and allowing the president to designate American citizens as enemy combatants.  Maybe they'll be more outspoken when Hillary designates all opponents of socialized healthcare "enemy combatants." 

"The Torturous Servility of Washington Think Tanks"  James Bovard, 11/17/06

Richard Wilkins