Free For All - The Free Liberal Blog: Nancy Pelosi: The Eric Dondero of the Democratic Party?

August 2008

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Most people in the libertarian movement know who Eric Dondero is. Certainly anyone who has ever cruised the threads on any pro-Ron Paul or libertarian electronic forum or blog have run into his rather unusual definitions of libertarianism and even the meaning of freedom. He supports Rudy Giuliani for president, claiming that the pro-war, pro-torture and authoritarian former New York mayor is incredibly libertarian. Dondero has now taken to writing articles about African-American presidential candidates at FrontPage Magazine. In other words, most libertarians would claim that Dondero's beliefs are pretty much the antithesis of libertarianism.

Likewise, Nancy Pelosi is well known to people on the left. Unlike Dondero, she's known by millions of real people around the real world -- not just geeks like me who spend way too much time on the Internet. Like they do with Dondero, people opposed to the Iraq War protest Pelosi's actions.

Dondero defended the practice of waterboarding. Now it seems that Pelosi has known, since 2002, that the U.S. government has been engaging in this practice of torture. From WaPo:

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.
Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

She knew about it, yet she did nothing about it.

Most Democrats I know are rightfully opposed to torture. All libertarians I know are opposed to torture, as torture is clearly inconsistent with libertarianism. Because of his political views, Eric Dondero couldn't even be elected to the position of County Chairman in the Libertarian Party. Nancy Pelosi currently serves as Speaker of the House and has no Democratic opposition to her re-election bid.

Unless Democrats actually favor torture and the building of the American Empire, this makes Nancy Pelosi the Eric Dondero of the left. The obvious question is why Democrats continue to put her in power.

Comments

Hmmn. Isn't this funny. Four years ago, when you all were wanting me to write editorials for your rag of a publication, you were all googey-eyed, since I was serving as Senior Aide to Ron Paul. I noticed you not only ran my articles, but featured them on your front page.

Now, that I'm criticizing Paul you all change your tune. Now it's bash Dondero. Call Dondero every name in the book. Blacklist him. Bash him mercilessly.

Can't criticize the "God of Ron Paul." No, no, no. Not amongst leftingers posing as libertarians. That's blaspheme.

You leave the Ron Paul Church and you get damned to Hell.

Posted by: ericdondero | December 11, 2007 07:35 AM

Oh, as a reference, Free Liberal published two of my articles back in 2003: The Rise of Arnold Schwarzenegger and on Gene Simmons of KISS being a Libertarian.

Funny, the "Editors" if you can call them that, at the Free Liberal rag, forget to mention that little fact when they're attacking me on a daily basis.

Posted by: ericdondero | December 11, 2007 07:36 AM

Well, well, well. I went into my garage this morning, and found an old issue of The Free Liberal from 2003.

Not only did they have my articles, they listed me as a "Senior Editor." Funny, I don't remember agreeing to that. Oh well.

I guess me being Senior Aide to US Congressman Ron Paul at the time lent credibility to their newly launched rag of a newspaper.

But now, that I've managed to escape the Ron Paul Cult, I've viewed as a heretic, and bashed viciously by the Cultists at the Free Liberal.

Eric Dondero, Fmr. Senior Editor
The Free Liberal

PS - Editors of Free Liberal, I'll be sure to remind everyone on line of our former association, particularly when signing me emails.

Posted by: ericdondero | December 11, 2007 08:18 AM

Eric,

You were a contributing editor in early issues, not a senior editor.

You have some good ideas. But you mix them up with belligerance and downright silliness.

It is certainly debatable whether libertarians should be isolationist or not. My own position is between yours and that of Paul Gessing. It is also debatable which party is the best tool for getting libertarians/free liberals elected. It has always been the policy of TFL to present a variety of viewpoints on this subject.

However, to say that Giuliani is more libertarian than Ron Paul is laughable. More electable, probably. More libertarian, no way.

Posted by: Carl | December 13, 2007 10:45 AM