I don't know what's become of the Koch brothers' attempt to take over the Cato Institute, but I must say that I am delighted to see right-libertarians becoming a victim of something that they vehemently insist that nobody has a right to complain about -- and complaining about it.
Live by the sword, die by the sword - pandagon.net Amanda Marcotte quotes Alex Pareene's
You should care that the Kochs are seizing Cato - Salon.com Quote:
The Kochs have sued for the right to buy the shares in Cato held by the widow of co-founder William Niskanen. Their aim is basically to make Cato into another arm of their explicitly partisan messaging machine, along with Americans for Prosperity. To that end, they have already attempted to install some ridiculous Republican Party hacks on Cato's board of directors — hacks like John "Hind Rocket" Hinderacker, the attorney and "Powerline" blogger with no history of support for "liberty" to speak of. Current Cato people are upset. Some have preemptively resigned, even. (Well, announced an intention to resign upon the completion of the Koch takeover, anyway.)
There are a lot of bloggers and political media people who have worked for/interned at/been paid by Cato, which explains in part why so much has already been written about the battle, but you should wish for an independent Cato Institute even if — maybe especially if — you're a socialist statist tool (like me). Cato is mostly antiwar, decidedly anti-drug war, and sponsors a lot of good work on civil liberties. That … is basically what the Kochs don't like about them, because white papers on decriminalization don't help Republicans get elected. As Jonah Goldberg complains in a post that otherwise resolutely refuses to come to a conclusion or have a point, Cato has an annoying habit of not always seeing itself as a natural member of the glorious Republican coalition. (Current Cato headline: "It's Not Obama's Fault That Crude Oil Prices Have Increased." Oh, man, don't tell Americans for Prosperity that!)
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She also quoted Jonathan Adler:
The Volokh Conspiracy » Koch v. Cato — A View from Cato Quote:
Now, who's more likely to "ensure that Cato stays true to its fundamental principles of individual liberty, free markets, and peace into the future" – these Republican operatives and bloggers or the ousted board members who are among the most independent, principled, and energetic libertarians you'll ever find?
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and called it "silly". As she says, they should either love their new jobs as Republican propagandists or leave their jobs without complaining. Yes, love it or leave it. My phrase, not hers, but inspired by a certain defense of the Vietnam War.
Corey Robin also noted it in
When Libertarians Go to Work… « Corey Robin. Not quite as succinct as Amanda Marcotte's entry, however. He quoted libertarian blogger Julian Sanchez on (1) how progressives think that libertarianism is a code word for uncritical worship of rich people and (2) how he expects to be unable to do his job if the Koch brothers take over the Cato Institute. It bites, doesn't it?
This issue was the subject of
Koch Brothers Sue Cato Institute - Secular Café, but I will concede that I've been slow about posting Amanda Marcotte's reaction to that news. But better late than never.
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