SCHALLER V. SCHALLER. I sort of hate to do this to Tom, but has he read his new book? I have, and really liked it. But it doesn't seem to say what he thinks it says. Below, Tom rails against me for skepticism that Democrats are going to find their greatest gains among state-hatin' libertarians, largely because he appears to think that means writing off the Interior West. Which it doesn't. The Interior West is trending left, in part, as Ryan Sager will tell you, because of a decidedly non-libertarian influx of Hispanic and Californian immigration, which Sager likens to "a bucket of blue paint spilled across the region." Happily, Tom's books show him prepared to appeal to these people on populist terms. Which made his post something of a surprise given that lbiertarians are not, shall we say, particularly inclined to agree with Tom's prescriptions. For instance, Tom blasts Democrats for supporting NAFTA, complaining that it's "a perfect example of how not to flag plant [build your brand]." He then approvingly quotes Sherrod Brown explaining how he's going to run against free trade. A few pages later, Tom writes that "[c]ountless political analysts have grappled with the question of why Democrats are struggling among blue-collar men...the [reason] is that thirty years ago the party differentiated itself sufficiently on labor issues." Anyone want to ask David Boaz how he feels about unions, or free trade, or the minimum wage, or worker's rights? Then, a couple pages after that, Tom lauds Colorado for eliminating TABOR (thus raising taxes), Jennifer Granholm for nurturing a culture of state investment, and argues that 4 in 5 Americans now appear willing to accept higher taxes in return for guaranteed health care. Any libertarian on board with that agenda is welcome to jump in with the left, as she's no longer a libertarian in any recognizable sense. Meanwhile, I checked out the part of Tom's book dealing with libertarians, pages 260-263. They deal entirely with civil libertarians, a related, though not synonymous, subcategory of libertarians. Unless you've decided libertarians have simply abandoned their anti-statist ideology, folding them in with the populist, pro-government left doesn't make much sense. Tom seems to think libertarians care about little save guns and culture, and won't notice all his other prescriptions. Believe me: I have a weekly poker game with Cato kids, it ain't so. Luckily, Tom's book seems to get this. Weird that Tom himself doesn't. Speaking of which: Buy Tom's book!
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Ezra Klein
