The other day I argued over at The Root that Pat Buchanan is the conservative ID; he often says what conservatives really think but can't say. One of his more startling recent remarks was, “I put democracy far down the line. I think a devoutly Christian, conservative, traditionalist country—even if it’s a monarchy—is fine with me.”
The latter part is a bit frightening, and further than I think most conservatives would go. But as far as "democracy being far down the line," well, depending on the constituency, Tucker Carlson apparently feels the same way. Via DCist, Carlson determined that District residents' support for Marion Barry means we're "not ready for democracy":
The Barry story is also a tale of codependence between a politician and his supporters. I love Washington. My wife and all four of my children were born in Northwest. I hope I never leave. But let's be honest: The city's not ready for democracy, much less statehood.
You'd think Marion Barry was a member of Hamas--I wonder what Carlson thinks of states like Illinois and Louisiana, with their long histories of municipal corruption?
This is a pretty weird understanding of how "democracy" works: a given group of people is "ready for democracy" based on subjective partisan judgment of who those people choose to vote for. Maybe we should just have a cloistered elite group that chooses our leaders for us; that way maybe D.C. can pick some leaders to Carlson's liking.
-- A. Serwer
