Liberty & Tyranny, Mark Levin, Threshhold editions, 2009
13 weeks as #1 on the NY Times best seller list … w/o a NY Times review or author appearances on mainstrean TV
Ken’s Take: A tightly argued case – he’s obviously a (former) lawyer. Not much new news for card-carrying conservatives. I recommend the book for liberals – not because it will change your minds, but because it’s an efficient synopsis of conservative thinking. Know thy enemy.
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Highlights
Levin is constitutional scholar and former lawyer turned conservative radio talk show host. He’s quite animated on his show, so I was surprised that his book was very thoughtful. In summary, it lays out the body of conservative logic, tying it back directly to the Constitution.
He basic thesis is that liberal progressives – who he refers to as “statists” — consider the state (i.e. government – especially the federal government) to be supreme. Constitutional conservatives – he argues – consider the individual to be supreme. Preserving the rights of individuals is liberty; subordination of the rights to the is tyranny.
So, Levin argues:
For rights bestowed from a higher authority (i.e. God) — because the Constitution says so.
For faith, arguing that the establishment clause doesn’t foreclose mean that religion must be hidden and dismissed.
For states rights, saying that (1) the Constitution was meant to limit federal jurisdiction (2) that the diversity of wants, needs, and means requires it, and (3) that ‘mobility’ among locales let’s citizens situate in places most compatible with their interests (e.g move to Florida if you don’t like income taxes)
For the free market, arguing that it is the economic mechanism that promotes self-worth, self-sufficiency, shared values, and honest dealing.
Against taxes, except those that generate the revenue required to support the government’s constitutional activities (e.g. defence & security).
Against “enviro-statism” (e.g. cap & trade), asserting that the costs are usually far understated – for example, banning DDT eliminated a carcinogen, but also caused the incidence of malaria to re-surge and cause millions of deaths – especially in undeveloped areas.
For legal immigration, but against illegal immigration, including citizenship by birth, “chain” immigration (i.e. spousal citizenship), and sanctuary cities.
Though Levin offers a list of remedial actions — his Conservative Manifesto – it’s composed mostly of the usual list of suspects. Ideas that caught my eye are: term limits for judges (vs. lifetime appointments), sun-setting all Federal agencies (i.e. require that they be reestablished each budget cycle), and replacement of the current income tax system with a “fair” or flat tax.
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