1) The document discusses Joe McCarthy and right-wing populism in contrast to centrist politics, praising McCarthy for directly appealing to and energizing the masses against the political elite. 2) It argues that the Libertarian Party has become irrelevant and dominated by moderates, and libertarians should instead help build a new right-wing populist movement that incorporates paleoconservative ideas and can mobilize grassroots support. 3) This movement would provide leadership to circumvent the media and political establishment, spread ideas of liberty directly to the working and middle classes, and forge a new coalition including paleoconservatives and libertarians.

1. ~ ~~
the arrows that he drew of there was a sense of dyna- LP: 'Thank you . . . and
Soviet Communism encircling mism, of fearlessness, and of goodbye!" with the emphasis
the United States and putting open-endedness, as if, whom on the final word. For sensible
us in imminent peril. It was in would he subpoena next? The people and paleo-libertarians,
fact true: except for the minor- sainted Eleanor Roosevelt? the time has come to re-enter
ity of Communists and fellow- With Big Business, the the real world, and to help
travelers, everyone agreed on military, liberal intellectuals, forge a coalition that will cre-
McCarthy's basic world view. Rockefeller Republicans, the ate a successful right-wing
The problem was that media, all ranged against him, populist movement which will,
McCarthy, in his crusade, was McCarthy was finally brought by necessity, be in large part
a right-wing populist. He was low. He had almost no move- libertarian.
not content with attacking ment behind him; he had no To go over the heads of
Communist infiltrators in the political infrastructure. And the media and political elites,
abstract; he took the alleged Joe McCarthy was, unfortu- to reach the working and
danger seriously; and insisted nately, not suited for the new middle class directly, to
on naming names, in naming medium-television-that he spread the ideas of liberty and
and exposing these whom he had been using so effectively the knowledge of how they
considered the enemy. to reach the masses directly. have been oppressed, re-
The fascinating, the ex- He was a 'hot" person for a quires inspiring and charis-
citing, thing about Joe 'cool" medium; his jowls, and matic political leadership. It
McCarthy was precisely his his heavy beard, wrecked his requires, in addition to intel-
'means"-his right-wing standing with an image-bound lectual cadre, political leaders
populism: his willingness and public. And above all, by get- who will be knowledgeable,
ability to reach out, to short- ting the U.S. Senate-an in- courageous, dynamic, exciting
circuit the power elite: liber- stitution which McCarthy, not and effective in mobilizing and
als, centrists, the media, the a libertarian, loved and re- building a movement. It re-
intellectuals, the Pentagon, vered-to censure him, they quires leadership able to seize
Rockefeller Republicans, and broke Joe's heart, and he was the moment to act, leadership
reach out and whip up the finished from then on. with the moxie and the forti-
masses directly. And that, tude to surmount the slanders
above all, was what they What Is To Be Done? and smears that will inevitably
hated. And that's why they had Libertarians are now split be directed against it. It re-
to destroy him, why of all the into paleos and modals. The quires ideological and politi-
anti-Communists in the coun- Libertarian Party, now irrel- cal 'entrepreneurs" in the best
try, they had to make hisname evant and inexorably Modal- sense, leadership that is will-
a dictionary term dominated, is History. It is ing and able to forge a paleo
('McCarthyism") for political finished, over, kaput. It is coalition to split off heartland
evil. Centrist politics, elitist vanishing into the dustbin of and paleo-conservatives from
politics, is deliberately boring history. For those good people Official and neo-conserva-
and torpid. The people get put still devoted to, or trapped in, tives, to raise the banner and
to sleep, as a Bush faces a the LP, it is time to realize that to build a real-world movement
Dukakis, or, as it looked for a the LP has accomplished its in which, as in the days of the
while, Bush waltzes around historic task-to develop lib- Old Right, libertarianscan play
with a Clinton or a Kerrey. But ertarianism and to win public a valuable part.
right-wing populist politics is recognition of the doctrine- Some of my friends are
rousing, exciting, ideological, and its time is long over. To stressing a patient, local,
and that is precisely why the paraphrase Nathaniel grass-roots strategy. Grass-
elites don't like it: let sleeping Branden's farewell to Ayn roots activity is fine and nec-
dogs lie. With Joe McCarthy Rand, it is time to say to the essary. But what this idea ig-
January1992 13
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