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ROTHBARD-ROCKWELL REPORTA New Strategyfor Liberty-by Murray N. RothbardAmerican political life hasexperienced a veritable transformation.As usually happenswhen we are in the midst ofa radical social change, weare barely aware that anything is happening, muchless its fullscope and dimension.In the words of Bob Dylantaunting the hated bourgeoisiein the 1960s:”You don’t knowwhat’s happening, do you,Mr. Jones?”Except that nowthe tables have been turned,and ”Mr. Jones” is the comfortably ensconced memberof the liberal and Beltwayelite ruling this country.The great and inspiringnew development is that, forthefirsttimeinmanyamoon,a genuine grassroots rightwing people’s movement isemerging throughout thecountry.This is a very different story from the OfficialConservativeand Libertarianmovement that we haveknown all too well for manyyears: a movement whereWd-hdedperdi&,thjnktanks, and ”public-interest’’law firms,snugly (andsmugly)established mostly inside theBeltway, set down the Lineunchallenged for the subservient folks in the hinterlands.Funding for these outfitscomes mostly from big foundation and corporate donors;the role of the masses ”outthm”throughout the countryis to touch their forelock andkick in with the rest of thedough. Often these Beltwayorganizations exist only asdirect-mail fundraising machines with the usual panel ofcelebrities on their letterheads: the function of donations is to pay the salaries andto finance luxurious housingfor these institutions.Thosel3eltwayorganizationsthat are really active conductindirect lobbymg on behalf ofgradual, marginal reformshoping to push Congress orthe Executive one centimeterto the right; the more important function, however, is togrant their major donors oneof the great prizes of OfficialWashington: access to leadingpoliticians and bureaucrats.The published reports ofthese outfits are mainly designed not to advance TheCause, but to demonstrate totheir donors the fact of suchaccess: hence, countless pictures of thinktank executives(Cont.page 2 , col. 3)THE EARby Sarah BartonThe glamorousand popularradio talk show host, RonnaRomney, a genuine conservative, lost her Senatorial primary race in Michigan to thesneaky, treacherous neoconactivist Spencer Abraham ina close race (52 to 48percent).The reason: a vicious lastminute smear campaign bythe Abraham forces, backedto the hilt by the overpraised”conservative” machine ofGovernor Engler.Going negative in a lateblitz, the Abraham forces putout effective anti-Romney TVads,hadwomencattilydismissRonna as”a ditzy blonde” and“a socialite,” and disseminated an unfounded rumor by(Cont. nextpage, col. 1)Cuba:aModestProposadbyM.N.R. 5N&a and the ‘FreeTrade”H0a.qby M.N.R. . . 6TheMenace oftheReligiousLe& by M.N.R. . 7Dead Wrong,byMNR. .11Campa& To Shve Our Sovereign& by Justin Raimondo.12SchOolRehomRackets, by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. . 14The RealRosa Parks,by L.H.R., Jr. .18PC Watch,by L.H.R., Jr. .21
-RCITHBARD-ROCKWELL REPORT(THE EAR cont. from pg. 1)the poisonous pro-choice Republican leader Ann Stonethat Ronna had told her privately that she was prochoice. (Both Romney andAbraham said they were prolife.) In addition, the Abrahamites called up Arab voters(Mxhigan has the most ArabAmericans of any state) andtold them that Ronna Romney is anti-Arab; and did theSamethingwithJeWishvoters.Unfortunately, Ronna, asweet and trusting soul, hadmade no contingency plansfor quick and strong replies toany negative campaigns (asthe Clinton forces did so effectively in 1992), and shewas caught flat-footed, succumbing to the Abrahamitesmears.Live and learn, Ronna!Next time: plan ahead, expectthe worst, trust no one, andtake no prisoners!Stabbed in the back, Iwouldn’t blame Michiganconservatives one bit if theypaid Abraham back in kind,and took a walk on ElectionDay. Not only criminals, buttreacherouspoliticiansdeserveswift punishment. Congressman Bob Cm, Abraham’s liberal allegedly turned ”moderate” Democrat opponent, atleast doesn’t pretend to be afriend and ally.*****I’ve already reported thatElizabeth McCaughey, theblond, leggy, pretend-”freemarket’’ glamourpusswho isrunning on the Republicanticket in New York for lieutenant-governor, has a ro2October 1994mantic conflict of interest hernew squeeze, Wilbur Ross, Jr.,senior managing director ofRothschild Inc., is a memberof Mario Cuomo’s reelectionfinanaal team. It now turns outthat Ross is conszdderablyolderthan Betsy. Would you sayshe is his ”trophygirl friend?e****I’m happy to report thatJared Taylor’s excellent andcourageous 1992book,PavedMth Goudhtmbons,whichat long last brought race outof the closet and into the public square (or as public as thekept m& would let it), is stillgiving the Left conniption fits.Elizabeth Pochoda, bookcolumnist forthe Nation, refers to the Taylorbook’s ”poisonous influence,”and calls it an”undergroundclassic and re-source for thoseeager to promote a sense ofwhite victimization.” Shepraises MarcNaison’s discussion of thebook and its influence in Reconstruction, aleftiihnagazinein behalf of,though not by,blacks, and dedicated, as itstitle indicates, to finishing thehorrible job that the originalReconstruction did on thesouth.w(STRATEGY.cant. from pg. 1)shaking hands with SenatorDole, Alan Greenspan, orwhomever.The major purpose of theconferences held by these institutions is not to advancethe truth or the free market inthe public arena, but to demonstrate, once again, to themajor donors that they are capable of bringing in Greenspan or Dole to attend theirfunctions.The stated excuse of theseoutfits, many of whom stillclaim abstract devotion tohigh libertarian or conservative principle, is that the reason for their location insidethe Beltway and for devotingtheir energies to minor andnegligible reforms is thatthis is the onlyway they cangain respectability in Washington.But that, ofcourse, is precisely the problem: change theword ”respectability” to ”access,” and thepoint becomesall too clear. Fora long time,these Washington organizations have notbeen part of thesolution, however gradual or minor; theyhave been part of the problem:the domination of Americanlife by Washington.This sort of movement has
-ROTHBARD-ROCKWELL REPORTIbeen necessarily top-down,although many of these outfitslike to thinkof themselvesas grassroots: the grassrootsAmericans, however, live toserve the power elite, and thepower elite lives to curry favorand access with Leviathan.That is why SamuelFrancis’smetaphor is so apt about theBeltway conservative movement meeting insidea phonebooth.But in recent months, something brand new has happened. A grassroots, rightwing populist movement hasbeen s p r i n p g up all over thecountry, a movement that hasno connection whatever toOfficial Conservative elites.Having no connection, theBeltway conservatives canhave no control over thisnewright-wing uprising amongthe people.Since it is a genuine grassroots movement, it is necessarily fragmented,unsystematic, and a bit chaotic. Also,since the dominant liberalmedia don’t want to hearabout it, and the Official Conservativemovement is frightened of it, we hear very littleof its activities.While at this early stage themovement may be confusedand inchoate, it has one magnificent quality which gives itgreat intensity and abidingstrength: a deep and bitterhatred of the despotism exerted over us in so many hundreds of ways by the centralgovernment:hatred of politicians, of bureaucrats, and ofWashington, D.C.Note that thisintensehaM,this reaction, this ”backlash”against the drive toward collectivism, is necessarily andtotally out of synch with theBeltway strategy of OfficialConservative and Big-Government Libertarian organizations. Among the growingranks of these grassrootsrebels, tlus entire strategy andway of life is anathema.Theseheartland rebels are close tothe spirit, not of blow-driedBeltway thinktankers, but ofthe patriots of the AmericanRevolution.They in contrasteven to theReaganauts, are genuinerevolutionaries; they areready and willing to tellWashington, in no uncertainterms, to buzz off. To thesenew American rebels, theability to sip martinis withBob Dole constitutes a heavyliability, not an asset. To thesegreat people, having “access”to tyrants means that you areaiding and abetting tyrants.The recent revolutionaryactivitieshave been manifoldand widespread. Since welack complete information,none of us knows their fullextent.Probably the first taskof right-wing populist intellectuals is to find out what isgoing on, to get an idea of thefull extent of this gloriousphenomenon.Some of these activities areas follows:an erupting“countymilitia”movement,in which,for example, entire counties#aresworn-inas part of a militiaso that they clearly come under the rubric of the SecondAmendment and the right tobear arms; an associated andextensive civil disobedienceby county sheriffs to thehated and despotic Brady bill;a Tenth Amendment movement: for example, bothhouses of the Colorado legislature have passed a resolution empowering the governor to call out the NationalGuard to block federal activities that violate the TenthAmendment. What doesn’t?And there are similar effortsin every other state.The Committee of the 50States, a states’ rights group,has been resurrected to pushthe Ultimatum Resolution,proclaiming the dissolutionof the federal governmentwhen thenationaldebtreaches 6 trillion. The Committee isheaded by the magnificentand venerableJ. Bracken Lee,former mayor of Salt LakeCity and governor of Utah.Lee, who would now becalled a staunch paleo-libertarian, repeatedly through hiscareer called for abolition ofthe income tax, an end to theFederal Reserve, withdrawalfrom the United Nations, andthe elimination of all foreignaid.In addition, there are various flourishing separatistandsecessionist movements: forexample, the desire of southwestern Nebraskans andnorthwestern Kansans to getout from under the despoticcontrollers and taxers of their”Eastern” big cities, such as.Omaha and Wichita. StatenIsland wants to secede fromhorrible New York City, andVermont wants out of the U.S.Southern secessionists are3October 1994
ROTHBARD-ROCKWELL REPORT on the march again, in suchnew organizations as theSouthern League and PeacefulSecession, and grassrootsanti-immigration groups arebooming in Cahfornia, Texas,Florida, and other states.Thegrowing and increasinglyradical land-rights movement, fighting the confiscation of private property byfederal agencies in cahootswith environmentalists, isactive in the East as well asthe West.Finally, permeating all sectors of this variegated rightwing movement, there is ahealthy and intense abhorrence of the Federal Reserve.These heartlanders may notknow precisely what theywant done in the field ofmoney, but, happily, they arevery firm on what they don’tlike. In wanting to sweepaway the Fed they are righton the mark. Can you imagine what these folks wouldthink of a libertarian outfitthat glories in its ability tohobnob with G m s p m ?And that, I think, is themajor point of this essay.There has been a radicalchange in the social and political landscape in this country, and any person whodesires the victory of libertyand the defeat of the Leviathan must adjust his strategyaccordingly. New times require a rethinking of old andpossibly obsolete strategies.I was always opposed tothe marginal reform strategyendemic to the Beltwaythinktanks. I always thoughtthat any marginal and dubi4October 1994Ious short-run gains would beearned only at the price of adisastrous long-run abandonment of and therefore defeat for the principles ofliberty. But in the Americaexisting before 1994, such a]Beltwaystrategy was at leastcoherent and arguable.Now, however, the Beltwaystrategy is absurd in the shortas well as the long run.Thereis a new mood in America, alasting change of heart amongthe conservative masses. Asthe Marxists used to say, ”themasses are in motion,” andour first task is to stay withthem and try to help theirmovementbemomsystematic.No longer are the conservative masses content to sendchecks to the biggies in Washington who, in return for theirdonations, will tell themwhat to think. No longer arethey bowing to their betterswho can assure them accessto the Corridors of Power.Bless them, these heartlandrebels don’t want access; theywant to sweep the wholeMoloch away.Where does this marvelousand burgeoning new spiritcome from? There was anobvious foreshadowing inthe anti-politics and antiWashington mood of 1992.An exampleis the flawed andincoherent Perot movement,the major virtue of which wasnot the erratic leader but thespirit of the rank-and-filemilitants, who were lookingfor some sort of anti-Washington Change. But thatdoesn’t go very far in explaining the new mass movement,which is far more right-wing,and far more intensely focused, than anything Perotvian two years ago.No, it seems clear that thetrigger for the emergence ofthis brand-new movementhas been the total loathingwelling up in America forPresident and Mrs. Clinton,their persons, their lives, theirCabinet, their entire rottencrew. In all my life, I havenever seen such a widespread and intense hatred forany President, or indeed forany politician.Unlike the attacks on poorJoe McCarthy, this is not ahatred whipped up by theelites. Quite the contrary, theliberal elites are desperatelytrying to cover for Clinton,and are bewildered and appalled by the entire phenomenon. In a recent column,Thomas Sowell noted theperplexity of the media, andreplied, in effect, that the reason the Clintons are widely”perceived” a P 0 w e r - h sleazes is because they arepower-hungry sleazes.Thusthe movement eruptedin reaction to all the objectively loathsome attributesofthe Clintons and their associates-the stream of lies, evasions, crookery, sex scandals,and frantic attemptsto runallof our lives. But quickly thehatred of the personal attributes of Clinton spilledover to his programs, to hisideology. Thus we had themost powerful llnuclear fusion” in all of politics: the intense blending of the personaland ideological.The growing
ROTHBARD-ROCKWELL REP0realizationof the socialisttyranny involved in all of Clinton’s programs-a realizationthat finally cutthrough therhetorical fogof the ”Mr.NewDemocrat”joined with andwas greatlymultiplied bythe loathing forClinton theman.During the1992 elections,some of usworried that aClinton administration, in addition to beingbad forAmericaand for liberty,wouldalsoaip. . . .ple the rightwing movement strategcally.For the usual pattern hasbeen that Democratic administrations are ”good” forBeltway organizations because the conservativeheartland gets scared and poursmoney into their coffers. Inthat way a Clintonadministration would unfortunatelystrengthen the conservativeand libertarian Beltway elitesthat have long been dominating and ruining the rightwing movement.To some extent, this has ofcourse happened; but moreimportant is a new phenomenon that none of us predicted: that Clinton and hiscrew would be so monstrous,so blatant, so objectivelyhateful, that it would drive intobeing from below a new andburgeoning real right-wingmovement that hates all ofWashington, whether the actual rulers orthe official Conservatives andLibertarianswho bend theknee in behalfof access andpossible piddling reform.Given this,what is theproper strategyfor liberty? Thefirst thing is forany conservative or freemarket groupor institution tobe principled,radical, and fervently antiWa s h i n g t on,and to avoid like the .agueBeltway-itis, either in form orcontent. That is, to denouncerather than cultivatethe Corridors of Power, and to call forprincipledand radical changereform,rather than ma@change that is clearly antiWashington and anti-federalpower.Such proposals and programs should be designed,not for the eyes and ears ofBeltway power, but to educate, inspire, and guide theextraordinarily sound instincts of the new grassrootsmovement. We are enteringan era in which, happily, theprincipled position is evidently the proper strategy.More than ever before, prirtciple and strategy are fused,inbehalfofthevictoryoflhrtyrA second necessary task isinformational:we can’t hopeto provide any guidance tothis marvelous new movement until we, and the various parts of the movement,find out what is going on Tohelp, we will feature amonthly report on ”TheMasses in Motion.’’After the movement findsitself and discoversits dimensions, there will be othertasks: to help the movementfind more coherence, and fulfill its magnificent potentialfor overthrowing the malignant elites that rule over us.Increasingly, as these elitesstrive to crush us, it is no exaggeration to paraphrase therallying my of our former chiefenemy: we have America towin; we have nothing to losebut our chains!Cuba: a ModestProposalby M.N.R.Maybe I’m missing something, but as an economist Isense a certain amount of inefficiency in our presentCuba policy: the Cubans goon rafts in the Caribbean, wepick them up, and then wereturn them to the Cuban island at Guantanamo Bay.Why not save a lot of resources, cut out the middleman, and just let everyCubanwho wants to pour directlyinto Guantanamo? Thenmaybe the entire Cubanpopulation of 11 million will5October 1994
ROTHBARD-ROCKWELL REPORT A New Strategy for Liberty-- by Murray N. Rothbard American political life has experienced a veritable trans- formation. As usually happens when we are in the midst of a radical social change, we are barely aware that any- thing is happening, much less its full scope and dimen- sion.
