Freedom Forum: Steven R. Weisman- 'The Life of Daniel Patrick Moynihan'

Source:Freedom Forum- author Steven Weisman talking about his book.

"The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan never wrote an autobiography, but a collection of his personal letters is now available in a new book." 

From the Freedom Forum 

There's a lot to talk about when it comes to someone like Daniel Patrick Moynihan who was essentially a professional intellectual and thinker, as well as public servant. But what I'm interested in is his politics and what he wanted to do in and with government, because he's been described by some on the Right as a Progressive or Liberal and by some on the Left as a Conservative, because he worked for both Democratic and Republican President's. 

I think it's pretty clear that Pat Moynihan wasn't a Conservative. He did work for President Richard Nixon and then later President Gerald Ford, but Richard Nixon was never a Conservative, at least not as President. There's a whole bunch of economic policies and an economic agenda that came out of the Nixon Administration in the early 1970s that made it clear that President Nixon wasn't a Conservative. Things like Welfare To Work, what's known now as the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare, by the Right, subsidized employment to encourage low-income and low-skilled adults to work, all came out of the Nixon Administration in the early 1970s originally, but didn't become law until the 1990s and 2010. 

Pat Moynihan wasn't a Liberal, at least not in the mainstream media or pop culture sense. But those aren't the real definitions of liberal either. Moynihan wasn't what the rest of the developed world calls a Social Democrat, that the American mainstream media, pop culture, and closeted Socialists call Liberal. Moynihan believed that government had a real role to help people in need and to see that everyone has access to clean water, air, safe working conditions, labor rights, etc, but he didn't think government could manage people's lives for them and take care of mentally and physically able people from cradle to grave.

Pat Moynihan wasn't a centrist. He had a real government and political philosophy that was about progress , moving forward, and making things better. But he also believed that there were real limits to what government can do for people. 

If you want to look at Pat Moynihan's politics, you want to look at Theodore Roosevelt and the old Progressive wing of the Republican Party, people who were Center-Right Progressives who believed that government had a role to make things better in society and empower people to help themselves, but that it wasn't the job of government to try to do everything for everybody. 

Pat Moynihan represented the progressive center in American politics that has all but disappeared in America today, at least in the Republican Party. And represents a positive and progressive era in American politics that has all but disappeared. 

Real Liberals: What is Liberalism?

Source:Real Liberals- Liberals believe in the defense of private property rights. But that's not the whole philosophy.

"The principles behind the liberal philosophy" 

From Real Liberals

"Liberalism, political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics. Liberals typically believe that government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others, but they also recognize that government itself can pose a threat to liberty. As the revolutionary American pamphleteer Thomas Paine expressed it in Common Sense (1776), government is at best “a necessary evil.” Laws, judges, and police are needed to secure the individual’s life and liberty, but their coercive power may also be turned against him. The problem, then, is to devise a system that gives government the power necessary to protect individual liberty but also prevents those who govern from abusing that power... 

From Britannica 

There are terms like Real Liberal and Classical Liberal because there are people who call themselves Liberals or are called by others Liberals, like the mainstream media and hyper-partisan, right-wingers, even though these so-called Liberals aren't very liberal at all. They are people who in many cases don't even believe in personal freedom and free speech, let alone private property rights and economic freedom. Even though the foundation of liberalism is private property rights relating both to economic and personal freedom. 

I think a lot of people (at least outside of America) when they think of a Liberal, they think of someone whose some antiestablishment, hipster with long hair, looking to take down the man (meaning the white man) and creating new society that's dominated by women of all races and ethnicities and minorities. They supposed Liberal supposedly hates everything that America is supposed to stand for. 

There also so-called Liberals who believe that liberalism is a philosophy that believes that the role of government is to meat the needs of the masses. Meaning to the role of the national government is to take care of the people, even if that so-called protection infringes on individual freedom and choice. 

I've been asked and been labeled several different things since I've been blogging now three years about how I would describe my politics.

When I speak about things like individual liberty, personal responsibility, and freedom of choice, people automatically assume I'm a Libertarian.

And when I speak in favor of things like decentralization of the Federal Government and I express concerns about big government and speak against things like single payer Medicare For All health insurance, or creating a 21st Century New Deal or speak in favor of American power even in a limited way like being in favor of the Libyan no fly zone, people assume I'm a Conservative. I've actually been called a Conservative on YouTube. I was called that to be insulted, which I wasn't, not that I'm a Conservative. But because I actually know what conservatism is and can differentiate between conservatism and neoconservatism or religious conservatism or even libertarianism.

I've been labeled a Classical Liberal, which so far has been the most accurate way to describe my politics. Especially if classical liberalism is used to differentiate from what's called "modern liberalism". Which I just call democratic socialism and I'll explain why later. 

To give you a clue about about I would describe my politics, just go to the link of the blog site. FRSFreeState.Blogspot.com . The name of the blog site is called FRS FreeState, thats what my politics are.

I believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility, as well as limited government, which leads to good government. And no you don't have to be a Libertarian to believe in these things. A lot of Libertarians today tend to be anti-government and I'm not one of those people. And I don't want government out of the economy all together as well.

Yes, I have respect for Ron Paul and Milton Friedman and perhaps you've noticed. I've quoted Professor Friedman on this blog several times. But, Professor Friedman self-described his own politics as liberal and let others call him a Classical Liberal, is they wanted too.  But we are a little different on economic policy and I just laid out a few differences. Liberalism is not libertarianism and it's certainly not socialism. Even though we have some things in common, as it comes to social issues.

Dennis Kucinich is no more a Liberal, than Rick Santorum is a Conservative. Representative Kucinich is what people call a "Modern Liberal." I'm a Liberal because I believe in liberal democracy, which is why I'm also a Liberal Democrat. Again because I believe in liberal democracy, individual liberty, personal responsibility, freedom of choice and limited government, equality of opportunity. These are all liberal values.

When you think libertarian, think of someone that yes believes in individual liberty, personal responsibility and freedom of choice. But also think of someone who wants to return the Federal Government, back to only what's laid out for it in the 10th and 11th Amendments, meaning we would only have a State Department, Defense Department, Treasury Department and a Justice Department and thats about it. Thats what you call small government, which is different from limited government.

When you think of a Socialist, think of someone who believes in big government in the form of a welfare state. Socialists believe we need a large welfare state and high taxes to promote economic equality. And when you think of a Liberal, think of someone who believes in individual liberty, personal responsibility, freedom of choice, equality of opportunity, rule of law, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. And limited government and that government should be used to empower people who need help but not take care of them.

I really blame the so-called mainstream media and our public education system for the lack of education that a lot of Americans have when it comes to American politics. And why Americans get Liberals mixed up with Socialists and Libertarians. And Conservatives mixed up with Libertarians and Christian-Fundamentalists. And why people who are Democratic Socialists, like Senator Bernie Sanders or Representative Dennis Kucinich, are labeled Liberals, when we are really different from these other political factions.