I don't think the broad base of the Republican party has had strong feelings against antitrust for at least 6 or 7 years, if not longer. I grew up as a small-go

I don't think the broad base of the Republican party has had strong feelings against antitrust for at least 6 or 7 years, if not longer. I grew up as a small-government don't-interfere-with-anything Conservative, so I understand the philosophy you're talking about and understand the instinct to say that Conservatives wouldn't want antitrust, but I don't think that the vaguely Libertarian wing of the Republican party is representative of what most Republicans believe nowadays. If Doctorow is picking up on that then I think his instincts are correct; I think a lot of modern Republican voters and Republican publications are much more receptive to government involvement in the market and are much less persuaded by "pro-business" arguments. Consider that the presumptive Republican nominee for president has come out in support of recent union strikes. The base is no longer Reagan's base.