Man, Gopnik beat the hell out of that straw man. "What we have, uniquely in America, is a political class, and an entire political party, devoted to the idea t

Man, Gopnik beat the hell out of that straw man. "What we have, uniquely in America, is a political class, and an entire political party, devoted to the idea that any money spent on public goods is money misplaced, not because the state goods might not be good but because they would distract us from the larger principle that no ultimate good can be found in the state." This is a very strong statement, but it is simply not true, and cannot be substantiated by any reference to public statements of the people Gopnik is criticizing. The best case he could make is that this is what they "really mean", or that it is some logical conclusion of their statements. But that ignores a lot of what they do say. Republicans have voted for all kinds of public spending, on all kinds of things, since Reagan was elected. In fact there is all sorts of criticism of some of that spending within the party, going all the way back to Stockman. And almost all spending "cuts" championed by those evil Republicans turn out to be refusals to increase spending. If you want to know why our country is so divided, and our debate is so sterile, just look at the massive mischaracterizations of pieces like this. When you don't even listen to what the other side has to say, and can't bring yourself to an honest account of the opinions you criticize -- yeah, there won't be much dialogue.