The Ends Meet; The Circle Is Complete

Awesome political news: Nader: Progressive-libertarian alliance ‘the most exciting new political dynamic’ in US Hell yeah! Excerpts in italics:

Prepare for the rise of libertarian progressives.

That was the message earlier in the week from trends analyst Gerald Celente, who predicted that the rapid acceleration of wealth into the coffers of the ultra-rich would drive a global youth resistance movement in 2011 and reformat long-held political boundaries.

Longtime American politics gadfly Ralph Nader, a man of many ideas almost diametrically opposed by most libertarian conservatives, said Wednesday that he sees a coming convergence of liberals, progressives and libertarian conservatives in the wake of a worsening financial crisis and dogged partisanship that's put the government into gridlock.

Speaking to Fox Business's libertarian host Judge Napolitano, Nader called these shifting alliances "the most exciting new political dynamic" in the US today.
And:
So how will this left-right alliance begin?

Nader suggested that it already has, thanks to the unity of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the most conservative and most liberal members of their respective chambers. They've teamed up to propose cuts to the US defense budget, which has long been by far the largest sector of America's annual budget, and to push a more thorough audit of the Federal Reserve, the private central bank which controls America's currency.

And:

"The authentic tea partiers hail from the conservative libertarian wing of the Republican party that has been so disrespected and corporatized by the likes of Bush and Cheney," Nader said. "So here they come into town and they're going to go after a lot of things the Republican establishment is opposed to."

He added that a coming "liberal-conservative connection" will ultimately "draw that distinction between the corporatist and the genuine libertarian conservatives."

And:

"The key thing is when they go after all the bloated corporate welfare subsidies, handouts, give-aways, bailouts -- they're going to alienate all these corporate Republicans, but they don't care," he said. "The one's I'm talking about, in the House and Senate, they operate on principle. They don't care if they're overruled, if they don't get the monuments or the freebies. They operate on principle and they're going to make an alliance with the liberal progressives."

So.. When can you guys start work?

This could be an amazing development. I'm thrilled it's happening. Politicians standing on principle? This is the most hopeful, optimistic story we've had in 2011, and maybe all year. Maybe we can turn this catastrophe around, averting disaster at the last second. Not likely. More likely? We can prepare for this upcoming crash, navigate the simultaneous insanity(s) resulting from such a crash, successfully rebound from said insanity(s), and we can become a stronger nation, and a more perfect union. To paraphrase Clif over at halfpasthuman; Learning to fall can save our lives.

This can be achieved if our best thinkers from the far ends of our spectrum, come together, think objectively, synthesize their best thoughts, and genuinely plan for the welfare of all Americans. And these men and women can do so with equal parts passion and civility. We can achieve much when we work together, without infighting. We are capable; but will we, really? And are we too late?