Who is the Most Powerful Person in Washington?
Posted on April 28th, 2007 by Kip
The answer of course depends on which metric one chooses.
Choosing this metric would not be per se irrational:
Justice Anthony Kennedy … is having the kind of year most judges only dream about.
…
Kennedy is a robust 31-1 in signed opinions issued since the court began its current term in October. He is 12-0 in 5-4 cases, the only justice in that narrow majority each time in cases concerning abortion, the death penalty and global warming.Kennedy has been in the majority nearly 97 percent of the time.
The power of the median voter — fleeting, but robust while it lasts.
(Via How Appealing.)
For Discussion: Is the reason libertarians never seem to make progress in mainstream politics because they ignore the power of the median voter, or because the major parties work so hard to keep libertarians away from the median voter?
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Is the reason libertarians never seem to make progress in mainstream politics because they ignore the power of the median voter, or because the major parties work so hard to keep libertarians away from the median voter?
I think it's the former. As you said in an earlier thread, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We're always able to see the bad in a mediocre plan. I know I fall into that trap often enough. I doubt I'm alone.
However, I do think there's a danger in accepting the good. Not because that's a bad proposition, but because it will be interpreted as a signal by the politicians and the indifferent that we've done enough. It's sort of the argument between raising and slaughtering animals humanely. It makes it much easier for people to not think about the fact that the animals still die an unnatural, and probably cruel, death.