Sheldon Richman Quote

“Some conservatives are surprised to find people on the Left supporting the war in Afghanistan. It's not surprising at all…It is hard for the government to prosecute a war and not expand…Conservatives may think they can support war and oppose the expansion of the state, but that is like trying to square the circle. What makes them think they can contain the expansion?”

~ Sheldon Richman

Liberty, Security, and the War on Terrorism (2010)

Ratings and Comments


btjnark, ct

I was always justifying the wars, too. I was all for teaching afghanistan a little lesson after 9/11, and getting rid of Sadam when we thought he had biological weapons, but after that we need to get out and save some $$. Another few years and we won't have enough ammo left to protect out borders...think China has "evolved" too much to conisder it? get real!

Wayne, Naples

Are the Conservatives really Conservatives? And are the Left really Left? No doubt all in government are looking to expand their power.

Anonymous, Reston, VA, US

mindless babbling and chaining together apparent fragments of a quote to make a pointless pseudo-point

cal, lewisville, tx

I myself was all for the heavy bombing, but let's keep our ground troops and nation rebuilding here at home.

jim k, Austin,Tx

It's great to see Reston back, always happy to get the Communist point of view.

E Archer, NYC

Excellent observation.

DanielVincentKelleyOnYoutube, Newport Vermont

Who were these liberal war supporters? God damn chicken hawk democratic politicians? Is that who is referred to in this quote? There's only 1 party in America, it's called corporate fascism and ALL it's members like warfare for all the goodies it brings home to these god damn bribed and blackmailed, pedophile, drug using, closet pervert politicians. In my memory, I recall millions of people on the street protesting the war. The major media paid it no mind, but the Taliban had actually offered to turn bin Laden over to the US if the US presented evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11. If there was evidence, then that should OBVIOUSLY have been the legal option chosen. Warring on a whole nation, without even evidence against one of their foreigner residents, who happened to work for the CIA for 20 years... is boldly criminal. I don't know who these left supporters of the war were, but if he's referring to the god damn democrats in congress, he'd be better to refer to them as Nazi's than "the left".

Mike, Norwalk

As defined today, the left and right are only 2 ends of the same socialist stick. Liberals lean more to communism while conservatives hold to fascism. While both administrations of socialism (left and right) have always had disdain for one another's methodology of enslavement, both ends today embrace, by one degree or another, the 10 planks of the communist manifesto and the beloved corporatism of Mussolini and Hitler. The blood lust and need for dominance is only differentiated by theocratic dogmas, canons and who they prosecute war upon.

Bob, Charlotte, VT

I can't wait to read some positive remarks some day
( preferably sans the poor childish three and four letter word vocabulary ). Question: when we critique the published critiques, are we then turning a negative into a positive ?

Has this nation always been a collection of finger-pointers ?
( I KNOW, I KNOW: NOW I'M FINGER-POINTING. Sorry. )

Mike, Norwalk

(-; Bob, I like it ;-)

Ronw13, Oregon

By way of Natural Law, the statement stands on its own. 

@

Get a Quote-a-Day!

Liberty Quotes sent to your mail box daily.