I *finally* got a chance to ask a conservative this question:

[Marr]

Or rather, I should say- I finally got an answer. I've asked this question to other self-described conservatives before, but they've always either changed the subject or refused to answer. Anyway- here it is:

A conservative acquaintance of mine was talking about corporate regulation, and how it ruins things. He said we should deregulate business in this country alot more than we have- in fact, he said we should, "deregulate it completely". He said the free market would take care of everything. If only he had his way, everything would be better.

I said we needn't *imagine* what such an environment would be like, because we *had it here*. I urged him to look at the 1890's, or the roots of the labor movement in the the early 1900's- that was unregulated capitalism, and it was hell on people and society in general. It was hell on the economy, too, for crying out loud. So I finally asked my question: "how can you endorse total corporate deregulation when we can just look back a century and see that your claims hold no water?"

His response: "But we still have businesses abusing the system. Regulation hasn't solved all the problems".

A mind like a light switch. It's either on or off, up or down, total Utopia or Cheneyville. Nevermind that regulation has done alot better than total deregulation- it hasn't solved every single problem so we may as well scrap it and go back to kids in coal mines.

Anyway, I was just floored by the stupidity and thought I'd share it.