A post about Barry Manilow, Ron Paul, and libertarian hypocrisy

By Michael J.W. Stickings

If, like me, you think Barry Manilow is really, truly, and utterly terrible, or, in a word, sucks, you probably don't know much about his politics. I mean, how would you? You probably don't pay him much attention at all. And understandably so.

Well, it seems that Manilow is actually a huge Ron Paul supporter:

Grammy award-winning musician Barry Manilow told The Daily Caller that he agrees with "just about everything" 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul says, calling him a "solid" contender for the highest office in the land.

"I like him. I like what he says, I do. I like what he says. I think he's solid," said Manilow, who confirmed to TheDC in an interview at the Capitol on Thursday that he contributed to Paul's last campaign for president.

"I agree with just about everything he says. What can I tell you?" Manilow added.

It's possible, of course, that Manilow doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, that he's not aware of "everything" Paul says.

But let's take him at his word. That makes Manilow an extremist right-wing libertarian, particularly with respect to economic matters.

It also makes him a radical non-interventionist in foreign policy, which is somewhat more defensible, as well as a defender of more or less unimpeded civil liberties, which is quite admirable. (Indeed, Paul can sometimes appear to be something of a liberal, of a sort.)

But essentially Manilow is a rich guy and Paul's agenda is all about advancing the interests of rich guys, particularly with its opposition to taxation and its rejection of much of what the federal government does.

And yet, Manilow was in Washington not to stump for Paul but to lobby for federal support -- gasp! -- for something close to his heart:

Manilow was on Capitol Hill speaking at a briefing on atrial fibrillation or AFib, a heart disease that affects over 2.5 million Americans. Manilow, who has fought the disease for over 15 years, encouraged lawmakers to support H.R. 295, a bill that would advance AFib research and education in part by "encouraging education programs that promote collaboration among the Federal health agencies and that increase public and clinician awareness of atrial fibrillation, including risk assessment, screening, treatment, and appropriate clinical management."

If Manilow really believes in Ron Paul, in "everything" Paul is about, isn't this all rather hypocritical? I mean, what roles should the federal government play in health care? Shouldn't this disease just be left to the "free" market to sort out, with those who suffer from it left to the mercy of the insurance industry and a health-care industry that often seems to care more about maximizing profits than curing patients?

What would Paul say? Would he tell his Grammy-winning admire to shove it?

Or is it okay to be so hypocritical, so ideologically inconsistent, when it's about you? Fuck the poor, or anyone else you don't give a shit about. But, oh, if you need that government money, that's different. Is that how it works? You know, like how all those teabaggers hate entitlement programs until they realize that they get those Social Security cheques too.

Fucking hypocrites. Fucking Manilow.