“At one level, yesterday’s Ron Paul event was a political sideshow. (This despite the fact it drew some big names: EMceed by none other than Tucker Carlson and addressed by Grover Norquist: more on him later). Jesse Ventura seemed to be doing his best to cement this impression, by pandering to the crowd about the ultimate perpetrators of 9/11. But in the midst of an ideologically exhausted and downright moribund Republican party, the event at the very least had passion in spades. And most interestingly it served as a kind of ideological fossil: an stark reminder of what conservatism in this country once was and what it has become. Neither of them are particularly pretty pictures, but the journey from one to the other is worth contemplating.” (09/03/08)