Are We a Nation Divided?: Nick Gillespie on In The Arena with Eliot Spitzer, Katrina vanden Heuvel

Reason.tv's Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie joined The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel on CNN's In the Arena with Eliot Spitzer to discuss how divided both Washington and Americans are by ideology today and whether there still is common ground.

And check out the Reason Foundation-Rupe poll that Gillespie cites. Filled with fascinating insights about the American electorate.

Air date: May 11, 2011; about 7.30 minutes.

Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

Pre-order Gillespie and Matt Welch's The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America, due out June 28. It's a political manifesto like no other!

Comments

[P Brooks]

If I am ever in the same room with Katrina van den Heuvel and Eliot Spitzer, the best outcome possible is that they would allow me internet access on Death Row.

[Name Nomad]

... or a jury full of progressives: "But I'm a libertarian, so my insanity defense is clearly valid!" "Oh. He's got a point there."

[Episiarch]

"Three people enter, P Brooks leaves"

[WTF]

Or at the very least bust out a few hooker jokes.

[Bamboo Floors for Cheap!]

Does KVDH ever bring anything to a conversation?

[Episiarch]

Stupidity and unbridled partisanship?

[Greg]

She sure does like to presume and inject agreement with Nick. "I am concerned ... and I think this is something Nick and I can agree on ... that I do not really know what the term elite refers to"

[R C Dean]

I do not really know what the term elite refers to

Take a look around at your next cocktail party, Kat.

[P Brooks]

Does KVDH ever bring anything to a conversation?

Concern; and plenty of it.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

It seems odd to me that she can't understand the disconnect between the "elites" who want to expand their power at every opportunity and the proles who disagree with their policies.

[shrike]

Hopelessly divided.

Look at this charade of a hearing today on the Oil companies $4 billion in taxpayer funded subsidies.

Dems want to kill it and save the money. Libertarians hate subsidies of course. The GOP? Fighting like hell to keep the subsidy even while they are trying to reduce federal expenses.

Total war - on everything.

[heller]

Look at this charade of a hearing today on the [spending/entitlement] project.

[Dems/Repubs] want to kill it and save the money. Libertarians hate subsidies and entitlements of course. The [GOP/Dems]? Fighting like hell to keep the [entitlement/subsidy] even while they are trying to reduce federal expenses.

Take your pic.

[Episiarch]

shriek is a sockpuppet, heller. It messed up the other day and revealed itself, so don't waste your time with it any more.

[Warty]

Link?

[Jingles]

http://reason.com/blog/2011/05.....nt_2277322

Although I must confess that Episiarch needs to elaborate. I still don't know who he thinks Shriek must be, although that may be because I mostly just lurk.

[Warty]

Why does shrike even talk about Libertarians? It's as if he thinks the Libertarian party has a say in DC.

[Concerned Citizen]

A liberal friend of mine is organizing a local food drive for the homeless, and pointing out that it's the libs who do such things. Since she is a friend I held back this response - It's the liberals who gave us a permanent underclass and intergenerational poverty, so go ahead filling in the holes you've dug.

[Almanian]

go ahead filling in the holes you've dug

Jobs created OR saved, CC, jobs created OR saved...

[Drax the Destroyer]

Maybe if more liberals hit the streets like your friend and provided direct help to those in need, instead of complaining about how no one will do anything for the poor, while they drive their priuses and masturbate to their savior, as the majority of their welfare taxes are used to prop up bullshit bureauacrices instead of helping the poor, then maybe, just maybe, I'd consider them full of less shit.

[cynical]

"A liberal friend of mine is organizing a local food drive... and pointing out that it's the libs who do such things. "

Yes, liberals are good at organizing other people to give to the needy.

[R C Dean]

A liberal friend of mine is organizing a local food drive for the homeless, and pointing out that it's the libs who do such things.

She needs to get out more.

[Almanian]

So when my co-workers and I go work at the homeless shelter or food kitchen, we...suddenly....turn....into....liberals? Cause we're "doing these things"?

Mmmkay KVDH. Ya learn something every day.

To paraphrase Diamond Dave: "I don't feel liberal..."

[Almanian]

Oh, all you KVH haters...fine by me. Leaves more of her for ME to love.

*sigh*

She's so dreamy. The Jacket, please say hello to Ms. VDH for me next time you're on TEEVEE with her. Please tell her Almanian sends his love - all of it.

*sighs again, dreamy, far-away look in his eyes*

[Drax the Destroyer]

Dude...she's all about santorum.

[fish]

On the Tee Vee and no jacket.....what the hell is the world coming to?

[Almanian]

...and bring back the 'stache while you're at it!

[fish]

Well.....Jim Rome would have something to say about that. Porn stache.....phenomenal!

[fish]

Good Christ she's pedantic! Gillespie you are a gentleman....I would have reached across the table to choke the very last sentence from her throat.

[JEP]

Nick, do you ever want to just yell "We agree on practically nothing!"

[Dat_Truth_Hurts]

An idiot, a cheater and some guy with a bad haircut.

This is CNN.

[RandomJerk]

It was pretty ironic to hear Katrina complain about these "elites" disconnected from reality of the populace - apparently she thinks these are some unnamed group of people, but not her of course.

From her Wikipedia bio:
Vanden Heuvel was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of Jean Stein, a best-selling author and editor of the literary journal Grand Street, and William vanden Heuvel, an attorney, former US ambassador, member of John F. Kennedy's administration, businessman, and author. She has one sister and two step-siblings. Her maternal grandparents were Music Corporation of America founder Jules C. Stein and Doris Babbette Jones (originally Jonas). Through her maternal grandmother, vanden Heuvel is a distant cousin of actor/comedian George Jessel.[2]
Vanden Heuvel graduated from Trinity School in 1977.[3] Vanden Heuvel studied politics and history at Princeton University, writing her senior thesis on McCarthyism and serving as editor-in-chief of The Nassau Weekly. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton in 1981.
... The family resides in the Upper West Side section of the Manhattan borough of New York City.[9]

[Concerned Citizen]

Interesting. Wonder if she's ever held a job, or developed a callous.

[R C Dean]

She lives on the Upper West Side, and can't quite put her finger on who who might be this "elite" people are talking about.

Priceless.

[Like Poor Senator Rockefeller]

...criticizing Oil Execs and feigning surprise that they actually want to make money by selling oil...