bumpkin
He isn't the only one. One despairs of folks who cannot accept a good new idea for a good new idea because its proponent claims to support some democrats. This is not old hat, since most of this is about how to understand and think about the US role in the post 9/11 world and what that conotes for force structure. One thing Barnett is not is a socialist.
There is a vast gulf of folks in the middle who balance back and forth between democrat and republican based on which they fear most - the left wing taliban or the right wing taliban. Intelligent, free and open dabate on the directions of our society is crucial and a point of view should not be rejected because someone associates himself with the democrats out of fear of the obvious strain of anti-illectual authoritarianism that infects the republican party.
In fact I have a prediction. The next big political move in the U.S. is going to be one of the principal parties ejecting its radical extreme, and when that happens there will be a seismic event in U.S. politics. It is likely to be the democratic party that does it first, and shortly after this election, just in order to survive. Done right it will instantly create a party in the middle with the authoritarian socialists and the authoritarian right left out in the political cold. If that were to happen it would be a very good thing.