Libertarianism in the United States

Denmark’s new government is pushing through a nationwide fat and sugar tax.

The House of Representatives passed a landmark deal yesterday as the United States inched closer to defaulting on its debts. As the bill makes its way over to the Senate many are noting the influence that the Tea Party had on the outcome.

David Sloan, an early Tea Party member, fears the Tea Party is being co-opted by the Republican Party. We spoke with him about what his particular fears were, and where he draws the lines of difference between the Republican agenda and his own.

The NAACP has released a report called ‘Tea Party Nationalism’ that has renewed accusations that the Tea Party groups ‘have given platform to anti-Semites, racists and bigots.’ Tea Partiers are again disputing that claim.

We talk with Harvard historian Jill Lepore who says Tea Party members embrace a narrative about America’s founding that is not only a fiction, but also a variety of religious fundamentalism.