The Good, the Smug and the Blind

The Economist has a rather good, rather smug and – in the end – entirely self-deluding leader about the predicament of the American right this week.

It is good because the Economist sets out with neatness and style what policies a Republican candidates must sign up to if he or she is to make it through the primaries. The aspiring president must believe not just some but all of the following:

That abortion should be illegal in all cases. That gay marriage must be banned even in states that want it. That the 12m illegal immigrants, even those who have lived in America for decades, must all be sent home. That the 46m people who lack health insurance have only themselves to blame. That global warming is a conspiracy. That any form of gun control is unconstitutional. That any form of tax increase must be vetoed, even if the increase is only the cancelling of an expensive and market-distorting perk.