By JOHN NORTH

Following the “Red vs. Blue” debate and question-and-answer period, political commentators Jonah Goldberg and Peter Beinart made the following closing statements at The Asheville School last Wednesday night:

Conservative Goldberg said, “My brief is federalism. In my view, it is crazy to have the federal government in Washington” making many of the decisions on issues in the United States.

“The one-size-fits-all policy for the United States of America — it doesn’t work ... Instead, if we could push these issues — beyond civil rights and equal protection — to the lowest level, it’d be best.

“Federalism is the best system to ensure the most happiness.”

As an example, Goldberg said if there were 10 dormitories on a college campus, he would advocate letting each dorm choose “how they want to live.”

“The bottom line is, if you knock this down to the lowest level,” the most responsible decision will be made because “you have to meet these people daily and look them in the eye.

“In the properly ordered republic, you push decisions to the lowest possible local level.”

In the dorm example, if an occupant is unhappy with the choice of lifestyle, “you have two options — fight it democratically, or leave.”

In his closing, liberal Peter Beinart said of Goldberg’s concluding remarks, “I agree with some of that. There is some good in federalism. We have a system with a lot of federalism.”

However, he said, “the problem with the analogy of the dorms is that it might not be so easy to leave.

“The truth is, people have found it very easy in small towns in U.S. history to look people in the eyes — and still violate their fundamental rights.

“A lot of the worst racial injustice was the result of local and state laws and, thank goodness, the Supreme Court stepped in” on a national basis.

Citing abortion as an example, Beinart added, “The problem with federalism is the tendency to take that right (to decide) away from the (national) state.”

He then noted that the Democrats and Republicans share many core beliefs.

He lamented the ascent of talk radio and cautioned the audience at The Asheville School, “Don’t necessarily adopt everything” told to them by the talk-show hosts — or anyone else.

As for the issue of consistency, Beinart said the Catholic Church “is really internally consistent” and the Libertarians also “have a lot of philosophical consistency.”

Finally, Beinart urged the audience members, “Try to figure out your positions, which might mean you have a mix of beliefs — and you might end up being a more interesting person.”

During a reception after the program, Goldberg busily autographed copies of his new bestseller and said, “The biggest myth of our current political landscape is that conservatives are dogmatic — and liberals, open-minded.” The opposite, he contended, is often the case.

Moreover, in his view as a conservative, the fundamental tenet of liberalism is that “government should do good where it can — and when it can,” Goldberg asserted.