Ebola and the death of the GOP's libertarian moment

Hurricane Katrina killed "compassionate conservatism." Has Ebola ended the GOP's latest dalliance with small government?

Chis Christie
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Carlo Allegri))

The West African nations of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone have a huge Ebola problem. The United States doesn't — and won't — but American politicians do have a lesser problem: To quarantine or not to quarantine?

President Obama and top federal health officials are pretty clearly against mandatory quarantines for the "American heroes" who volunteered for the front lines of the Ebola war, as Obama put it last week. "They deserve our gratitude and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect." America's governors, on the other hand, are all over the map.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.