Poster child in the move back toward conservatism

In his 2002 book, "Conquer The Crash" Bob Prechter clearly predicted that the social mood had peaked (think irrational exuberance) and that it had begun the march back toward conservatism.  Today's news reports that Nevada Senator Harry Reid thinks "the time has come" to end legalized prostitution in his state.  If that isn't an endorsement of Prechter's long standing views then I don't know what is.  We are in dire economic times as measured by joblessness and people living on state aid.  It's amazing to see the Senator of the state which currently has an economic monopoly on the legalized sex trade saying he wants to destroy those jobs!

Prostitution is always a sad thing but forget the morality assessment for a second, stay economic with me.  This is more than just shutting down the Mustang Ranch and the 27 brothels implied by the article.  Outside of those places prostitution is still illegal but there is something about having that kind of dual standard in place that sets the tone for everyone else.  Enforcement and stings do exist but the casinos and streets are teeming with sex "workers".  People fly into Vegas all the time to "party" and that includes plenty of prostitution.  Many of those outfits pay their taxes (protection money?) to the government and so they operate in the open as escort services.  Corporate shindigs, group meetings and individual vacation decisions rely on the quasi-legality of the activity.  No, prostitution is never on the formal agenda.  It is more of "perk".  But it adds to the air of partydom and excitement and if it goes away then some of the sparkle of Sin City will diminish with it.  That loss of sparkle will certainly turn up as economic loss at a time when the state can ill afford it.

Harry Reid knows all this yet he's suggesting it anyway and he's doing it at a time when people are shooting Senators from his state in the head.  Cutting jobs of prostitutes, pimps and the organized crime that accompanies these things seems like a good way to increase one's chances of receiving a 9mm ticket to the afterlife, but still he is doing it.  That tells me that there is an unseen move toward conservatism that he's picking up on, something that will help him win more votes than he loses by adopting this stance.  The best politicians are those who feel the pulse of the herd and then "lead" them in the direction they were already heading.  Yes, that's right, the best politicians (a word that I always use with a pejorative tone) are followers who act like leaders.  Real leaders are people like Ron Paul who tell the herd they are headed off a cliff even when they don't want to hear it.  Expect more disingenuous conservatism from our politicians going forward.