This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Tuesday, October 16, 2007. I'm Caleb Brown.

How safe are free market ideas in today's Republican Party.

The predominant opinions of GOP candidates for president are leaving some fans of the free market feeling homeless.

The Cato Institute Stephen Slavinsky is author of the free market feeling homeless.

The Cato Institute Stephen Slavinsky is author of the book Buck Wilde,

how Republicans broke the bank and became the party of big government.

He says the GOP's recent populist streak may mean hard times ahead for free market ideas.

I think the presidential candidate debates can be seen as sort of a preview of the rebuilding of the

Republican Party and I think one thing that strikes me as is interesting is that

since November 2006 and as these candidates are running on the campaign trail

you don't see any of them lustily

embracing the spending record of the Republicans over the past six years.

You've got all of them saying, yes, we screwed up, meaning we as Republicans.

They all say that government spent too much money under Republicans, so none of them are saying we need to return to those days.

And some of them even make specific cut recommendations, or more specifically they'll say when they're asked what would you cut.

I think

Bramback was the only one that actually said anything but I think if you're

looking at an overall message if you're looking for someone that was more

reggonesk for instance I don't think that person has emerged yet or more

specifically I don't think any of these

candidates have been able to put forward a coherent or a coherent or even consistent

view of what a government should be in a free society. You don't hear any sort of, I would argue, innovative

...