We on the left sometimes joke about exporting extreme Republicans to their own country. Some on the right, such as Rick Perry and Todd Palin, aren’t joking about it, but they want to take their states with them. But what if there were already a country that perfectly suits the ideals of what Republicans want for America? There is! I often disagree with Nicholas Kristof, but this time, he struck gold.

With Tea Party conservatives and many Republicans balking at raising the debt ceiling, let me offer them an example of a nation that lives up to their ideals. It has among the lowest tax burdens of any major country: fewer than 2 percent of the people pay any taxes. Government is limited, so that burdensome regulations never kill jobs. This society embraces traditional religious values and a conservative sensibility. Nobody minds school prayer, same-sex marriage isn’t imaginable, and criminals are never coddled. The budget priority is a strong military, the nation’s most respected institution. When generals decide on a policy for, say, Afghanistan, politicians defer to them. Citizens are deeply patriotic, and nobody burns flags. So what is this Republican Eden, this Utopia? Why, it’s Pakistan…

Inserted from <NY Times>