Aphelion

As noted, Heinlein (particularly in his "juvenile" novels) believed in rugged individualism and the ascendancy of the exceptional man (or woman). He would be horrified by the Tea Party and the Bush - Palin - ... glorification of the mediocre and the ignorant. Heinlein's ideal person was a polymath -- someone who could, yes, kill and dress an animal, but also someone who could design and build a machine or a building, plot orbits with an ephemeris and a sliderule, survive in a big city, the wilderness, cyberspace or outer space.

Heinlein's later novels (from "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Stranger in a Strange Land" on) got weirder and more Libertarian than what passes for "Right Wing" these days...

If you haven't yet, read this:

http://www.amazon.com/Us-Living-Comedy- ... 074325998X

Be sure to read the introduction; it tells about the politics. But Heinlein's core political philosophies are right up front -- and some are flat-out strange.