Posted on 11/03/2008 5:07:09 AM PST by PlainOleAmerican
I have been a lifetime Libertarian Party activist, for over 25 years. I've served in numerous capacities, including on the Libertarian National Committee, as a Libertarian State Rep. candidate, and as Ron Paul's Personal Travel Aide in his 1988 Libertarian Presidential campaign. I've also served as Ron Paul's Congressional Campaign Coordinator and as his Senior Congressional Aide for 7 years, 1997-2004.
This election year, I've been supporting Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr. As a matter of fact, I'm the very guy who recruited his running mate Wayne Root into the race. Since the Spring, I've been the Party's lead petitioner around the Nation. I've collected tens of thousands of signatures to get Barr/Root on the ballot in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine and Rhode Island.
However, I was greatly encouraged by McCain's pick of Sarah Palin for his VP. Palin has a solid libertarian background. In 2005/06 she was the guest speaker at two Libertarian Party meetings in Anchorage. She has been called a "libertarian" by many in Alaska politics and in the Anchorage media. She even received the last minute backing of the Libertarian Party leadership in the State for her successful gubernatorial race, and today, she is the most popular governor in America.
Up until now, I've encouraged my fellow Libertarians to follow their conscience and vote for either McCain/Palin or for Barr/Root, if it suits them better.
I now believe, two days before Election Day, that this campaign is just too critical to risk on such a strategy, and if Libertarians won't put the liberty of our country ahead of our party ambitions, who else in this country will?
Obama is fundamentally opposed to virtually all libertarian stances on all issues. From taxes, to freedom of speech, to protecting property rights, to putting a halt to the ever-encroaching Nanny-state, and 4 years of an Obama Presidency will have disastrous results for liberty, and supporters of the limited government view.
As evidence of this, Obama has taken to lodge a full frontal assault on the libertarian movement within the last couple days. In two separate speeches Obama accused McCain/Palin of supporting tax cuts because they believed in the "Virtue of Selfishness." ABC News confirmed that the phrase was most likely a direct hit at libertarian icon Philosopher Ayn Rand.
By attacking Rand, and her Individualist philosophy, in essence, Obama has declared war on libertarians and the libertarian movement in these closing days of Election '08.
How should libertarians respond?
It is now my strong feeling that libertarians nationwide, and most assuredly my fellow Libertarian Party members, should strongly consider casting their votes for Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin. The libertarian movement would be best served with an Obama defeat.
Bob Barr has been polling around 1 to 1.5% in recent polls. A Research 2000/Daily Kos poll released just Friday, had Barr at a full 2%. That is more than enough to cause McCain/Palin to go down to defeat. As we all know, a good 90% of Libertarian votes come directly out of the GOP column. For example, it is widely believed that in 2006, incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns almost certainly went down to defeat due to the 4% vote of Libertarian Stan Jones, which turned out to be a wider total than Burns's loss.
I urge my Libertarian friends, especially those in "swing states" to shift these final days to McCain/Palin. Those States that are especially critical include: New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
McCain/Palin lead Obama/Biden in the latest poll out of Wyoming with 68% to 32%. A Libertarian vote cast for Barr/Root in Wyoming, or even Utah, Idaho, Alabama, Kansas, and my native Texas, would not cause any harm. But Libertarians in the critical swing states must now weigh their vote very seriously and with great caution.
Do we want a guarantee of tax increases for virtually all taxpayers, more federalization of education, more pork barrel spending, and continuation of affirmative action quotas, a return of the so-called Fairness Doctrine intended to silence the voice of libertarians and conservatives across the nation? Or, do we want a friendly ear in a confirmed Libertarian Party friend and ally in the office of the Vice-Presidency of the United States.
For these reasons, I am voting for McCain/Palin on Tuesday and I urge all of my Libertarian friends to do the same.
Our party has made great gains and that is important. Nobody in the libertarian movement has worked harder than I have to assure those gains.
But at this moment in history, we must stand with our conservative friends, against a massive affront upon liberty and freedom itself. I call upon all freedom loving libertarians to consider this situation carefully and stand with me!
This is a GOOD sign! I wondered if they would put their country ahead of their party in the end and the patriotic leaders in the movement are!
Thank Yopu Mr. Dondero!
BTTT
In case you don’t know, 80% of 3rd party voters in Alaska support McCain- Palin ...
http://libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com/2008/11/shocking-poll-numbers-from-alaska-80-of.html
and, the nations #2 libertarian columnist Vin Supryowicz just endorsed McCain-Palin as well...
http://libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com/2008/11/nations-2-libertarian-columnist-vin.html
A little late...
Country First.
Thank you, sir.
God bless ‘em. Live to fight another day is the smart way to go!
I wish Paul and Barr would come out with the same.
Anybody got their phone numbers? I can start dialing them up now.
Bump
They may not be able to vote for a Libertarian candidate in the next election if McCain-Palin loses...
Every vote counts...
I appreciate it, but this is way too late.
I’d make my plea to the Ron Paul crowd. They were polling a lot higher than 1 or 2 percent.
One of our radio talkshow hosts is a libertarian. He said last week, he had voted for McCain.
My nephew (college kid) fancies himself as a libertarian...he voted McCain.
A friend’s daughter has always voted libertarian...she voted McCain.
So I do think the trend this year is for the libertarians to go for McCain.
Good on him. Barr should have also put country first and dropped out, but I guess he had to be a big boy on his own ticket.
Ron Paul Please!! Talk to your Fellow Libertarian Jesse Ventura to back McCain. Call on your support, back McCain. Ron Paul, fight against socialism!
Glad to see this. Recently I had begun to wonder whether the Libertarians were as concerned about an Obama win as many Democrats seem to be concerned.
The fact Obama is a liar, corrupt, and cheated during the primaries/cauci races hasn’t raced by very many Democrats.
I’m pleasantly surprised how galvanized patriotic Americans can be across party lines when threatened by a Fascist/Marxist!!
Why did they wait so long?
I always vote Libertarian but even I can see the danger of an Obama administration. Mccain picking Gov Palin sealed the deal on my vote!!
I voted Libertarian in 00, GOP in 04, and will vote GOP tomorrow. In 00 I voted my own beliefs. In 04, I simply felt obligated to vote GOP because we were at war and the DEMs were running a traitor at the top of their ticket. It was a post-9/11 vote. Since then, I’ve greatly lowered my expectations of the GOP and of gubmint in general, so it’s a little easier to vote for the likes of John McCain. There’s really only two dishes on the menu. Obama’s radical nature makes it pretty easy to do. And anyway, it’s not the party that is at fault. It’s the people.
Any real libertarian must vote McCain-Palin. It’s all about “liberty” and Obama poses the greatest threat to liberty in U.S. history!
Any libertarian that doesn’t vote McCain-Palin is not a true libertarian. That goes for Ron Paul himself...
They have an agenda other than “liberty.”
Why is this so difficult for these Johnny one-notes to acknowledge earlier in the process?
I get nothing but grief from the libertarians here at FR when I make this same point....MONTHS in advance!!
“I now believe, two days before Election Day, that this campaign is just too critical to risk on such a strategy, and if Libertarians won’t put the liberty of our country ahead of our party ambitions, who else in this country will?
Obama is fundamentally opposed to virtually all libertarian stances on all issues. From taxes, to freedom of speech, to protecting property rights, to putting a halt to the ever-encroaching Nanny-state, and 4 years of an Obama Presidency will have disastrous results for liberty, and supporters of the limited government view.”
Hard headed?
That's just it - lower the expectations. I don't mean that derogatorily towards anyone, I just mean it in the sense that we will NOT ever have political salvation through any party or candidate.
As a dyed-in-the-wool Neo-Ciceronian, I've had to do the same.
Better late than never but to take it this far has been folly. Barr is a nut.
LOL. I agree with you. I don't refer to lowering expectations in a completely bad way either. I have a line I like to use, "If you are disappointed, your expectations were too high."
I was greatly influenced by Epictetus. His simple yet profound ideas about dealing with life had a huge effect on me and I internalized them almost immediately. Some things are beyond your control. What you CAN control is how you deal with those things. You can control your impressions. Death is probably the best example of the thing you can't control but must cope with.
So, when it comes to American politics, my first task is to accept reality for what it is. Then I go about deciding what to do about it, limiting myself to those things I can control.
There are some conservatives (not many, any more, thank goodness) and Libertarians who say that what this country really needs is something along the lines of the collapse at the end of "Atlas Shrugged." I disagree. It would be a disaster the likes of which the world has never seen. I believe that the US is the greatest country in the history of the world, and her destruction by those who "know how to make it better" will rank worse than even the destruction of the great library of Alexandria as a hit against civilization. I believe that The Lord put the founders in one place, at one time, in the hope that their free will would lead to something new in the world. And I believe that they accomplished it. But now we're seeing the beginnings of its destruction.
My greatest hope is that Bob Barr would come out publicly and throw his support behind McCain, but I know it won't happen.
Mark
I am. Because of Palin. With that one pick, McCain did something he needed to do to EARN my vote. He chose a REAL Conservative.
Thank God! Sounds like people are getting nervous about Obama and the road he wants to take this country down.
Digg it:
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Fmr_Ron_Paul_aide_makes_plea_to_Libertarians_to_back_McCain
http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html
[Please note that this link always goes to the Nuze for the current day. To see today's comments after today, you'll have to go to the link above, then look down the left panel for the "Archives" link under Nealz Nuze, then look for the Nuze for November 3, 2008.]
Here's an excerpt:
WHERE TO START?
I chose that opening line rather than "what's the use." Election day is tomorrow, so there's definitely a chance here to prevent perhaps irreparable harm to our Republic ... maybe not a huge chance ... but a chance.
Never in the last 100 years has someone so completely inexperienced and so far to the left been so close to becoming our president. It is beyond imagination that we've come to this.
I really don't have the time before I go on the air to craft (if that's the word) a lengthy narrative on this campaign and the importance of our vote tomorrow ... so we go with bullet points. They don't necessarily flow together all that well ... but each gets a point across that is, I think, important.
Who knows ... maybe someone will read some of these points and tell themselves that they just can't pull the trigger for this dangerous leftist when they get into the voting booth. Others will read this and just have their feelings about how much trouble freedom and economic liberty in this country are in totally reinforced.
Then Neal goes into a rather lengthy list of bullet points. Pass the link to undecided voters!
why not wait till after the election.
whats wrong with these people. They must have really have wanted Obama that bad then chickened out at the last minute.
Ron Paul is a libertarian and Republican, not a Libertarian.
Obama wasn’t lying. He really is unifying the country—AGAINST HIM! Clinton Democrats, Libertarians, and Republicans all working together to defeat him. There may be some good come out of this thing after all.
I just emailed this to my local talk news host Bob Durgin on WHP580. We have a pretty large & active Libertarian group here in PA and hopefully he will mention this on his show today. If NObama wins, their voices will be silenced, politically, and via the “Fairness Doctrine”.
Ron Paul Please!! Talk to your Fellow Libertarian Jesse Ventura to [...]And Jesse Ventura is Reform Party, not Libertarian.Ron Paul is a libertarian and Republican, not a Libertarian.
Barr is a genius compared to Ron Paul!
Ron Paul would throw his weight behind McCain-Palin too, if he wasn’t just a mouthpiece for MoveOn.org and their leftist war protesters...
AMEN!
Under the Obama regime, being a Libertarian will be considered a hate crime.
Deep divisions in the right over left leaning policies in the RNC caused this... They are not wrong to be offended by past failures on the right, or to want to do something about it. They are also right to put their country ahead of their party ambitions now...
Wrong! Ron Paul is an anti-war isolationist, and a mouthpiece for MoveOn.org... Nothing more!
From my lips to God’s ear.... YOU said it!
You got it! Fairness Doctrine will make libertarian views off-limits altogether.
bs too little too late
I did NOT want to have to vote for McCain...but with the other option being Hussein, these people should have gotten it together much sooner....
Why is Dondero trying to ride Ron’s coattails now - when he dissed him during the primaries? He’s a disgruntled ex-employee of Ron Paul’s who was more than happy to bash him.
Is he trying to imly that Ron Paul would want folks to vote McCain? Why does he have to use Paul’s name like that now? Cuz that’s all he’s got - he’s got no name for himself.
Do the Libertarians even like their own candidate this time around - doubt it - Barr is no Libertarian and the real ones know it. Wasn’t Barr offering to set aside his running mate - the one Dondero claims he found - if Paul would come on board? Now they want to throw their weight behind McCain? Sounds crazy to me.
They can’t all be as bright as us... (not)
Keep hammering them here and maybe you can send them back to Barr or Paul by morning?
You mean, why does he list his LIBERTARIAN credentials when sending a message to fellow LIBERTARIANS?
LOL.... Ron Paul left the LP when he because a posterboy for MoveOn.org and the anti-war isolationist movement. Why wouldn’t Dondero list his 25 years of libertarian leadership when addressing fellow libertarians?
Isolationist who wants to engage other countries? Uh, no.
Non-interventionist, yes.
In other words, a traditional conservative.
Well - I read that when you posted it twice above - say it three times and it’s true?
Still doesn’t answer the question about why he has to use Ron’s name like that.
Does he like Ron or not?
No - he doesn’t.
He gets no respect from me for using Ron’s name to promote himself - while at the same time trash talking the man.
That’s OK with you?
Come on.... stop with the nuanced RP talking points...
No foreign aid, no foreign use of military no matter the circumstances, restricted foreign trade and you call this “foreign engagement”.... never mind! Dupe!
He worked for Ron for years... He “likes” Ron personally, but clearly disagrees with Ron’s recent departure from libertarian principles and his new status as posterboy for MoveOn.org...
His service with RP is a big part of his libertarian resume. Why would he not make sure that readers know who he is and what he has done for the movement over 25 years?
Multiple libertarian leaders have now endorsed McCain-Palin, for the same reasons Dondero did. If you don’t like Dondero, pick another to listen to... but listen.
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