"Join me, Luke, in the Republican Liberty Caucus! If only you knew the power... of the Dark Side."
Posted on 11/25/2008 8:31:24 PM PST by rabscuttle385
Following Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, and the support of the massive bailouts by Republican members of Congress, the Libertarian Party says it has replaced the GOP as the party of free market advocates.
"The Republican Party no longer represents advocates of capitalism and the free market," says Libertarian Party Director of Communications Andrew Davis. "The GOP's mindless support of regulatory economic policy indicates it no longer has any philosophical or pragmatic opposition to government intervention in the marketplace. This abandonment of free market principles makes the Republican Party no more opposed to big government than their Democratic counterparts."
The Libertarian Party points to Senator John McCain's lack of opposition to the use of government in solving America's economic woes. "This was the perfect opportunity to explain to America that government was the problem, and it was not the solution," says Davis. "However, Senator McCain fervently believed that government had an important regulatory role in the economy, in what appears to be a growing sentiment among 'conservatives' in the Republican Party."
Davis says there are still Republicans and Democrats who truly believe in the principles of capitalism, but says these Congressmen "have been so marginalized by the Party elite in the name of political expediency that they have become a silenced minority."
The Libertarian Party's platform states the only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. It further states that all efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.
The Libertarian Party blames the current financial crisis in part on government regulations and programs that distorted the housing market and removed the incentives of financial firms to make responsible lending decisions.
"If Americans want a political party that believes in the true meaning of a free market, they must look to the Libertarian Party," Davis concludes. "The Libertarian Party is the only voice for capitalism in politics today."
Maybe next time they can nominate someone with an ounce of personality.
The Libertarian Party is a small group of ankle-biters that will never exceed more than 2 or 3 percent of any national vote, and usually less. This is a case of small people making loud noises.
The Libertarian Party shouldn’t have gone and nominated a baggage-laden quasi-libertarian like Bob Barr instead of a libertarian true believer, like Mary Ruwart. Now it too has lost a good deal of credibility.
God knows we need more politicians with personality.
I mean all that respect for the Constitution, free markets, and individual liberty, simply pale in comparison to the importance of a sparkling personality.
And speaking of candidates with personality, nice work with that whole John McCain thing. I hear that worked out well for the Republicans.
Tell me again. Exactly how many Electoral College votes did he win?
L
What is the official libertarian stand on abortion? Don’t they think it’s a woman’s “right”?
The Free Market is Dead.
On November 4th 98.7% of the American People Voted for a Socialist for President of the United States.
We have a long way to go to break America out of the grasp of Socialism.
Do you think losertarian votes will give the Senate to the rats?
Thanks for saving me the time of responding in kind.
the wsj has a good ed today about why canadian wheat farmers should like nancy pelosi:
they get to sell their wheat to columbia without tariffs,
but u.s. farmers can only wish.
pelosi wouldn’t allow the u.s.-columbia free trade agreement to come up for a vote.
“Smoke free dope!
Smoke free dope!
Forget all your troubles when you
Smoke Free Dope!”
the sad thing was that mccain opposed a lot of big spending but made up for it with support for regulations
I believe that it is that liberty begins with life. No life;no liberty - oh, the official position? I don’t think there is anyone to officiate.
I’m in agreement. The Libertarian Party got themselves caught up in the “marketing” culture that is today’s politics, ignoring the strength of their principles in order to put someone on the ticket who could put on a “show” for the media. As always they were ignored.
The Republic is in danger of being lost forever. Enough of the showmanship! Its time to stand for something real!
I am always cynical of people who toot their own horns. Later events have normally proven my initial impressions to be on the money.
“Tell me again. Exactly how many Electoral College votes did he win?”
Not that I am a McCain fan at all but to answer your question; More than Bob Barr did or any Libertarian candidate ever will.
The problem that is that many “social” conservatives don't like freedom regarding social/moral issues and therefore can't stomach the liberties supported by the Libertarians as defined in the constitution.
As a true conservative and social conservative, I recognize that I must defend other’s freedoms i order to protect my own. I don't have to like or agree with other’s or their actions to defend their rights to think or do what they want..so long as they don;t infringe on other’s rights and liberties.
The Libertarian party needs to remove the “9-11 Truthers” from the party.
Libertarians believe in the 'non-aggression' principle which states that it is always immoral to initiate any form of violence against any person, and a fetus is a person, who isn't threatening you with physical harm.
Therefore to a real Libertarian abortion is one of the more hideous forms of murder there is.
L
LOL, so true!
that will never exceed more than 2 or 3 percent of any national vote,
I think they got about one tenth that in the last election. They do worse each time.
and usually less.
A lot less.
There's no such thing as 'free' anything. Libertarians realize this. Republicans and Democrats sadly don't.
Libertarians believe that adults should be free to put whatever they can afford to buy with their own money into their own bodies.
Republicans believe that it's perfectly alright to use government guns to prevent adults from putting substances they don't approve of into their own bodies.
Today it's marijuana. Tomorrow it could be butter, cheeseburgers, or Cheetos.
They only difference between todays Republicans and todays Democrats is in degree. Republicans want to take my money at the point of a gun and give it to bankers, just not quite as much as the Democrats.
Neither Party will of course ever be able to point to the Article and Section of the Constitution that authorizes them to do it. Nor will either of them explain where that money is actually coming from....
L
But that still doesn't change the fact that the LP is a bunch of loser kooks, who are in a downward spiral to oblivion.
Makes perfect sense to me. But I work with a guy who is a libertarian, and I get the impression he thinks the government should have no say so either way on that issue.
Whatever happened to the free state project?
He was right before Hoover, but Coolidge is highly underrated. He called Hoover “wonderboy”, it wasn’t a compliment.
>> “Tell me again. Exactly how many Electoral College votes did he win?” <<
McCain’s electoral votes haven’t been cast, so all we can do is project how many he will win based on how the electors have pledged to vote. In any case, here’s a comparison since the LP and the GOP began competing:
1972
REPUBLICAN: 520 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 1 electoral vote
1976
REPUBLICAN: 240 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
1980
REPUBLICAN: 489 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
1984
REPUBLICAN: 525 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
1988
REPUBLICAN: 426 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
1992
REPUBLICAN: 168 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
1996
REPUBLICAN: 159 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
2000
REPUBLICAN: 271 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
2004
REPUBLICAN: 286 electoral votes
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes
2008:
REPUBLICAN: 173 electoral votes (est.)
LIBERTARIAN: 0 electoral votes (est.)
So it looks like in it’s best showing, the LP fell 269 electoral votes short of being elected to the White House. The GOP is probably about 97 electoral votes shy of winning the White House this year — which as someone else noted — is FAR closer than the LP has EVER gotten. By the way, the Libertarian who did receive that one electoral vote (John Hospers) endorsed the GOP this year.
The fact the LP opposed the bailout when the GOP and Dems supported it is a good start.
Now maybe if they’d STOP running candidates who believe in amnesty for illegals, the status quo on abortion, legalizing gay marriage, repealing anti-terrorism legislation, are obsessed with legalizing crack, (and in the case of this year’s LP nominee, followed Al Gore around, kissing his butt and drinking his ‘global warming is man made’ kool-aid), they could be considered a serious alternative and might pry some votes from Republicans. I won’t hold my breath waiting for the LP to become sane, though.
They will absorb some fiscal and national security conservatives that actually want to win elections.
All the libertarians I know believe abortion is murder and as such, the matter belongs to the states.
I don't See any difference between McCain, ect. to the Democrats. I really liked Tom Coburn but he voted for the bail out.
From the current state of the 2 major parties, I’d say most DEMS & many GOPers are selfish, social-controlling kooks, who are parasites on society, period. As for the Free State Project, it continues in New Hampshire. They even got a few Free Staters elected to the state legislature. Also Free Staters are not neccesarily Libertarian party members (many are not), but all believe in liberty.
The Libertarian Party continues to have their own pipe dreams about how they really are now being taken seriously by the majority of voters. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Libertarians could have gotten a double-digits in the national vote percentage this November and gotten full ballot access and money (you only need 5% of the national vote) if they could have convinced Ron Paul to run for them this year. They didn’t, and as of right now they’re slightly more irrelevant than the dead republican party.
The Constitution Party also continues to compete for present conservative voters and for future conservative voters, without any success so far.
THe libertarians have way too much baggage
Libertarians unhesitatingly sign on to big government imposition of social liberalism by way of things like Roe vs. Wade.
Which makes them hypocrites to their professed philosophy.
McCain is a social liberal who ran as a national security guy.
That failed.
"Join me, Luke, in the Republican Liberty Caucus! If only you knew the power... of the Dark Side."
Libertarians are divided on the question of whether it is morally permissible to have an abortion. But most would say the government shouldn't have a say.
BTW, it's kinda funny to see the words "official" and "libertarian" in the same sentence.
I hope the libertarians actually nominate a libertarian next time. Nominating that drug warrior Barr was a mistake.
“The fact the LP opposed the bailout when the GOP and Dems supported it is a good start.
Now maybe if they’d STOP running candidates who believe in amnesty for illegals, the status quo on abortion, legalizing gay marriage, repealing anti-terrorism legislation, are obsessed with legalizing crack, (and in the case of this year’s LP nominee, followed Al Gore around, kissing his butt and drinking his ‘global warming is man made’ kool-aid), they could be considered a serious alternative and might pry some votes from Republicans. I won’t hold my breath waiting for the LP to become sane, though.”
Agreed on all of it.
Ron Paul is fervently anti-abortion, based upon libertarian principle, no less.
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is law.
“Life” being the prime, operative word.
From what I gather from an interview I saw with him, he does not try to make an ambiguous argument based upon the abhorrent ‘zygote’ argument. I think he thoroughly believes in conception, as I.
My only difference with him is defense policy. Thats a big difference, though.
tehDeets
No they don’t.
FYI,
I am not pro-illegal amnesty, pro-crack, pro-gay marriage, pro-open borders. I prefer aggressive treatment for non-violent drug offenders versus the asinine manufacture of more violent criminals. It is cheaper in so many ways than incarceration. The marijuana WOD is an absolute farce. Concentrate on the meth menace and it’s notorious cousins. Like it or not, hemp is a proven, viable crop. The founding fathers knew something.
My 9/11 tinfoil hat is of the Able-Danger variety as seen through the Cloward-Piven strategy. Gore’s irrationality is my proof of that. He was ‘supposed’ to win.
Nevertheless, the Republicans have had a unique tendency screw the pooch. Paul was right on the Bailout, the Federal Reserve and the gold standard.
All that being said, from within the party I choose to work.
Doll&Jindal12
tehDeets
The Republican Party spends most of its effort promoting the Democrats and their agenda. Republicans in Congress (and others) effectively, if unwittingly, advance the Democrat’s leftist agenda. No matter who is in power, the federal government, its power and expenditures, continue to grow with little chance of reversal.
The Democrats propose a “generous” increase in the minimum wage. The Republicans either oppose an increase and opt for staying at the current level or counter with a more modest increase. The Democrats say that we need to increase the school lunch program by x million dollars. The Republicans answer by offering an increase of one third x. Democrats say that the government needs to spend a lot more subsidizing housing and Republicans say that the current level is adequate. Democrats say that more people should be made eligible and Republicans defend the status quo.
So the predictable dynamic is that the Democrats fight for an increase in spending for some government program and the Republicans either oppose any increase or counter with a proposal for more modest growth. What impression of the Republican Party does this give? What is the one principle that people are able to discern from Republicans’ policies as stated above? That the Republicans are cheap and uncaring. Some may manage to construe it as fiscal responsibility but what it comes down to is withholding funds from worthwhile programs. Thus ultimately withholding help from those who need it.
If the Republicans agree to spend two billion dollars on a program they are inherently saying that it is good and just and worthwhile. Why else would they agree to spend such a massive amount of money on it? If people who position themselves as fiscally responsible spend that kind of money, it has to be for something good. Something right. Something necessary. And here they cede the moral high ground to Democrats, liberals, leftists by validating their policies, programs and agenda. It’s Democrats who are fighting for all of these good and righteous schemes and the Republicans who are dragging their feet.
Every time Republicans say yes but not so much. They are saying that the Democrats are right and they, the Republicans, are cheap. The Democrats are looking out for the needy and the Republicans are looking out for the cheap and stingy. We are cheap! Hardly an inspiring philosophy. Hardly a winning strategy.
We all know that the best defense is a good offense. The GOP has turned that truism on its head. Their only offense is a pathetic defense. And no matter how good your defense if you have no offense you will eventually lose. It’s inevitable. After the 1994 elections swept the Republicans t control of Congress, many anticipated the extinction of a few federal agencies. Many even a department or two. Dare to dream. Then we were told that Rome was not built in a day so don’t expect it to be dismantled in a day. Well we are still waiting for those first few bricks to be knocked loose.
Sure the left has moved us to a gargantuan and ever-growing welfare state on step at a time, or make that one billion a time. That is the only way it could have happened. Anyone who one hundred years ago tried to propose what we have now would have been run out of town. Any American town. As per the above it may be impossible to move in the opposite direction by increments. When you propose to spend less than the left wants the only principle that you are standing on and promoting is cheapness. Not a very compelling platform. Rather a recipe for long term defeat.
Being second-rate Democrats has been a disaster. Even when Republicans win elections. Agreeing to spend a fortune on Democrat social programs and wealth transfer schemes only validates those schemes. And makes conservatives-or what passes for conservatives these days-look bad. So virtually everything the Republicans do validates Democrats and make themselves look bad. A guaranteed formula for disaster.
So what’s the alternative? How about taking a stand. How about acting on principle? A principle other than cheapness. Will it be easy? The question is what are your principles and what do you want to achieve. If you want to be liked by the establishment intelligentsia then you definitely need to keep up with leftists. Just keep in mind that you will have to go further and further year after year. They keep raising the bar, moving the goal line. What “moderates’ are advocating and supporting now would have been radical a few decades ago. Trying to keep up will always mean that you will always be second-rate and always fall short.
The only was to go, which makes it the easy way, is to stand on principle. Without compromise.
The LIBERAL-tarians are nothing but Democrats who don’t have the stomach to own up to what they really are. Their leader boob barr is an ash hole. I know him personally and KNOW he is an ash hole.
Thanks for the update on NH.
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