Ten Reasons to Vote for Libertarians

http://www.votenorman.org ^ | ?/?/2002 | Clarence Young

[winner45]

Ten Reasons to Vote for Libertarians

....even if you don’t like them!

1..Libertarians understand that freedom requires responsibility. Freedom can be denied to those who harm others or the property of others.

2..Libertarians ALWAYS vote against tax increases and ALWAYS vote for freedom.

3..Libertarians understand that freedom and equality go hand in hand. Your freedom to live as you please is given to you by the same authority which gives freedom to the persons who may have different lifestyles. You have to give them their freedom to do that to obtain your freedom.

4..Your freedom is not given by the Constitution. It is given from a higher power. Libertarians understand that the Constitution merely sets it down on paper.

5..Libertarians understand that God is of libertarian spirit. He gave humanity free will. He could have just as easily made humanity incapable of free choice. It is kind of arrogant for government to deny the freedom that God Himself has given. When the Israelites wanted a king, God was offended. Laws by man are petty and inferior.

6..If you are unhappy with both Democrats and Republicans, register your unhappiness with a vote for a Libertarian. If a Libertarian got 30% of the vote, it would scare the pants off of the ruling class. They would become more receptive to reason.

7..Libertarians understand that a good society is built upon hard working individuals doing their best in a responsible way. It seems that the ruling parties think that a good society is built upon government group efforts wherein people work (shirk) together.

8..Libertarians understand that the Bill of Rights is as relevant and crucially important today as it was over 200 years ago. Libertarians even think that our government should start observing it once more.

9..Libertarians realize that freedom has many limitations. The winners of elections do not have the right to lord the will of the majority over the rights of the minorities.

10..Libertarians are the only political people that believe that 98% of our citizens are morally good enough and intelligent enough to run their own lives. Basic laws are there to protect us from the other 2%.

[spodbox]

" A-Men, and let me add that not only will the candidate not be elected, but a Democrat might be. It's really hard for me to understand how people who claim to be so against so many of the things that liberal democrats are for are such willing party's to helping elect them.
"

The big hole in this argument is the assumption that without a libertarian candidate, all or most libertarians would vote for the republican. Most libertarians are actually of the now majority of americans that choose to NOT VOTE AT ALL. You assume because we have many views in common, that my vote would normally go to your party. Wrong.

I was going to vote for republicans on tuesday, but I'm not going to now. You have revealed yourselves as little more than high-schoolers at a pep rally, desperate to be on the team that wins. I have passed by that juvenile attitude - which saddens me to see that otherwise good conservatives have become no better than democrats in this regard.

[dcwusmc]

I said (l)ibertarians and Constitutionalists. Not (L)ibertarians. The libertarian view, IMO, comes a whole lot closer to mine than the Pubbies. And even more so than the RATS.

No Constitutionalist or libertarian has had the chutzpa to think that just because gooberment CAN do something it has the Constitutional authority to do it. Or SHOULD do it. The Department of Education... the EPA... OSHA... Department of Energy... Labor... HHS... SSA... DEA... BATFags and NFA... The list is nearly endless... and YOUR PUBBIES SUPPORT ALL THIS UNCONSTITUTIONAL GARBAGE. So, quite frankly my dear wimpycat, I don't give a damn how pissed off you get. Go ahead. Stomp your little feet and pout. Then prove me wrong.

[Bush2000]

A vote for a Libertarian is a vote for a Democrat. Enough said.

[spodbox]

Well, that's assuming he would vote for the republican otherwise. I wouldn't.

[tpaine]

"Irrelevant". - Discribes all your posts on this thread for the last few hours. So does 'obsessed'.
Why are you so busy beating a dead horse if libertarians are 'unimportant/irrelevant'?
Could it be you really don't have political principles, and can't stand to be told so? - Hmmmm?

[FreeReign]

The reason both left and right bash the libertarians is because both left and right in this country have forgotten that we have a Constitution, want the rest of us to forget it and damn the libertarians and Constitutionalists for NOT FORGETTING that important fact...

How is the Constitution a libertarian document? The Constitution defines what it thinks our unalienable rights are and then it grants Constitutional rights in an attempt to protect what it defines our unalienable rights to be.

That's very unlibertarian. A Constitutionalist and a libertarian are two differet things.

[afuturegovernor]

1. You've thrown away your vote on a candidate who will never honor our constitutution.

The Constitution is the reason why elections are important. This election is in the final sense whether Justice Scalia and his allies or Justice Ginsburg and her allies with shape the future of American through the judical system. Harry Browne is not going to shape the American judicary - a Republicans and Democrats will.

The Constitution is full of vague phrases like "due process," "regulate commerce," "equal protection," and "necessary and proper." The meaning of theses phrases can be read in any number of ways. The debate over what the Constitution means is old as the Constitution itself. When Thomas Jefferson signed the Louisiana Purchase it was opposed a by portion of society as unconstitutional.

[Bush2000]

Well, that's assuming he would vote for the republican otherwise. I wouldn't.

Since I wouldn't exactly call Democrats keepers of the Libertarian ideal, the vast majority of Libertarian votes are votes for Democrats. Don't consider yourself the standard. You're not.

[Vigilanteman]

I disagree. Nobody should vote for a Libertaarian in a close election where the Republican is running a close race and is obviously far better than the Democrat (Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Georgia, Louisiana, etc.). However, in a blow-out election, a Libertarian vote is often the medicine needed to make the Republicans consider a real conservative next time or show the Democrats they don't have unanimous support. Massachussets is a case in point.

[afuturegovernor]

LOLOLOL!

[Lurker]

Top ten reasons to vote Libertarian:

1. Trent Lott

2. Olympia Snowe

3. Arlen Spectre

4. Lucianne Goldbergs kid (just to piss his smarmy little ass off.)

5. Henry Hyde

6. George Ryan

7. Jim Ryan

8. Trent Lott

9. Trent Lott

10 Trent Lott

Nuff said.

L

[afuturegovernor]

MA does have a close governor's race though.

[FormerLurker]

The choices I see in this election are;

1. Voting for a Democrat is a vote for abortion and other distasteful liberal policies
2. Voting for a Republican is a vote for polluting our rivers and air, as well as a vote for corporate welfare
3. Voting for anything else is a vote for either of the above

That's why many people don't bother voting..

[spodbox]

"Since I wouldn't exactly call Democrats keepers of the Libertarian ideal, the vast majority of Libertarian votes are votes for Democrats."

That's the most contradictary statement I have ever seen.

I am a typical libertarian voter, and the 45% voter turnout in 2000 attests to that. How can you assume that a libertarian vote would normally be republican vote when more than half the people don't even vote?

[dcwusmc]

I am not so far apart from the (l)libertarians. For the most part, they and I would be happy to have FedGov chopped down to its Constitutional size then we could argue over the rest.

You could say it's a libertarian document because for the first time it codified into law the notion that our unalienable rights MUST BE PROTECTED by and from government. Which, to my understanding, IS a libertarian position, that where government exists, its sole LEGITIMATE funtion is to protect the equal rights of EVERYONE who offers allegance to it.

The "short" list of rights is mightly augmented by the Ninth and Tenth... and, needless to say, the linchpin is the Second. Because when all else fails we have that... GOD-GIVEN RIGHT... to fall back on. When the RATS and the RATS-lite continue their evil ways beyond tolerance, we have that. Beyond which, RIGHTS are never GRANTED by government, period. Rights are either recognized and respected/protected or they are ignored by government, but government does not GRANT them. Be very clear on this. What government gives it can surely take away and RIGHTS cannot be taken by government. Only ignored.

[muggs]

I really wish this thread would get yanked, as it is an attempt by a Liberal Dimocrat infiltrator to divert votes from the Republicans.

Nonsense, this is your golden opportunity to convince me and others that we should vote Republican.I have debated with my husband, my son and even myself on how I should vote this year. I know how I want to vote and even how I probably will vote but this is one final chance for all you GOP people to convince me to vote Republican.

I'm going to read the rest of the thread so I probably won't respond for awhile.

[dhfnc]

(3) Libertarians ALWAYS attack the Republicans when they should be attacking the DemocRats.

This one gets my vote for the #1 reason!

[Bush2000]

That's the most contradictary statement I have ever seen.

Think. Libertarian identify more with Republicans than Democrats. There's simply no way you can argue otherwise. The New Deal wasn't exactly a shining moment in Libertarian philosophy. Neither was the income tax. Neither was the formation of the UN. Read your history. You have more in common with Republicans than the Democrats. If you cast your vote for a Libertarian candidate, he or she won't get elected. But it's certain that your vote will be wasted since it could have gone to a Republican.

[tpaine]

1. You've thrown away your vote on a candidate who will never honor our constitutution.

The Constitution is the reason why elections are important. This election is in the final sense whether Justice Scalia and his allies or Justice Ginsburg and her allies with shape the future of American through the judical system.

I doubt that is true. The court cannot really change the constitution, nor enforce it. If they err to far in 'interpretation', many forms of checks & balances ~could~ come into play. ~If~ we had a rational political system. We do not. This election will not change that sad fact.

Harry Browne is not going to shape the American judicary - a Republicans and Democrats will.

You're dreaming, just like Harry. Get a grip.

The Constitution is full of vague phrases like "due process," "regulate commerce," "equal protection," and "necessary and proper." The meaning of theses phrases can be read in any number of ways. The debate over what the Constitution means is old as the Constitution itself.

The fundamentals are fairly simple to understand to men of good will.
-- And that is our current problem. Both political parties are lead by factions who detest the fundamentals of our constitutional rule of law. If it were enforced, they would be out of business.

When Thomas Jefferson signed the Louisiana Purchase it was opposed a by portion of society as unconstitutional.

So what? It was a bargain, and TJ struck it. -- Congress could have overruled him, but didn't.

[Bush2000]

Nonsense, this is your golden opportunity to convince me and others

Why bother? Quite obviously, you either believe in having a voice in politics or you don't. If it's the former, you vote for a candidate that has a chance of being elected; namely, a Democrat or a Republican. If you don't, your vote may satisfy you for a short time. But will it satisfy you when you see your idiotic Democrat senator voting to increase our taxes or ban the right to arms or stymie judicial nominees or confiscate private land or throw away American jobs to overseas companies because of environmentalist whackjob lobbying. There is no *great solution* in politics. You have to settle for something. But Libertarians who whine, stamp their feet, and vote for people without any realistic chance of getting elected remind me of 5 year olds throwing a tantrum. If you want to have a voice, use your voice. Don't throw it away.