Posted on 09/21/2004 6:18:05 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
On October 5th, for purposes of a local TV program I host, I'll have the opportunity to conduct a one-hour, one-on-one interview with Michael Badnarik, Libertarian Party presidential candidate, who is said to be polling as much as 3% and who could conceivably impact the race in a number of states.
I'd be interested to hear from my fellow FReepers. What do you know about Badnarik? What questions would you want to see asked?
Your thoughts?
My post #98 advocates individual responsibility over collective guilt. That's hardly leftist.
Alas, too true.
BTW, I've seen real Communism. I was behind the Iron Curtain in the 1970s. I also remember when the Left called conservatives "Nazis" and "fascists," and conservatives correctly responded that misusing the term "Nazi" is an insult to the real victims of Naziism. Now instead of conservatives' previous civility and rationality, conservatives are more likely to call Democrats "Commies," and thus insult the victims of Stalin.
You like Bush. I don't. I voted for him (even though I preferred Harry Browne) and now I deeply regret it. I think Bush is a liar, same as Clinton. Many patriotic Americans think so. That doesn't make any of them Communists. Please stop insulting the victims of real Communism by cheapening the term through misuse.
Like a large number of LP positions, "open borders" does not remotely make sense in the situation we're in today. Many, if not most of the other LP planks must be in place prior to such a step.
Card carrying LP member since '84,
jimt
P.S. I can't vote for Badnarik.
You're entitled to think that's true. That's simply your simple brain processing a nonlinear path.
Hey, guess what? I've been behind the Iron Curtain, too. You wanna know what else? I've killed a Shitpot full of the scumsuckers, too. I sure would like to see more of 'em dead, or their feet doing an airborne dance.
Commie Basher? Hmmm? Democratz are lenin's useful idiots. Democracy is the first step in socialism which is needed to install communism. The democrat party is fully inflitrated. While some chumps would see the democratic party as the party of liars, thieves, cheats, traitor and perverts, I contend that it is truly the home of the merikan kommunist domination. So - here I am, saying to you, democrats are commies. You can respond back with, 'you think!' and that would be valid, but I contend that every one of those scumsuckers are communist pukes, with that goal in mind, democracy (not Republic), socialism, communism. One, two, tree.
Back to what piqued me; your contention that the President lied. Absolute rubbish, thought logic akin to mikey moore.
I didn't particularly like W at first. Oh, of course I voted for him, but the thought of political dynasties bugs me, the kennedys, the potential xlintons, and the Bush's. Still when someone mentions Jeb, or the good lookin' hispanic nephew, I cringe. Regardless, there is no evidence to suggest that W lied about anything. Think what you will, as I will, but vote every democrat out if you want to bash commies. Hey, maybe then we won't have to become 'the real victims of communism'.
(3)
Progress comes in two flavors:
1. Progress for the Libertarian party starts with building a local base. If you don't have a majority on city council, how can you expect to get a majority in a state legislature? Until you can show that you know how to govern, rather than to object to government, you're not going to get my vote, EVEN THOUGH I AGREE WITH MOST OF YOUR POSITIONS. If you want my vote, start at the local level, where I'm more willing to take chances. Build upward. If you look at the story of parties, that's how they work.
2. Spoiling an election does bring greater media attention. But I haven't seen Ross Perot's vote totals for his party RISE over time: indeed, most people that voted for him for exactly the reason you outline regretted it, and vowed never to get taken in that way again. You are not helping yourself to win people over when your first action is to declare, "I'm against you."
3. To the extent you are counting on a "coalition mentality" inside the GOP, it's there. But it is a coalition INSIDE the GOP. If you're outside of it, and you want in, that means supporting some of their goals in return for them supporting some of yours. It's called politics. What you are advocating looks more like a bully's "If I take your lunch money often enough, maybe you'll just give it to me one day."
4. Finally, with regard to priorities and progress: the US is currently facing an international situation in which we have people who want to kill us in order to go to heaven. I'm in favor of killing them overseas before they get here. It is more important to me than some of my other domestic priorities. So I am willing to compromise them, knowing that looking helpless before someone with that idea is a mistake.
What he thinks of the UNs report on the moving of WMD out of Iraq? Or about the 20,000 Iraqi scientists working in Libya to build WMD.
He will not know anything about either of them. At that point ask him, then why are you against a war you know nothing about?
Thanks very much for the suggestions.
Thanks very much for your input. I was shocked to learn of their open borders policy. Glad to hear you'll be supporting W (at least I infer that!)
LOL
Thin crust, thick, Chicago style?
LOL
I would ask him this:
If drugs were legalized, then
should cyanide and
arsenic also
be available to buy?
If I have a "right"
to get myself high
peacefully at home, then why
can't I peacefully
put myself to death?
(And all drugs can be "mis-used,"
so don't cop-out there . . .)
You're welcome.
You will probably find a lot of the platform "shocking" if taken out of context. It makes sense as a whole, but not near as much in individual planks.
It would take at least an hour (today) to show how open borders COULD make sense in the context of a libertarian society. In the context of today's society, it'd be suicidal.
One of Michael's problems is he doesn't know how or hasn't time to put these things across in context - i.e. the big picture.
That example doesn't apply to the LP. There are three types of third parties: single-issue, ideological, and personality-based.
The Reform Party was a personality-based party. It had no ideology, hence, it had nowhere to rise to, no direction in which to grow.
The LP is an ideological party. Many Americans say they agree with it, but don't want to "waste" their votes. But once the LP is perceived as no longer a "wasted vote," it will rise.
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