Posted on 10/29/2004 2:07:39 PM PDT by swilhelm73
Every party has fruitcakes. The Libertarians I have spoken with are very supportive of the military. They believe it is one of the few functions of government that deserves serious funding.
They think pretty much everything else should be cut drastically.
Why, then, of the few bills that RP has introduced, do several related to giving tax breaks to only certain union members?
True enough.
The problem is the fruitcakes in the LP run the party. The LP itself stands for one issue nowadays - legalizing pot - and they've pulled a royal Andrew Sullivan over it.
They stand for pot legalization because it is a natural extension of their "hands off" philosophy. They believe people should be free to do as they please...in the boardroom or in the bedroom. I happen to agree with them on this issue. You should be free to make your own decisions and live your life as you please, so long as you don't commit theft or violence against others. If you obey the law and treat people with respect, what you do in your own home is your business.
Yes, illegal drugs constitute the big "dividing line" that supposedly separates Conservatives from Libertarians, and sometimes ingratiates the Libertarians with the Liberals. The Libertarians should, however, consider this: if pot (for example) were "decriminalized" (I avoid the word bad word "legalized"), the liberals would insist that it be taxed, grown on government-run farms, that it be tested for quality and purity, that it be packaged with warning labels on potential health risks, that it not be "too strong" for fear that the first time user might injure himself/herself following ingestion, that if the user were injured because the pot was "too strong" and/or did not have the appropriate warning labels, some John Edwards type would sue the grower for all he/she is worth, etc. After all that hassle, the libertine Libertarian pot smoker probably would, I believe, recognize pot as more trouble than its worth, and give it up.
Oh, I have no problem with the LP standing up for elements of libertarian orthodoxy, like drug legalization.
My problem with the LP is quite the converse.
The LP has proven - time and again - to be willing to compromise with the Left on issue of central importance to libertarian thought in return for the bone, so to speak, of drug legalization.
Fellow Libertarians should not vote with the party this year. "Libertarian" Michael Badnarik is a dangerous fraud. Badnarik--who is Lebanese and has taken tons of cash from the American Muslim Alliance (the group from which even Hillary returned the contributions!) has disturbing ties to supporters of Islamic terrorism. The Muslims are using the "Libertarian" label to hurt Bush. Badnarik is a total phony. Libertarians should not be fooled by this Wahhabist stooge!
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