[Virginia Ridgerunner]

But the Libertarian Party contains some ideas which I cannot accept.

Me too, particularly those that include having hard core drugs be legalized and all prisoners convicted of drug offenses be released. I also don't like the party's peacenik leanings, amid the current terrorist threat and the growing threat from China. Otherwise, I'm all for Libertarianism... low taxes, limited government, and all.

[chesley]

They're lousy on immigration, too.

[Reily]

"...having hard core drugs be legalized.... "

I have never attended a libertarian meeting where the primary issue on the minds of the majority of the attendees was the 'right to be addled on drugs' !

As long as laws exist on the books that will give people the right to reach deep into my pockets (through taxes!) to ameliorate the 'consequences of the their stupidity' the libertarian party is unsupportable on economic grounds. Also their foreign policy arguments are great theory BUT totality impractical. Even we decided to be a 'hermit kingdom' trouble would still come looking for us. Even though we have great natural resources we still have to buy & sell things in the outside world. Again how rational a buyer & seller we choose to be, there are others who won't. The article makes a case for 'American libertarian ideology' but forgets that ideology is what makes libertarianism impractical. Ideology drives people to often make irrational choices about their life, look at socialism/communism & now Islamo-Fascism. These ideological forces are inherently evangelical and no matter how hard you try to leave them alone, they won't leave you alone !