Posted on 11/08/2006 2:27:12 PM PST by quidnunc
New York – Glum Republicans might turn their attention to the Libertarian Party to vent their anger. Libertarians are a generally Republican-leaning constituency, but over the last few years, their discontent has grown plain. It isn't just the war, which some libertarians supported, but the corruption and insider dealing, and particularly the massive expansion of spending. Mr Bush's much-vaunted prescription drug benefit for seniors, they fume, has opened up another gaping hole in America's fiscal situation, while the only issue that really seemed to energise congress was passing special laws to keep a brain-damaged woman on life support.
In two of the seats where control looks likely to switch, Missouri and Montana, the Libertarian party pulled more votes than the Democratic margin of victory. Considerably more, in Montana. If the Libertarian party hadn't been on the ballot, and the three percent of voters who pulled the "Libertarian" lever had broken only moderately Republican, Mr Burns would now be in office.
Does this mean that the libertarians are becoming a force in national elections, much as Ralph Nader managed to cost Al Gore a victory in 2000? Hope springs eternal among third-party afficionadoes, but the nature of the American electoral system, which directly elects representatives in a first-past-the-post system, makes it nearly impossible for third parties to gain traction. The last time it happened was in the 1850's, when the Whig party dissolved over internal disputes about slavery, opening the way for the emerging Republican party to put Abraham Lincoln in office. And acting as a spoiler is dubiously effective at achieving one's goals. In theory, it could pull the Repubicans towards the Libertarians, but in practice, it may just elect Democrats, pushing the nation's economic policy leftwards.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
Yes. It's incomplete.
4. They've almost destroyed FreeRepublic as a significant factor in the politics of the United States.
It's a good thing you are a little "r" rottweiller...the image of a yappy ankle bitter suits you perfectly.
These days, in that picture the libertarians would have hold of the middle of the rope and be pulling it towards the trees (with the small band of Republicans that still give a damn about their own party's founding principles). Get a clue about what we stand for. I suggest starting with John Locke.
my bite last much longer than a mosquito tho
Don't take the bait, but pay attention to who's laying it. There's blood in the water.
So, knowing your guys cannot possibly win, you chose to run candidates who siphon off votes from conservative GOPers.
Anyway you slice it, Libertarians helped give the Congress to the dhimmicrats. I am confident that the dhimmis will give you smaller government, lowered taxes and closed borders.
The enemy of my friend is my enemy.
Exactly. I have a libertarian neighbor here in PA. He's a huge fan of Nader, Michael Moore and Moveon.org.
And the purported "right" leaning libertarians voted their conscience for that brilliant visionary who turned himself blue with his chemistry set. My dog is clever enough to avoid doing that.
Yes, the bite of a toothless lap dog can be serious.
your right about blood in the water..but i'm tired of playing a minnow
Q.E.D.
Let us not forget the Spitting Druid...one of my favorite LP candidates.
Nothing says you can't bite back, but keep a clear head. They're after an emotional, intemperate response. Don't give it to them.
thanks..i will do that
Gosh... yer gonna edgikate me?
Locke is my favorite philosopher... Jefferson was a fellow fan.... admired him enough to plagarize in creating our Declaration of Independence. While we're sharing giggles about founders here, perhaps you've heard of Madison, Father of the Constitution? Try his #5, where he explains that it is important to throw your weight behind one political party for no other reason than to defeat the other.
Parties
James Madison
National Gazette, January 23, 1792
In every political society, parties are unavoidable. A difference of interests, real or supposed, is the most natural and fruitful source of them. The great object should be to combat the evil: 1. By establishing a political equality among all. 2. By withholding unnecessary opportunities from a few, to increase the inequality of property, by an immoderate, and especially an unmerited, accumulation of riches. 3. By the silent operation of laws, which, without violating the rights of property, reduce extreme wealth towards a state of mediocrity, and raise extreme indigence towards a state of comfort. 4. By abstaining from measures which operate differently on different interests, and particularly such as favor one interest at the expence of another. 5. By making one party a check on the other, so far as the existence of parties cannot be prevented, nor their views accommodated. If this is not the language of reason, it is that of republicanism.
I think the GOP deep sixed itself. Everyone assumed that with heavy GOP turnout, that the election was in the bag.
But the assumption that Pubbies would vote the party line was a bad one. Look at Steele's relatively weak performance in the Republican distrits. This scenario was repeated elsewhere in the country.
I know people who call themselves "libertarian" but are really Democrats. They seem to misunderstand what the word means. They're attracted to the LP stance on maybe one or two issues, and then they misunderstand everything else.
Here's an example of what I heard from a few people I know (in Real Life): "I'm anti-WOD because people should be responsible for themselves. But I believe we should help people through more government social programs."
Yeah, they completely miss the whole point. ;-)
The Spitting Druid libertarian for governor... forgot all about him!
Just in case anyone else has, he is quite the deep-thinker LOL
http://www.weeklyuniverse.com/2002/copeland.htm
How could you have forgotten the Druid...he's so representative of their mindset. If nothing else works spit on people...it's sure to win them over.
No, this guy is no Democrat, he's a true-blue socialist at heart and very loud, proud libertarian.... spouts a lot of the same "American Founders" piety I hear on FR, but it's all nicely mixed in with the legalized drugs/open borders/no difference between the Dems and GOP, etc...
He's a Chomsky wannabee.
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