If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals–if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.
Now, I can’t say that I will agree with all the things that the present group who call themselves Libertarians in the sense of a party say, because I think that like in any political movement there are shades, and there are libertarians who are almost over at the point of wanting no government at all or anarchy. I believe there are legitimate government functions. There is a legitimate need in an orderly society for some government to maintain freedom or we will have tyranny by individuals. The strongest man on the block will run the neighborhood. We have government to insure that we don’t each one of us have to carry a club to defend ourselves. But again, I stand on my statement that I think that libertarianism and conservatism are travelling the same path. ~Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan -- America needs another like him.
Good piece. But I don't think it's going to appease the Bushbots.
It's all our fault, you see. The libertarians had the audacity to stop towing the line and actually vote their conscience. To vote on principles. Kinda like this guy said Americans should;
- "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." - John Quincy Adams -
Obviously this guy was an idiot. So was Jefferson and that gang of nutballs that drafted that weird and far out piece of rubbish, the US constitution. What the hell were they thinking? Principles? Pah! You'll never get elected on those! Pandering is the way forward. Lesser of two evils and all that. That's how a real democracy runs. What can I say. We libertarians are clearly misguided and unrealistic. We're not smart enough to understand the nuances of politics quite like those savvy Democrats, and morally upstanding Republicans.
We should all be lined up and shot; a fitting sacrifice to appease the god of Big Government.