Posted on 12/20/2006 3:27:19 PM PST by neverdem
In a recent column, I discussed the disaffection of libertarians within the conservative coalition, suggesting that many might be more at home on the political left. A number of readers wrote to say that they agreed with my analysis and had left the Republican Party for the Libertarian Party. Among these is former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, who officially joined the Libertarians last week.
Of course, people are free to do what they want to do, and if they want to join the Libertarians, that's their business. But if their goal is to actually change policy in a libertarian direction, then they are making a big mistake, in my opinion. The Libertarian Party is worse than a waste of time. I believe it has done far more to hamper the advancement of libertarian ideas and policies than it has done to advance them. In my view, it is essential for the Libertarian Party to completely disappear before libertarian ideas will again have political currency.
The basic problem with the Libertarian Party is the same problem faced by all third parties: It cannot win. The reason is that under the Constitution a candidate must win an absolute majority in the all-important Electoral College. It won't do just to have the most votes in a three- or four-way race. You have to have at least 270 electoral votes to win, period.
Theoretically, this is no barrier to third parties at the state and local level. But in practice, if a party cannot win at the presidential level, it is very unlikely to achieve success at lower levels of government. In short, the Electoral College imposes a two-party system on the country that makes it prohibitively difficult for third parties to compete.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
"When did I mention the PRESIDENT? I was talking about myself personally and others. "
So who did you vote for? Are you a Republican or not? The people who voted for Bush are responsible for his administrations actions, no one else. If you did not vote for Bush, then excuse me.
Well, let's hope.
As for points of commonality between libertarians and conservatives, on key issues where the Constitution allows government to act... they overlap a lot.
Property Rights.
Free speech.
Freedom OF religion.
Low taxes.
Real protections for Second Amendment Rights (shall not be infringed means what it says).
Strong defense.
Few, if any, "freebies" for anyone. This includes foreign governments. We can't BUY friends that way. It just doesn't work.
Laws on the books should be consistent with assigned government duties and apply to everyone. This includes DWI laws Sen. Kennedy...
On all of the above, libertarians and conservatives generally have a LOT more in common than libertarians and liberals.
Where we part company is the social Darwinism aspects. The personal responsibility aspects. The social safety nets. Libertarians don't want safety nets. They want the freedom to screw up their OWN lives.
Neither Republicans, nor Democrats, want us to have that option. They BOTH feel that they know best how to run our lives and will kill us to keep us from hurting ourselves. Blue laws. Gun control. Political Correctness. Authoritarianism at its worst. But, "for the children" makes a good sound bite these days even for the GOP's chosen RINO's.
Without getting one party or the other to relinquish that ideology of CONTROL, ain't nothin' goin' to get any better.
But hopefully, the above list will help fuel some constructive communication for the thread. Somehow... I feel skeptical...
Who did you vote for ? Are you a DEMOCRAT and are you saying the KERRY OR GORE would have been better? Give me a a break!!!
I voted Libertarian. I would NEVER vote for a Democrat, and the last couple of elections I haven't been able to vote Republican either since fiscally they have behaved even more irresponsibly than Democrats. Given the choice of socialist party A, the Democrats or socialist party B, the Republicans, I vote neither because I am not a socialist.
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. Some debate. More like a circle jerk.
Translation: Pass that joint before Christmas, huh?
"I want a smaller government, but I want one that provides sensible and efficient services."
In other words, you want a federal government that blatantly and openly violates and ignores the Constitution which established it. The Founders explicitly stated which powers it could exercise and that anything that was not SPECIFIED as a power of the federal government was specifically NOT a power of the federal government. Well, guess what? Your dream come true in all its nightmarish glory. FedGov is providing all the unconstitutional and extraconstitutional services your little heart could desire.
Please point out to me the SPECIFIC areas of the constitution which authorize FedGov to have the Education Department, the Labor Department, the FAA, the Transportation and Energy departments, the FBI, even. You must show the exact location in the Constitution where these things are mentioned, because if you don't, then the Tenth Amendment applies and these become illegitimate power grabs on the part of FedGov and must be done away with if ever we are to have a Constitutional Republic once again.
"The problem with (l)ibertarians is that they want to go back to the time when we had a very small federal government."
The very size government our Founders wanted. You have a problem with that?
Heh! Heh! Heh! You said "circle jerk"!
I'll be shocked if you get an answer to that.
No, I'm a doc, and there's a reason it's been used as a medicine for millenia. Based on the understanding of the endocannabinoid system, Rimonabant, aka Acomplia, has been approved for the treatment of obesity by a number of countries. IIRC, it was initially investigated as a drug that helps folks to quit smoking tobacco, and studies have shown that it does. FDA approval is still pending. The endocannabinoid system has also been shown to be involved in some types of chronic pain.
Oh, threads on FreeRepublic! Well, stop the presses. OK. If you want to know if it's ultimately all about pot, here is what I got when I put "marijuana" into the lp.org search engine.
The plethora of results speaks for itself.
I'll be shocked if you get an answer to that.
I figured I wouldn't bother, but since you care oh, so much about my opinion...
What was your point again? The Drug War is a SMALL part of the overall ideal, but a very principled one. The only way to fight a drug war is to pretty much toss the entire Constitution, and the attendant BoR, out the window.
Some of you may be OK with that.
Most of us aren't.
I'm not surprised. Just bored.
The Libertarian Party does not accurately represent libertarian philosophy, much like the Republican Party does not govern like we are a republic. Threads on FR are much more representative of mainstream libertarian thought.
It also makes his/her argument look silly and kookish. As if slamming and denigrating and namecalling a conservative ally would somehow convince that person to become slavishly devoted to the Pubbie cause. But the authoritarian/statist wing of the republican party is alive and well at FR.
The Republican and Democratic parties have not ruled national politics throughout the existance of this nation. At one point, they were the "third parties". They won.
"The Congress shall have power …To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."
I'd much rather talk about the constant erosion of our 2A Rights. Or property Rights. The attempted take over of the internet by government censors via the "fairness doctrine" or outright censorship laws. How to end socialist welfare programs and how to free up the markets to allow for more entrepreneurs to create more wealth.
But NOOOOOOoooo.... just got to spend trillions on some loser in his mom's basement tokin' up ditch weed. Can't just let those people fry their brains. We need to make them more productive by throwing them in jail. In order to do so, we need to strip the law abiding of cash, Rights, and freedom... but big friggin' God it's worth it to keep said loser from frying his own brain.
How earth shattering. How stupid. It's a big red flag for the thread hijackers to wave in front of people so they can try and stick a sword in you.
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