Just posted this at the Yahoo Group, for Calif. Libertarian Party Candidates:
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Some of you may be interested in this debate going on this AM over at Free Republic, between the Conservative Republicans & Libertarians -
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2474831/posts
‘Free Republic’ is a conservative website. It is really a great website/ forum for finding recent news articles about govt policies and politics. But the majority of participants at FR are traditional Conservatives, not Libertarians. A small percentage of them are Libertarians.
On rare occasions, a Libertarian at FR will post an article like this one above. . . and then - all Heck breaks loose.
Though a minority, the libertarians at FR, when they decide to peek their heads out of their tortoise shells, are quite persistent - and really tear into the Trads.
The resulting intellectual fight - as usual (and as you can see from the link above), quickly degenerates. . . into arguments about religion beliefs (”Aren’t Libertarians atheists?!”), drug legalization (”You’re all on drugs!”), abortion, foreign policy (”You’re a bunch of pacifists!”), and the role of govt (”You’re anarchists”!). They won’t admit that William F. Buckley was strongly pro-drug legalization, that Milton Friedman was a “philosophical anarchist” - and that many of Libertarian politics would be (and were in practice) embraced by Ronald Reagan. For example, I know many libertarian economists who WORKED at the FTC & in Congress for Dick Armey, under Reagan’s Administration. Tom McClintock is libertarian leaning; and Scott Brown has given indications he is, as well.
Anyway, as you can see, it is a tough sell to win these folks over. Though we DO share strong common beliefs about economic freedom (free enterprise) and reduced govt. spending, there is a wide gulf between trad-Republicans & Libertarians on some other issues, as you can see.
This underlying fight I think represents who will ultimately control (& benefit from) the ‘Tea Party’ Movement: Libertarians or Republicans.
If any - ANY - Republicans switch and vote “Yes” on the HC Bill this weekend it will be a major boost to our Party [the LP] in Nov, as people abandon the RINO’s for real fiscal conservatives.
This article post, like many of these article postings was posted by a self-professed pick-and-choose Conservative who gets their kick out of watching Conservative infighting.
Posters like this are more damaging to Conservatives and Libertarians than any Socialist or Liberal screeds on Democratic Underground. They are extremely suspect and are bullies to the political fight we must keep our eye on.
They are gnats in the soup.
If any - ANY - Republicans switch and vote “Yes” on the HC Bill this weekend it will be a major boost to our Party [the LP] in Nov, as people abandon the RINO’s for real fiscal conservatives.
This says it all about the scummy RonPaul et al lie-bertarian agenda. Thank you for exposing it for all to see.
Nothing but lies from the LP and RLC, trying to claim that Reagan and Buckley were libertarians and that Dick Armey and Scott Brown are libertarian. And to claim that Tom McClintock is libertarian is the biggest laugh of all... just because he's a Scotsman, I suppose, haha.
If libertarians stood for anything other than aiding and abetting the Radical Leftist agenda, they would run their own candidates under their own banner rather than infiltrating the GOP and posing as Republicans.