There’s a thing going around on LiveJournal in which the poster picks seven interests from your user profile and you have to explain why they are important to you. I volunteered, and eeknight hit me with the with following: flying, freemasonry, half-life 2, libertarian, texas history, urban legends, and women. The original premise was to write about all seven in one post, but I’m going to take the long road and write about a different one each day. This is the fourth.
Libertarian(ism)
This is going to be (thankfully) another short post. One of the items I listed in LiveJournal was "Libertarian". Technically to be an "interest" it should be "libertarianism", but whatever. My political leanings have certainly become more conservative over the years. Like many people, as a young college student I was fairly liberal but have become more conservative over the years. Everyone has their hot button–that one thing that guarantees your vote. For instance, that candidate could be an illiterate, puppy-kicking, IRS agent, but as long as he promises to protect the environment / stop abortion / bring our troops home / whatever, then he’s got your vote.
My hot button is fiscal responsibility, and it’s damn hard to find a good candidate.
As President Bush’s first term neared its close, it became clear that–even setting aside the costs of war–Bush and the Republicans were spending money hand over fist. Regardless of the cause, they were running up the deficit faster than the Democrats in the previous two terms. I’d pretty much hit my limit with the schenanigans of both parties, so I started casting about for any alternatives. The Libertarian party doesn’t have a chance in Hades of electing a president any time soon, but as I read more about their platform I realized that their values mostly ran in line with my own. Personal responsibility is at the forefront of the Libertarian philosophy. The government shouldn’t place arbitrary limits on our freedoms, but if you do cross then line then you should face the full penalty for your crime. The party’s stance on legalizing drugs is a hard one for me (and most folks) to swallow, but aside from that I find that they are a good fit for me. I suspect that if you stopped and read your party’s plank that you’d find you really only agree on about 80% of what they say they are about. Even candidates within a political party don’t agree 100%, so I don’t have a problem supporting the Libertarian ticket while disagreeing with some of their points.
I realize I’m more or less "throwing away my vote", but I’d counter that you if you’re voting for either of the two main parties then you probably are too. I’d at least like to think that if enough of us vote for 3rd parties to sway an election then maybe the smug sonsabitches will sit up and take notice of the people who elect them. Take a minute or two read about the Liberatarian movement.
It was 1975, I was in fifth grade, and the teacher of our Social Studies class introduces the guy who was running for the Ohio Governor’s seat under the Libertarian Party.
He explained the Party’s positions as they were at that time and in that place. Abolish all government except a skeletal judicial framework and the military for defense. Law enforcement and the rest of our government is dismantled. People would carry guns, be responsible for their own safety, and use specie as currency. They’d pay a judge to render judgment if there was a dispute. Taxes would plummet since the only thing we would need to pay for would be national defense.
The mid-70′s was an extremely chaotic time in history. I was young, but I knew military juntas were taking over everywhere there wasn’t a fully functioning civil society. During the Q&A I raised my hand and asked if that wouldn’t be the case if the Libertarians got what they wanted. No checks and balances. The military would have the monopoly of force since even armed civilians couldn’t hope to match the power of a few modern tanks with air support.
You know what the candidate said? He said, quick as he could, “OhIreallydon’tthinkthatwouldhappenNEXTQUESTION!” Then he refused to even look in my direction, or speak to me afterwards.
Think about that for a moment. Their entire political philosophy called into question by an 11 year old, and he couldn’t even answer!
The Libertarian Party has become more sophisticated since then, I suppose since more 11 year olds have asked hard questions over the years. They no longer say that their goal is to create the conditions that would essentially turn our country into a 3rd World hellhole. But they still have their butts inserted so firmly that they haven’t seen daylight in years. (One easy example out of many is their insistence that the country should go back to the gold standard as a basis of our economy.)
Many people, like yourself, are disgusted with the two major political parties. The Democrats are heavily influenced by hateful, extremist groups (MoveOn.org, anyone?) which is why they have had a hard time winning elections over the past 20 years. The Republicans insist that they should get your vote because they might be bad leaders, but at least they aren’t Democrats.
It makes perfect sense to some people in this surreal political atmosphere to use an alternative political party as a sort of protest, using them to throw away their vote while still having the emotional satisfaction of going to the polls and pulling the lever. One could say that the Libertarians are running on a modified Republican platform, since they say that at least they aren’t either major party. And that is how they have been able to achieve even their extremely modest victories over the past three decades.
But couldn’t you guys find a party to support which at least has some tenuous connection to a realistic world view?
James
It’s an unfortunate side effect that a 3rd party tends to draw the fringe element. Unfortunately, the Libertarians don’t have the leadership needed to attract enough moderates to water down some of the more radical elements. I do think their platform has come a long way in the last 30 years, but I’ll freely admit that as a political party it still has some “growing up” to do. I also freely admit that I’m throwing away my vote, though I’d argue that the same is true in federal elections no matter which party you support. Still, if you can find a more viable 3rd party, I’m ready to listen. Otherwise, all we can do is work from the inside to be a moderating influence on the radicals.
Otherwise, all we can do is work from the inside to be a moderating influence on the radicals.
I’m at a loss here. Why not do that within one of the major political parties?
James
Because generally speaking it’s like trying to steer an ocean liner. The opposition is more entrenched, well financed, and better organized.