It seems like anyone can call themselves a libertarian these days. Chafee is a commie trying to disguise himself first as a RINO, now as a libertarian. He is just another corrupt liar.
The Libertarians lost my respect (and vote) when they put William Weld on their ticket in 2016. A Republican in Massachusetts is a blue state Democrat anywhere else.
1. an adherent of libertarianism. "libertarian philosophy" a person who advocates civil liberty. 2. a person who believes in the doctrine of free will.
Well, that didn't help a whole bunch!
From the Wiki:
Libertarianism, or libertarism, is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association and individual judgement.
Ok... I believe most of us are cool with that.
But not so fast! As it turns out, just like there are conservatives who are not Republicans, and Republicans who are not conservatives, there are Libertarians who are not libertarians, and libertarians who are not Libertarians. (Catch that? big L vs little l?)
As Mark Levin points out in his book "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" perhaps the oldest struggle in history has been the one between "libertarians" (those who believe the state exists to serve the people), and statists (those who believe the people exist to serve the state).
I know, TLDR. So to cut to the chase and give a definition that Mike would have enjoyed, a true libertarian would say that most, maybe 75% to 90% of what our government(s) get involved in is none of their damn business.
Well, it’s absolutely true that anyone can call himself a libertarian or a LIbertarian these days. There is no gatekeeper.
The only thing like one is the local Secretary of State, who isn’t involved in any party, doesn’t know what your core principles are and doesn’t care, and whose only job is to process your voter registration form where you, yourself claim you are a Libertarian. Then you can run for office as a Libertarian on a local ticket on any platform from free lollipops to genocide, without ever requiring any sort of approval from your state party.
All the party can do is to issue some sort of statement that you are not a recommended candidate, which will never see the light of day in any news media, and will only be seen by the hardcore party members who could have figured it out for themselves anyway.
And if you live in a state where primaries are open, and any doofus in the state can choose to vote in your primary, what your truly “libertarian” party members know will be swamped by the uninformed vote in favor of lollipops (or genocide) for everyone.
Now, on the national level, the proces is supposed to be more controlled, with an actual nominating committee vetting the most libertarian candidates. And after 40 years of nominating principled but entirely unknown candidates doomed to media obscurity, the committee has skewed to choosing name-recognition clickbait exhibiting “trust me” lip service to principle. Sad, but inevitable.
Ayn Rand recognized the folly of taking a philosophy that recoils at the concept of free people being ruled, and creating a corresponding party to engage in politics, which is precisely the process of deciding how people will be ruled by the sociopaths that inevitably rise to the top of any ruling clique.
Long gone are the days when LP had serious Constitutionalists like Harry Browne, Richard Boddie and Ron Paul. The LP went off the rails in 2008 when they picked Bob Barr for Presidential candidate and continued the trend with clowns like Gary Johnson and John McAfee.
I have been a registered libertarian ever since I could vote. The first time I voted republican was a write in for Ron Paul in 2008 and 2012 when he probably would have won against Obama, but the GOP played games with the caucuses to get their boy Romney on the ballot instead. 2016 is the year I started voting straight republican, with the exception of Diane Feinstein, which many republicans also did in Kalifornia to keep Kevin de Leon from infecting DC for the next 30+ years.
It seems like anyone can call themselves a libertarian these days. Chafee is a commie trying to disguise himself first as a RINO, now as a libertarian. He is just another corrupt liar.
ReplyDeleteThe Libertarians lost my respect (and vote) when they put William Weld on their ticket in 2016. A Republican in Massachusetts is a blue state Democrat anywhere else.
ReplyDeletelib·er·tar·i·an
ReplyDeletenoun: libertarian; plural noun: libertarians
1.
an adherent of libertarianism.
"libertarian philosophy"
a person who advocates civil liberty.
2.
a person who believes in the doctrine of free will.
Well, that didn't help a whole bunch!
From the Wiki:
Libertarianism, or libertarism, is a collection of political philosophies and movements that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association and individual judgement.
Ok... I believe most of us are cool with that.
But not so fast! As it turns out, just like there are conservatives who are not Republicans, and Republicans who are not conservatives, there are Libertarians who are not libertarians, and libertarians who are not Libertarians. (Catch that? big L vs little l?)
As Mark Levin points out in his book "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto" perhaps the oldest struggle in history has been the one between "libertarians" (those who believe the state exists to serve the people), and statists (those who believe the people exist to serve the state).
I know, TLDR. So to cut to the chase and give a definition that Mike would have enjoyed, a true libertarian would say that most, maybe 75% to 90% of what our government(s) get involved in is none of their damn business.
Well, it’s absolutely true that anyone can call himself a libertarian or a LIbertarian these days. There is no gatekeeper.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing like one is the local Secretary of State, who isn’t involved in any party, doesn’t know what your core principles are and doesn’t care, and whose only job is to process your voter registration form where you, yourself claim you are a Libertarian. Then you can run for office as a Libertarian on a local ticket on any platform from free lollipops to genocide, without ever requiring any sort of approval from your state party.
All the party can do is to issue some sort of statement that you are not a recommended candidate, which will never see the light of day in any news media, and will only be seen by the hardcore party members who could have figured it out for themselves anyway.
And if you live in a state where primaries are open, and any doofus in the state can choose to vote in your primary, what your truly “libertarian” party members know will be swamped by the uninformed vote in favor of lollipops (or genocide) for everyone.
Now, on the national level, the proces is supposed to be more controlled, with an actual nominating committee vetting the most libertarian candidates. And after 40 years of nominating principled but entirely unknown candidates doomed to media obscurity, the committee has skewed to choosing name-recognition clickbait exhibiting “trust me” lip service to principle. Sad, but inevitable.
Ayn Rand recognized the folly of taking a philosophy that recoils at the concept of free people being ruled, and creating a corresponding party to engage in politics, which is precisely the process of deciding how people will be ruled by the sociopaths that inevitably rise to the top of any ruling clique.
Long gone are the days when LP had serious Constitutionalists like Harry Browne, Richard Boddie and Ron Paul. The LP went off the rails in 2008 when they picked Bob Barr for Presidential candidate and continued the trend with clowns like Gary Johnson and John McAfee.
ReplyDeleteI have been a registered libertarian ever since I could vote. The first time I voted republican was a write in for Ron Paul in 2008 and 2012 when he probably would have won against Obama, but the GOP played games with the caucuses to get their boy Romney on the ballot instead. 2016 is the year I started voting straight republican, with the exception of Diane Feinstein, which many republicans also did in Kalifornia to keep Kevin de Leon from infecting DC for the next 30+ years.