The
Libertarian Party will be holding its convention in
Denver over
Memorial Day weekend. I know this is not an earth shattering event in the political life of the nation, the
Libertarian candidate for president is always just a very small asterisk in the final election results. But, even if you are not a
libertarian it matters.
This time there are a couple of D list politicians vying for the nomination--
non-libertarian Mike Gravel, and douche bag
Bob Barr. Many hope that someone like
Barr, who could garner the support of some
social conservatives,
Paulites,
White supremacists,
homophobes,
Know Nothings and
paleoconservatives, would get enough votes to make an impression.
That is not the route to success of the
libertarian message. Did the candidacies of
Ross Perot,
Ralph Nader,
Pat Buchanan,
John Anderson or
George Wallace change the political landscape at all?
And do we really want to send out
a package of damaged goods, who has recently started spouting a few lines from the
Libertarian platform, just so the party can get some fleeting attention?
To succeed the party
has to broaden its base beyond the old white guys, and fellows
with disturbing haircuts, that dominate it. The
Libertarian Party Platform is by far the most progressive when it comes to the
rights of
women,
minorities, and
gays—as well as
white males.
You see,
Libertarians do not believe there is a finite reservoir of
rights, that will run low if they are shared with others.
A couple years ago I was trying to convince some converts to the Party. They were
Idaho panhandle conservatives and were none too keen on any of this
gay marriage type stuff. I explained to them that
libertarianism meant there would be
naked pot smoking lesbians frolicking on the shores of
Lake Coeur d'Alene , but they would also be able to keep their
Uzis and
semi-automatics.
The guys thought they could get down with that.
When there are
gay pride parades, the
Libertarian Party should be as prominent as they are at
gun shows. And they need to make a concerted effort to explain to both
gays and
women—that
guns are not just a constitutional right—but
life insurance.
Both the
Republicans and the
Democrats have forsaken any real pretense of being
fiscally conservative.
Small government frugality used to be axiomatic in the
Republican Party. These
fiscal conservatives don't really care about all the social crap that has come to dominate modern
Republicanism.
Libertarians need to reach out to the
country club Republicans and
small business owners—and when there is a
Republican that is with the program openly support them.
There are still
Goldwater Republicans, who were betrayed by
Reagan, and then totally forsaken by both
Bushes. They are looking for a party.
Most
African-Americans are not
European Socialists—but they are also uncomfortable in the hypocritical party of
Clarence Thomas. The
Libertarian Party stands for everything the civil rights movement was, before it was captured by
leftists who successfully sold the peculiar idea that greater control by a
central government will somehow enhance the
individual freedoms of
minorities.
Libertarians should be hooking up with the
NAACP—and when
Al Sharpton happens to be right—say it, and when
Obama is saying something intelligent and uplifting don't just dismiss him as another
socialist.
The
Libertarian Party is not going to win a single state in the
electoral college for a long time, but there is a lot we can do at the
local level.
In many places with just two or three hundred votes we can gain control of
local governments. If there was a
libertarian on the
Canton city council I doubt they would be throwing people in jail
for not mowing their lawn.
Gilbert, Arizona would not have built a 40 million dollar
Little League ballpark on the
taxpayer's dime--nor banned
Victoria's Secret posters at the mall or yard signs advocating the
recall of the mayor.
The
Shreveport police would not be unleashed on the
baggy pants crowd.
Los Angeles would not be harassing street cart Taco vendors.
Nor would they ban construction of
fast food restaurants.
And
San Francisco would not ban the sale of cigarettes in drug stores.
A
rizona would not prohibit poker playing in social clubs, and
it would not be a felony in Washington State to sit in your undies and play a few hands of
online poker in the privacy of your home.
Assbag school administrators
would not ban hugging, but their ass
would be in a sling if they
stripped searched a fourteen year old girl to find out if she is concealing a Motrin pill..
We should be lobbying for, and raising awareness of, the
American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007 and Representative (R-Arizona)
John Shadegg's Enumerated Powers Act.
And at the
local level, neither of the major parties cares about individual
property rights one bit.
When some hippies organize a
peace march, go with them, we agree on that issue.
And
Latinos—they are predominantly
conservative—but the
Republicans lost that gigantic chunk of the electorate with their vile
xenophobic hate---don't be ashamed of, or minimize, the party's
immigration platform—there is a natural constituency, uncomfortable in either major party.
We need to
get out the message that the big spending
federal government and the policies of the
Federal Reserve are the the cause of the
tax that is beginning to strangle the
Republic and destroy the poor and middle class—
inflation.
There is much real work that can be accomplished, beyond a never ending bitch fest.
And yes, we should run a
presidential candidate—one who is truly a principled
libertarian—one who has worked the bakes sales, peace marches, petition drives, gun shows, and backyard barbecues.
Someone who
Thomas Jefferson would vote for.
Not a turd in the punch bowl--like
Bob Barr.
