I'll Be Dipped!
I'm stunned. Happy, but stunned. For the first time in a LONG time, the Libertarian Party actually nominated a ticket that might have real appeal to real voters. Granted, there's a very good chance that the Barr/Root ticket will gather it's usual 400,000 - 600,000 votes nationwide and fade into obscurity, but as someone who's watched the ideological purists and holier-than-thou "radicals" in the LP serve up exciting and savvy presidential candidates like Michael Badnarik and David Bergland, it's nice to think that IF, by some miracle, Bob Barr gets into a presidential debate or gets an opportunity to present the LP message on TV or radio (or on the internet, for that matter), at least he won't embarrass himself and the party (which ... in fact ... is an OLD LP tradition).
This isn't to say Bob Barr is a perfect candidate. He's certainly no Ron Paul. Whereas Ron has been a libertarian pretty much from the first time he stepped into the Capitol, Bob was a pretty typical statist Republican. He certainly did some unlibertarian things (i.e. the Patriot Act and the Defense of Marriage Act, among others). Do I really believe that he's changed his mind and seen the light and become a "real" libertarian??
Could be. It's certainly possible. At least he's learned to look and sound like one. He seems to have grasped the philosophy. He carries himself professionally with a certain amount of dignity and class. And since the function of an LP presidential campaign is to spread the message and attract new members, that's good enough for me.
On top of this, it's been nice seeing the "purists" take it on the chin again. I don't get this "purist" thing. I never did. All the through the 80's and 90's, when I was very active in the LP, I could never get over the fact that the "purists" were more concerned about keeping the LP a small, ideologically pure club rather than building it into a real political party. Real political parties work to win races. Everyone doesn't have to agree with everyone else about every issue ... it's about getting to the point where you win enough votes to do something productive. If there's one thing we should have learned from the Ron Paul campaign this year, it's that people respond to libertarian ideas when they're communicated as compact, individual issues. The smarter voters (i.e. the overwhelming minority) may actually recognize there's a coherent, reasonable philosophy behind libertarian ideas. If they do, great. But if streamlining libertarian thought into compact, digestible sound bites motivates the dumbmasses to vote for us .... even better!! Votes are what political parties need to get the power to make change happen.
And then, I read proclamations in the blogosphere that run like this: if Bob Barr is the LP nominee, then I'm going to vote for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. What? Bob Barr isn't libertarian enough for you, so you're going to support the candidate of a party that is christo-fascist beyond even the GOP? Read the CP platform, then read the LP platform. If you really think that the Barr/Root ticket makes the LP "just like" the CP, I want some of whatever you're smoking.
The LP now has a platform that is quite libertarian, but not fodder for journalists looking for crackpot ramblings. There are signs that the national party leadership is professionalizing. The LP has a credible presidential candidate. And since (most unfortunately) Ron Paul isn't going to win in Minneapolis this summer, come November there will only be one libertarian candidate to vote for: Bob Barr.
It may not be the "purest" vote you'll ever cast, but it's a hell of a lot closer to Ron Paul than any of the other rabid statists out there.
This isn't to say Bob Barr is a perfect candidate. He's certainly no Ron Paul. Whereas Ron has been a libertarian pretty much from the first time he stepped into the Capitol, Bob was a pretty typical statist Republican. He certainly did some unlibertarian things (i.e. the Patriot Act and the Defense of Marriage Act, among others). Do I really believe that he's changed his mind and seen the light and become a "real" libertarian??
Could be. It's certainly possible. At least he's learned to look and sound like one. He seems to have grasped the philosophy. He carries himself professionally with a certain amount of dignity and class. And since the function of an LP presidential campaign is to spread the message and attract new members, that's good enough for me.
On top of this, it's been nice seeing the "purists" take it on the chin again. I don't get this "purist" thing. I never did. All the through the 80's and 90's, when I was very active in the LP, I could never get over the fact that the "purists" were more concerned about keeping the LP a small, ideologically pure club rather than building it into a real political party. Real political parties work to win races. Everyone doesn't have to agree with everyone else about every issue ... it's about getting to the point where you win enough votes to do something productive. If there's one thing we should have learned from the Ron Paul campaign this year, it's that people respond to libertarian ideas when they're communicated as compact, individual issues. The smarter voters (i.e. the overwhelming minority) may actually recognize there's a coherent, reasonable philosophy behind libertarian ideas. If they do, great. But if streamlining libertarian thought into compact, digestible sound bites motivates the dumbmasses to vote for us .... even better!! Votes are what political parties need to get the power to make change happen.
And then, I read proclamations in the blogosphere that run like this: if Bob Barr is the LP nominee, then I'm going to vote for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. What? Bob Barr isn't libertarian enough for you, so you're going to support the candidate of a party that is christo-fascist beyond even the GOP? Read the CP platform, then read the LP platform. If you really think that the Barr/Root ticket makes the LP "just like" the CP, I want some of whatever you're smoking.
The LP now has a platform that is quite libertarian, but not fodder for journalists looking for crackpot ramblings. There are signs that the national party leadership is professionalizing. The LP has a credible presidential candidate. And since (most unfortunately) Ron Paul isn't going to win in Minneapolis this summer, come November there will only be one libertarian candidate to vote for: Bob Barr.
It may not be the "purest" vote you'll ever cast, but it's a hell of a lot closer to Ron Paul than any of the other rabid statists out there.
posted by DrJDG @ 23:57
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