Why I'm Leaning Libertarian

I turned forty this year.  The older I get, the more interested I become in the condition of our nation, the prospects for our future as a people, and how these things are being determined by the elected officials in Washington. 

Through most of my 20's and 30's I was a Christian, conservative, right wing Republican.  Now, as I begin my fifth decade (oh crap...that sounds weird), I am still a Christian.  I am still conservative.  I am now more centrist.  And I can no longer call myself a Republican.  And though I come from a family of Democrats (as does my wife) I can not even begin to consider the Democratic party of today as a viable option for me.

Both parties have abandoned their values and jettisoned the planks that once made them great.  The Democratic party is no longer the Democratic party of my ancestors.  And the Republicans are no longer the Republicans of Ronald Reagan.  Today, the Democrats have become socialists.  And the Republicans have embraced the philosophy of big government, deficit spending, and global imperialism.

We the people now find ourselves as little more than a "pesky constituency" to be ignored (or at best, insultingly patronized) as we are governed without representation by men and women convinced that the government knows best, as they dangle from the puppet strings of special interest groups.

That was a really long run-on sentence to say simply, you and I are not being represented by the men and women we elect to represent us.

The more I learn about the controlling parties and the way things work in Washington, the more convinced I become that Democrats and Republicans will destroy this country if they are permitted to remain in power unaccountable and unchallenged by the people.

This is my country.

This is your country.

America was intended to be a republic with sovereignty resting in the people.

We have allowed it to be stolen from us.

I've spent a couple of years wondering what I should do as a responsible citizen of this nation.  I eventually discovered the Libertarian Party.  I've heard about them for many years but always figured they were some wacko group hanging out and smoking dope with all of the other wannabe parties like the Greens and the Communists. 

I've come to understand, however, that the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party - behind the terrible two - and that there is a growing wave of disgruntled Americans rallying behind them.  I've also come to understand that the Libertarian party places personal liberty as the highest ideal (the ideal fought for by our revolutionary forefathers), believes that large and oppressive government funded through heavy taxation is an atrocity, and embraces a foreign policy of separatism.

As I've researched, I've come to the conclusion that I would feel quite safe, free, and hopeful with a Libertarian government.  The federal budget would be slashed as unnecessary and oppressive agencies and entitlement programs are disbanded and needless wars are avoided.  My taxes would go down (or at least not rise).  My children and grandchildren would eventually crawl out from under our hopelessly gargantuan national debt.  Industry and commerce would be free to innovate, flourish, and lead us back to the forefront of the global economy.  We would develop a sound energy policy freeing us from the control of dictators around the world.  We would be the masters of our own destiny accountable only to God, to one another, and with our leaders accountable to us.

I also recognize that there are some who would have to make significant adjustments under a Libertarian government.  Those who depend upon the government to take care of them would have to learn to be...independent.  Those who don't like to work would have to...work.  Those who make foolish choices and find themselves suffering the consequences of those choices would have to...learn from their mistakes.

I'm willing to give it a shot.  The alternative - continued Democratic and Republican tyranny - is indeed bleak.

To learn more about the Libertarian Party, visit their website.  And allow me to introduce you to the website of Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr.   

Comments

[Bradley Hankins]

Nice words. You are right, the Democrat and Republic parties of today are ripping the country apart. There will be difference in opinion, yes I know, but the way they fight and not even try to work together is threatening our great nation. The Democrats are becoming very socialist, and wish to control everything, and the Republicans are using too much power and too much money, and are throwing out failing policies. I do not want someone who wants to control me, and I don't want someone who will waste my money.

I was once a staunch defender of John McCain. On of the main reasons why I liked him was because he wasn't a "true" Republican as they call him, but a liberal conservative. It was the closest thing to what I believed. I never really like the Democrats to start, as said above, they have become to socialist, and want to control my life, my decisions, and take more of my money away to give to others. I like the money that I get, and I wish to keep most of it to be honest.

But, I noticed the Libertarian Party, and though, as you did, they were just crazy, but I did do some research, and I looked up their front man, Bob Barr, and I liked most everything about him. That's why I changed my mind.

But besides all that, I don't believe in the party system in which the U.S. has now. It creates too much labeling, and that is not what America needs right now. George Washington warned us about creating political parties, and that one day it would haunt us. Now we see that it has. I believe people should choose who they want to vote for by what the people believe in, what they will do, and what they have done. You should not vote for someone just because they belong to a certain party, or because they are a certain sex, or a certain race. That's just ignorance, and this country needs real people to lead us.

And thanks for coming by and commenting, I would love to link, matter of fact I will add yours now, plus post about your site, as I believe you are on the right track, and more people need to know about this place (not like many people come to mine!)

[Zak Carter]

My walk and yours are on parallel paths -

A Declaration of Withdrawal from the Republican Party

My reasons for leaving the Party that I’ve felt at home in since I became politically aware are numerous. I will start with quoting countless conservatives who feel as I do - I didn’t so much leave the Republican Party, it was the Party that left me. The elected Republican officials failed to implement a conservative agenda, despite having the Presidency and both houses of congress. No Child Left Behind, Prescription Drug Entitlements; they even tried to force Amnesty for illegal aliens upon us. They have given us a government that would make even LBJ blush. Our businesses and land have more regulatory red tape to deal with than ever.

Where is the Republican Party that stood for limited government, personal responsibility, a strong national defense, and against being the world’s policeman? As recently as the 90’s Republicans railed against a foreign policy of “making the world safe for democracy”, (which is historically the Democrats foreign policy, ala Woodrow Wilson) when Bill Clinton was President and he took us to war in Bosnia and Kosovo, without U.N. approval I might add. Which reminds me, the United Nations is something the GOP used to believe we needed to get out of, not an institution to be defended when a rogue nation violates U.N. resolutions.

I am also reminded of former Senator Robert Taft, who was known in his day as Mr. Republican, when he said “I do not believe any policy which has behind it the threat of military force is justified as part of the basic foreign policy of the United States except to defend the liberty of our own people” and my favorite President - Thomas Jefferson, who said “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, and entangling alliances with none.”

From its inception, the Republican Party advocated a humble foreign policy in line with our founding fathers recommendations, now, with John McCain as the leader and voice of the GOP, we are told to get behind his idea for a “League of Democracies” which sounds terrifyingly similar to Wilson and his Progressive Democrats “League of Nations” almost 100 years ago.

We are also being told by McCain that we will have to Cap and Trade our liberty and our pursuit of happiness in the fight against global warming, essentially that if we don’t give government more money and power, utopia will never be reached.

Some have told me that I should support him because he will appoint conservative judges, but I ask these questions - 1. Who’s definition of conservative are we talking about? And 2. Why would I trust the man on this issue when he is one of the “Gang of 14” who was blocking President Bush’s conservative lower federal court and Circuit Courts of Appeal judicial nominees? I would also remind you of his historical propensity to appease those even more liberal than himself. His version of “reaching across the aisle” looks more like a group hug when he crafts legislation like the McCain / Kennedy and McCain / Feingold bills. McCain / Feingold happens to be the reason McCain should not get the NRA’s endorsement, the NRA spent years fighting this trampling of our 1st amendment rights. McCain has not been the solid 2nd amendment supporter he would like you to believe he is - he had a barely passing “C” grade from the NRA in his last senate run in 04’ , and in 2000 worked with Americans for Gun Safety, an anti-gun group with a deceiving name.

The differences between McCain and Obama are minimal, when you consider that both believe big government can save you from yourself, and that we can save other nations from themselves as well. Given McCain’s track record of conciliatory dealings with Democrats, I fear what this man would do with a Democratic House and Senate. I will not play along with the game of lesser of two evils, as I believe that is part of what has plunged this nation into the mess we find ourselves today.

Once upon a time the Republican Party stood against special interests, corruption and abuse of power. Today their candidates campaign is “ of the lobbyist, by the lobbyist, for the lobbyist.” A man who admits Washington’s corruption has tainted him. Google Keating 5 and read all about it.

The Republican Party today would be unrecognizable to my favorite Republicans of yesterday, such as Barry Goldwater, who said “ A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take it all away.” President Eisenhower, who warned us of the Military Industrial Complex, and one whose party membership is a surprise to many today but shouldn’t be, Martin Luther King Jr. “ Violence is a poor chisel for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” The party is just as unrecognizable to myself and others of my generation.

I had to draw a line in the sand, and the Republican Party wasted no time in crossing it, when they and the President pushed for “economic stimulus checks.” The only problem is this, the money isn’t money that we have, its money we are borrowing, and our excessive borrowing becomes a tax on future generations, as we wont be paying it off any time soon. Want to try to sell this as economically conservative? Excessive borrowing and spending has the added affect of devaluing our currency, so it acts as a hidden tax on us today. As I heard one of the presidential candidates say in regards to these stimulus checks, “ Whose economy are we stimulating here? Ours or Chinas? We are borrowing more money from China so everyone can go buy more stuff made in China.” I get it, others in the GOP get it, so why doesn’t the party leadership?

I can’t take anymore disrespect for conservative values, and unless the Republican Party wakes up and gets it’s head on straight real soon, I will be taking my vote, my time, energy, money, and passion from the GOP and taking it to the Libertarian Party to send a message to the Republican leadership that I will not be taken for granted. I believe that it is solid conservatism that wins the day and elections - limited government, individual responsibility, and a strong national DEFENSE (secure the borders!), not conciliation and surrender to Democrats to the point that our differences become blurry.

The Libertarian Party seems to be a perfect temporary home, the GOP has its work cut out if its sincere about winning me back, even President Reagan said “Libertarianism is the very heart and soul of conservatism.” I will be doing everything I can to sway like minded conservatives to join me in this exodus and vote for Bob Barr for President and Wayne Root for Vice President on the Libertarian ticket. Both of them were recently Republicans, and are among those countless conservatives I‘ve heard myself say “ It wasn’t that I left the Republican Party, it was the Party that left me.”

Thanks and God Bless, from Zak Carter