"When you give [Democrats and Republicans] your vote, you're telling them 'Go ahead, keep on doing what you're doing,'" explains Libertarian National Committee Vice Chair Arvin Vohra. "And when you vote for the Libertarian candidate you are telling them, in no uncertain terms, 'You do not have either my approval or my permission to grow or sustain big government: shrink it now.'"
As the midterm elections approach, Democrats and Republicans are making their final pleas to win over undecided voters, with some casting Libertarian candidates as "spoilers" in a few key races. But Vorha, himself running as a Libertarian for Maryland's 4th congressional district against Democratic incumbent Donna Edwards, dismisses the charge. Despite his low poll numbers, Vohra sees the act of casting a vote for the Libertarian Party as a pathway to reform. He quotes a former Libertarian candidate: "Not all politicians are smart, but they can all count."
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It's a common refrain from the GOP, when having lost an election to the Democrat candidate, is anything but the ineffectiveness of the GOP campaign, candidate or position on the issues. When a Libertarian candidate is running, that candidate becomes the de facto scapegoat. But there's a few major problems with this tautology.
Libertarians are not Republicans. As such, the GOP has no claim of ownership over any Libertarian votes. Libertarian candidates are also not, as the two major parties and there media enablers would have you believe, "undecided voters" or "independents". Why the American people put up with the concerted effort by the establishment to shoehorn voters into a narrow ideological box with a paper divider....is beyond me. Both major parties exist to grow the size and scope of government and their party power [but I repeat myself].
Finally, if the GOP can't motivate it's base to come out and vote, why do they seek blame elsewhere? If the percentage of registered GOP voters who stay home next week is more than the percentage of Libertarian voters who cast a ballot....there's your problem.
"You do not have either my approval or my permission to grow or sustain big government: shrink it now."
ReplyDeleteWhen this is pretty much the entire extant of your political message, don't be surprised if serious people do not take you seriously. Libertarians are the spoiled, suburban, white, teenage boys who just read The Fountainhead of the political world. Aside from Ron Paul and a couple of others, not an impressive bunch.
JMJ
Says a representative of the party of pompous and entitled. Serious people believe in the enumeration and enforcement of the limited powers of government. Others want unbridled growth of size and scope to fulfill their emotional needs.
DeleteChildren want to be taken care of, they don't want to be responsible. Enter the Democratic Party.
Jersey said: " Libertarians are the spoiled, suburban, white, teenage boys"
ReplyDeleteThat statement looks racist, on your part. Remember, only racists care about race. but lets fact check it, shall we?
Looking at various sources of demographics of the parties. a strong majority of Libertarians is white. But... the same is true of the Democrats. Your own racist claim bit you in the ass, Jersey. Not surprised: racism really stinks and it is good that it did that.
Age? Harder to find. I did find that 62% of Libertarians were under the age of 50, which makes it pretty much impossible that libertarians are "teenagers". Another one of Jersey's claims blown away.
Gender? Let's examine Jersey's sexist attack. More than half of Libertarians are male, with a very large minority who are female.
Suburban? Not sure where to go with this attack, to refute it. Perhaps it is true. On this, perhaps the only valid claim by Jersey concerning Libertarians. Jersey, do you have a source for this? I did find one article that claimed most Libertarians were actually rural (not suburban), but it seemed inconclusive.
I doubt Jersey will say a word on this. It's probably the case of him flinging a pile of dung that is totally unsupported, and running up a tree.
Come on, Jersey, do better....
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CI summarizes Jersey's party with "Says a representative of the party of pompous and entitled."
That is correct. The policies of the left are all about the divine entitlement of those in power to steal from, and lord over, the average Joe.
Good overview. I always find it amusing that the people who downplay Libertarianism the most as ineffectual or minority....are seemingly the most threatened by it, as evidenced in the use of childish pejoratives.
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