Sunday, May 16, 2010

Why Libertarian?

The main reason I'm running as a Libertarian, besides my predisposition to their philosophies, is that the Ds and Rs have run the country for 150 years, trading back and forth, and they've made a mess of it. The best they've ever done is in periods where one party controlled congress, and the other controlled the presidency. They couldn't agree on how to mess things up, and could only agree on how to save money and eliminate waste.

On the other hand, when one party has at least 51% of both houses of congress, and the presidency, they make a huge mess of things. Think the Democrats now, or the Republicans in '00-'06. I want to help make the Libertarian Party a real alternative that can eventually hold enough seats in any legislature to prevent any one party from owning it completely. If no party ever has a majority, they will all have to work with at least one other party to get anything done. This will pull the country together rather than driving it apart. We will have to reach compromises with each other instead of only talking to people who agree with us.

I'm also running as a Libertarian because I believe in small, local government. The Federal government should be very small, to keep all 300 million US citizens happy. State governments should take on a lot more responsibility than they do now, and most issues should be settled at a state level. If you are unhappy with how your state is being run, it is a lot easier to change, and ultimately easier to move to another state than it is to move to another country.

The Libertarian Party is also less established and so exerts much less influence over its state affiliate parties and candidates. This means that Libertarian candidates and future Libertarian office-holders are beholden to the voters in their districts, and vote to represent them, rather than voting to represent the entrenched special interests and party establishments running the show in the other two parties. No Libertarian would have supported TARP or the bailouts and we've been kicking and screaming since.

By introducing the Libertarians as a real "Third Way", we can show the other two parties exactly what they are doing wrong in a way they MUST address in order to maintain any influence over the electorate. Even if the Libertarian Party never holds a majority and never takes the Presidency, we can serve as a moderating influence on the other two parties and a referee to their disagreements.

Please support your local Libertarian affiliate by attending local meetings and becoming acquainted with party leaders. I don't know of any politician anywhere who will say no to donations!

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