Rise of the Libs
October 19, 2007 on 2:43 pm | In Main, Race for Prez |
Not, not those Libs but the other ones — Libertarians. On Time.com yesterday, Michael Kinsley makes a compelling (if oversimplified) case for the rise of Libertarianism, as exemplified by the remarkable showing of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (pictured at left).
As regular readers of this blog know, I have taken two online questionnaires about my presidential preference: the first indicated I am a Paul man, while the second (gasp …) showed me to be in Rudy’s camp.
I think the Paul result was more accurate. Paul is benefiting from two things: his passionate opposition to the Iraq war and advocacy for personal liberties endear him to many on the left; while his emphasis on free markets and self-reliance appeals to traditional conservatives.
Of course, he has no chance of winning the GOP nomination but it’s fun to speculate about why Paul is now raising more money than the much-better-known John McCain. I suspect it’s what Kinsley is suggesting: increasing numbers of voters see both Republicans and Democrats as unprincipled parties without any consistent guiding philosophy.
Dems have no problem, for example, with the government interfering in myriad aspects of our lives, but don’t want it to have any say about abortion. Republicans want “government off our backs,” but are happy to use the full weight of it to fight wars or regulate the content of the Internet. Both parties can be communitarian, but only when it suits their needs.
Speaking of abortion, I’ve heard some people say Paul’s opposition to abortion betrays his otherwise Libertarian principles. Nonsense. Libertarians are not anarchists. If you passionately believe that a fetus is a human being (a valid POV, I believe), then it is perfectly consistent with Libertarianism to insist that the state protect the innocent victim from harm.
Be that as it may, the lack of principles of both parties is what prevents me from registering with one of them. I’ve walked in to the town clerk’s office before with the goal of affiliating myself with a party but could never bring myself to sign on the dotted line.
Go, Ron … but better yet, Go Red Sox! First things first …
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If I had the time, I could go on for pages about the demise of the Libertarian Party as a viable alternative to the donkey/pachyderm paradigm.
Phiospohically, I think there are wonderful ideas within their manifesto; of their many problems I think the foremost is that they have never produced a candidate in any election capable of developing a following and implementing a few ideas.
Methinks Americans secretly really like their Big Brothers.
I hope this post of yours generates a lengthy discussion…it’s one worth having.
Comment by Doug Richardson — October 20, 2007 #
Greetings from Hilton Head, South Carolina. We’re seeing more Ron Paul bumper stickers down here. No Red Sox decals, though. Red Sox nation? They pledge allegiance to a different flag down here.
Comment by Terrence McCarthy — October 20, 2007 #
The heck with the Libs and the Red Sox. What about the demise of Joe Torre? I’ve been waiting to see a blog on it from you, Terry, especially since you’re good friends from way back with one of the prime evil-doers, Amenia resident Randy Levine, who’s being portrayed in the media as a Grade A blowhard.
Comment by Steve Barlow — October 20, 2007 #
Doug,
You’re right, this could be the subject of a long debate, but there are stalwart two-party types who insist it is the best platform from which to govern and if you don’t like either of the two parties, then you should work to change them from the inside out.
Many of these people (typically Republicans) say competition makes people perform better, but they insist that the duopoly is best for America. Go figure … I say sometimes you have to blow out the carbons and start fresh.
Steve,
For the uninitiated and in the interests of disclosure, you and I go back about 10 years when you were editor of The Millerton News and I was your reporter. And also for the record, you are the best editor I ever worked for.
Randy Levine, who is now the Yankees president (or was last time I checked), was at that time one of Rudy Giuliani’s deputy mayors and he had a part home in Amenia. One of his neighbors on Leedsville Road (a McEnroe whose first name escapes me) was building a McMansion next door to Randy.
Levine and his wife, Mindy Franklin, sued the town of Amenia, alleging McEnroe’s building permit was issued in violation of the town’s own building code. Evidently Levine complained so loudly as to attract the attention of the New York Department of State, which descended one afternoon on Amenia town hall and seized its building department for about a year.
It became a circus, with high-priced lawyers parading in and out of town hall and accusing the town’s attorney of a conflict of interest, and a scathing report from Albany about the Amenia building department, which (truth be told) probably wasn’t any more disorganized than any other small town in the state.
I interviewed Levine a couple of times and he seemed like a nice enough guy, but he also struck me as someone who could be a really tough customer if you crossed him. The town of Amenia saw what happened if you crossed him.
I haven’t seen Levine’s name mentioned in any media reports about Torre, but I haven’t followed the situation that closely either. I do think it’s too bad the Yanks threw Torre under the bus. He has been one of the best managers in Yankee history, but they’re in a rebuilding year. So what does the demented Steinbrenner do? Instead of firing Torre outright (like he used to do with Billy Martin), he offers him a contract that includes a pay cut, knowing all along Torre would be so humiliated as to quit. Sounds like a political split-the-difference move to me. A real class act …
Terry2,
Hope you’re enjoying SC. Go Red Sox!
P.S. Steve, Levine left Amenia several years ago. Last I heard he had rented a part-time residence in Dover Plains.
Comment by Terry — October 20, 2007 #
As much as I would like to think that a good political dicussion would occur about the upcoming Presidential election and the politics of the broken American two party system, it seems that dicussing sports takes the day in the country.
Maybe that is why politcal change comes so hard. If we put all of the politicians in sports uniforms, then folks would become interested in the future of our nation and world.
As for your continued ‘he does not have a chance’ (Congressman Paul) … I sure wish you would stop that!
He has as much of a chance of taking the nomination of the Republican Party as any of those othere clowns on the stage.
Comment by Michael J. Flint — October 22, 2007 #
Michael,
I’m just being a realist, Paul will not win the nomination. And even if he did, Hillary would do a bang-up job of painting him as an extremist. He’d be lucky to carry 4 or 5 states. Too bad …
Comment by Terry — October 22, 2007 #
Terry …
I have a real problem with people constantly stating that someone ‘doesn’t have a chance’.
In these political times, the doors are open to just about anything.
Your arguments are sound (I must confess), however I still think that you are writing off someone before the real polls start …
I think Paul has a chance to start creating some upset in the Republican Party and may actually be a major part of the guiding force to create the change which my party needs to continue into the future.
Regardless of winning or losing the nomination, I truly believe he may show strength that causes the bosses of the party to take pause and listen carefully.
The biggest question that is truly out there is …
Will the party bosses listen or will they be deaf like so many of those in charge of Republican organizations are?
Comment by Michael J. Flint — October 22, 2007 #
It seems pretty clear that Ron Paul takes more votes from the Dems than the GOP. Republican insiders are praying that he makes a third party move.
Also:
Republicans are happy to “regulate the content of the Internet”.
Really? I seemed to have missed that.
Comment by Jake — January 8, 2008 #