I am asked, “Why don’t you run as a Republican? You could do so much good in the Republican Party.” I should not be upset. After all, it’s sort of a compliment – “They like me. They really like me!” It’s hard to respond because I don’t feel like knocking anyone’s attempt at freedom or smaller government.
Some in the Libertarian Party might take exception to my comment “I believe in Principle before Party.” I do believe this, but let me say I also believe the Libertarian Party needs to flourish and become a true option for the American people. It would be silly for me to tell people that they should not always vote for party and then tell them that they should only vote for mine. However, I would like to take this time to explain the many reasons why I believe people should vote Libertarian and run as Libertarians.
But My Teacher Says…
I was forwarded a letter the other day from the Texas Secretary of State. It was an instructional tool for teachers to help them explain to students why we have a two-party system. It went on to say that “it helps preserve majority rule in a democratic state.” If you know me, you would understand why this completely gets under my skin. We don’t have a two-party system. If you look in the constitution, you will not find any mention of having parties whatsoever. I am quick to point out that the words majority rule, democratic, and democracy are also all not found in the constitution. Not once.
Democracy is the idea that people can vote themselves things. But the first question is where do things come from? That is where it should hit you. A direct democracy is theft. It is legal theft, but it is not much different than a gang with guns stealing from you. Because if you do not submit to the will of the majority, a man with a gun will soon come and take your stuff, and possibly put you in jail.
A simpler analogy is that democracy is simply two wolves and a lamb voting on what is for dinner, and you can bet that the answer will be lamb chops.
So we actually live in a republic. The difference is that individuals have rights, and the government has no power to take them away. This is why we have a constitution. So as Thomas Jefferson put it, “In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution.”
I personally do not have any confidence in the man known as a politician, except that he is probably a “confidence man” (con-man for you kids out there). Which is why I ask the left and the right, “If we are all so sure the government is corrupt, why be so quick to give them more power?”
When we are taught that we only have two parties, they are robbing us of choice. What we really have is a majority opinion, and no one standing up for the opinion or rights of the minority. This smells a lot like lamb chops cooking to me.
Libertarians endorse many methods of ending the two party monopoly. Among them are Ranked or Approval Voting. Either is a step in the right direction from where we are now.
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This however, may be extreme.
Libertarians are not extreme. In fact by most people’s definitions we would be extremely moderate. Of course most Libertarians would say that saying this damages our street cred. But let me explain.
I think that the idea of taking our money and giving it to the banks is extreme. I think the idea of taking our money and giving it to the car companies is extreme. I think the idea of taking our money and giving it to insurance companies so they can continue to jack up health care costs is extreme.
I think that spending a trillion dollars a year to be the world’s police is extreme when regardless of what you think of our foreign policy, we simply can’t afford it. And considering our war on terror actually creates more terror than it stops, it seems….. extremely…………………….extreme.
I think it’s extreme that we know that our society safety net, medicare, social security, etc… has over 30 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities , and is unsustainable, yet we continue to pursue these types of social programs when the facts clearly show that these programs do more to increase prices on health care and do nothing to alleviate poverty.
So we have forced people to have insurance, in order to be able to afford health care, which benefits the insurance companies and special interests but clearly does not benefit the average American. You can look at it as a micro-manager and say we must be able to afford insurance, but that would be EXTREME because common sense tells you to isolate the root of the problem and it is obviously government’s involvement that has made health care unaffordable.
Telling people what they can grow, or put in their body, or how to regulate their diet…. is extreme.
The idea that the government is going to tell you who you can or can not marry, or what religion you should or should not practice is extreme when neither is government’s business.
Libertarians aren’t extreme………our government is extreme.
