Sunday, December 25, 2005

A Libertarian President?

Interesting conjecture here where the author predicts a libertarian winning the Presidency in 2016. Forgive me for being a bit skeptical, having been jaded by involvement with the Libertarian Party for over a decade. I'm used to losing,and losing big time. Then again, the author isn't saying the Libertarian Party, as we know it today, will necessarily be the one winning the office. He predicts some change in the other political parties as well.

I am somewhat offended by his suggestion that President Bush has been promoting libertarian ideals. I guess he is right, though, with the examples he mentions. It's not so much what Bush actually means, in his speeches, it's how other people perceive those remarks. His references to a Bush speech mentioning "freedom" and "liberty" are a bit off, as that's just Bush doublespeak, but overall, I understand pretty much where he's going with this as, again, he's referring to public perception to what Bush is saying.

Where the author and I seem to agree is that individual liberty is the one value most people share in common. Thus, the Libertarian Party being the only party that can claim that as its binding principle, is the one party that will finally bring enough of the various factions of people in this country together to put a libertarian in the White House. He suggests it will happen. Being the skeptic, I'm not so sure, but he makes a decent case. I wonder if I'll live long enough to see if he's right?

4 Comments:

At 12:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wiggle-room Fred is at it again. The U.S. Constitution's winner-take-all system of representation militates against the scenario described by Bast. If we had a parliamentary system it could happen. We are stuck with choosing the lesser of 2 evils. True enough, Bush can talk the talk but has not walked the walk. The collectivists will continue to vote Democrat and the conservo-libertarians Republican with a certain amount of cross traffic and 3rd party vote wasters. What will drive outcomes will be issues perceived to be vital/important. "Barbarians at the gates" versus "bread and circuses" unless it all goes bankrupt in the meantime.

"The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire."
Robert Heinlein

 
At 7:17 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

Hey! I'll be the first to admit to trying to always leave myself some wiggle room, but what does my post have to do with wiggle room?

 
At 5:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I am somewhat offended by his suggestion that President Bush has been promoting libertarian ideals. I guess he is right, though, with the examples he mentions..."

The above statement is definitely a wiggle :o)

 
At 9:34 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

Ok, fair enough.

 

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