The Libertarian Party, A Failing Business

Today's Libertarian party can be summed up by Veruca Salt and her famous line from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory : "I Want It Now!" Although the idealism and principles of the Libertarian Party is admirable, like a teenager they never quite seem to understand that the art of compromise is required when dealing with other people.

For 30 years the party has struggled, never altering its no compromise message, never wavering from its stance of "I'd abolish program X on day one!" To use a quote we are all familiar with "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Yet that is exactly what the Libertarian party keeps doing. Every election they send the same message, expecting that one day the people will suddenly wake up. The ONLY time that message will work is the day the system is so well and truly broken that voting will no longer be an option!

The one thing that has always struck me as odd is the contradiction between the Lib philosophy and the LP in practice. The principles of the free market are constantly brought up by the LP as the ultimate good. Yet in the political arena the LP has not learned that you MUST sell your product to the customer. If your product is not selling, then either:
A) your product needs revamping
or
B) your advertising message is off

Just like any MONOPOLY, the "purist" Libertarian camp has blocked the free market reform of ideas that need to take hold if the Libertarian Party is to become successful. Again we need to view the party as a business in the market of politics. If the business performs poorly, you either shut it down, or look for a new board of directors.

So how do we improve it? First I think we need to emphasize the general principles our party stand for. This means Economic Freedom, and Personal Liberty. Second we need to set our plank based upon the direction we would take the government, NOT the ultimate goal we wish to achieve. Third, we need to press those portions of our platform which the local voters will respond to.

For example, in a conservative district we need to OUT-conservative the standing republican. That means taking a tough stance on issues we support like the 2nd amendment, a balanced budget, illegal immigration. In a liberal district we emphasize our social positions. Drug war reform, gay marriage, anti-patriot act etc.

We need to be able to strip the incumbents of the very issues they run on. We hammer the republicans for passing big government. We hammer the dems for passing the patriot act or the war. But we give our local candidate the freedom to run on part of our platform without running on the whole thing.

Finally just like any business, we need to do customer research. Each local district needs to find what issues made the incumbent a winner, and see which of those promises he broke while in office. If we run the LP like a business, we will win elections. If not we need to declare bankruptcy and close up shop.

Alea iacta est

The Die Is Cast. I feel ill. I am not sure whether it is the thought of Bush being president for another four years, or the fact that the people believed his drivel. I expect more fear, more terror and more security (All in the name of Liberty of course).

The patriot act redux will sail through congress and it will usher in defacto National ID cards. It remains to be seen whether the Department of Homeland Security will gain control of the Social Security employment eligibility database. If so, I'm sure we will see people become "unfit" for employment.

It may be that we've gotten too soft for Liberty. That seems to be the paradox, a Republic starts out destined for greatness because of Liberty. Yet, Liberty itself is its own undoing. It creates wealth and luxury, which in turn breed envy, sloth, and avarice.

The question that keeps going through my mind is: "Is the Republic Dead?" We've had a little over 200 years. That seems to be the natural lifespan for a Republic. Just like Rome we'll talk the talk, as we stride across the globe.

I have read too much History. I can see the path clearly before us, an empire built upon constant war, the division of the rich and poor as the middle class evaporates. Bread and circuses, to placate the poor. If we pay lip service to justice, we'll go back to giving the faithful soldiers of the empire a plot of land in the new territories upon retirement.

With Bush believing he is the voice of god, perhaps he will be the one to finally declare the constitution null and void. Enjoy the Empire, at least one of us should....

Ave Caesar!

Tired of Evil? I.N.V.E.S.T. Your vote.

I have talked to many people this election season who were disgusted with both candidates. The "Debates" were a sham, the Democratic and Republican conventions were merely infomercials, as the candidates were both picked beforehand.

Both candidates are irresponsible at best, and dangerous at worst. Neither candidate could bring themselves to propose a balanced budget. The best they could promise is cutting the 400 Billion dollar deficit in half in 4 years. Either way that will be roughly 1.2 Trillion dollars added to the 7.4 Trillion dollar debt. They both supported the Patriot Act and strongly support the war in Iraq. Both plan to keep American troops there awhile.

Now I know many of you are probably saying "Yeah but what can I do, I REALLY hate candidate X and I don't want to waste my vote!" What if there was a simple way to send a message, AND help your lesser evil candidate at the same time?

What would it be worth to you to see REAL debates? What would it be worth to hear differences on REAL issues? Would five minutes of your time be worth it? Well here it is:

Whoever you think is the lesser evil, find someone you trust who thinks the opposite. If you think Bush is the lesser evil then find a family member or close friend who thinks Kerry is the lesser evil. Make a Deal to vote for neither Bush nor Kerry and both vote third party. What will this do? It will give you peace of mind. You have taken an opposing vote off the field, AND voted FOR a third party.

The best part is, you can sit back and relax, knowing you took a vote from the greater evil, and gave TWO votes to the greater good! It will take no money, no campaigning, no major effort, except talking to that one member of your family who "MUST be nuts voting for that other guy!" If enough people were to do this every year, we could keep the political process on the straight and narrow.

So Don't WASTE your Vote, I.N.V.E.S.T. your vote. And Pass it on.

I'm
Not
Voting
Evil
Starting
Today