The Libertarian Guy (tm)

Why Libertarians didn't do well in the Missouri primary

I can't speak for other states' Libertarian primary voters, nor for all my fellows here in Missouri, but I can gather that the presence of Ron Paul on the Republican ballot, drew a lot of votes from our group of candidates.

It's not surprising, given that Paul ran as a Libertarian candidate in the past, and has been a thorn in the side of big-government Republicans his entire Congressional career. Personally, I'm glad he does that, and that he's running one more time for the big-time slot.

Unfortunately, his efforts have been maligned or ignored by the media. The Weekly Standard - home of neo-conservative dunderheads like William Kristol - posited this bit of tripe hidden in a screed praising the ascendancy of John McCain:



The moral vacuity of dogmatic libertarianism is poisonous to public life. By teaching that 'greed is good,' strict free-market ideology holds out the promise that private vices can be public virtues. Recent congressional history has laid bare the fallacy of this argument. Republicans who proclaimed from the stump that greed was good turned out to believe it when they got into office, amassing earmarks and bridges to nowhere by means of their newfound powers. Why should we be surprised? To expect them to do otherwise would be to expect that men sometimes risk their self-interest for the sake of the public good, which our economist friends tell us is impossible. Conservatives who forget that the free market is properly a piece of policy rather than an ideological end-in-itself not only obscure the importance of individual virtue, they undermine it.


Good God, this could have been written by Paul Krugman.


This is part of an overall problem Libertarians have with the RepubliCrat mindset: They think we only care about money and self-gratification. Of course, it's a bit more complicated than that, but such is the business of being Big Government Fans, which infect the ranks of both Brand X parties so badly, they're willing to vote for McCain, Huckabee, Obama, or Hillary. The State is Your Friend, they preach, to varying degrees, and by the Power invested in the State, they will make your life wonderful and perfect.

Of course, rational people know government can't do that... nor should it. But try asking Hillary if she has any faith in the private sector, or asking McCain for that matter. Huckabee is a control freak and a populist, and his only saving grace is being an advocate for the FairTax. Romney won't even acknowledge that the FairTax is a thinkable alternative to the God-awful tax code inflicted upon us with help by... yep... John McCain.


Yes, I'm glad Ron Paul is running, but I'll be supporting the Libertarian candidates come November. Friends don't let friends vote RepubliCrat. And while I have friends, that advice applies to the individual as well.


Now, go ye forth... and have a government-approved day.

Labels: 2008 election, Hillary, Libertarian, nanny-state, paternalism, Republican, Ron Paul, socialism, statism

posted by The Libertarian Guy @ 10:04 AM