This bitch is prompted by a recent news article - about the Libertarian Party’s four candidates vying for it’s party’s support to run for President. Okay, where do I start.

I am a Libertarian. If you’re a regular visitor to this website, you are probably a Libertarian too. But I am definitely not a member of the Libertarian Party. How can I be? Many people regard the party as a joke and the party continually proves that it is.

Point One (spurred by the article): If the party were truly interested in making a legislative difference in the United States, the very last thing it should be doing is trying to run a candidate for President. This effort achieves only three things:

1. 1)It generates a few light-reading news articles
   

2. 2)It helps nanny-state liberals win the Presidential election
   

3. 3)It wastes the party’s efforts and resources
   

What the party should be doing, in terms of elections, is identifying congressional races throughout the United States where a Libertarian candidate has a good shot and get a candidate running there.

There is no way in hell this party will ever get a President elected, certainly not until a significant portion of the US Congress is Libertarian. Meanwhile, congress has exactly ZERO Libertarian members and absolutely no direct legislative influence there. Sigh.

Point Two: The party completely ignores issues that are important to Libertarians and are endangered NOW.

What do most people think of, or read about for that matter, when the subject of the Libertarian Party comes up?

Making illegal drugs legal

Eliminating Public Education (for purely private Education)

Opposition to the War on Terror (i.e. preemptive war)

Opposition to Gambling restrictions

The first three: Lofty goals. Great on paper. Not going to to happen for

            a very long time, if ever.

The fourth: Talk about supporting a ringer.

What do you NEVER hear the Libertarian Party address loudly?

Opposition to Smoking Bans

Opposition to Outrageous DUI Laws

Opposition to targeted/social-policy motivated Tax Increases

Why? These issues are NOW. Real people and real businesses are having their freedoms stripped away now, being turned into criminals needlessly, and suffering social engineering efforts - but the Libertarian party is mute. One would think that the above issues of now would be at the top of their priorities, would be their calling cards to voters, would be ironclad in the Party’s planks. But they are not.

As the Republican party turns away from the concept of individual liberties and turns toward “evangelicalism” and the Democratic Party, uh, remains the Democratic Party, one would think the Libertarian party would step up and fill in the need - but they are not. They embrace the perception of “pot-head, anti-school, anti-war hippies” who’s only claim to fame is a failed run at the presidency every election cycle.