Political Homelessness
I’m a Libertarian. I think I have been since I was five-years-old. My fundamental value is a belief in the right to be free. Since the Great Depression, government has slowly taken more and more power and responsibility away from individuals and it did it mostly with the consent of American people.
I’m a Reagan kid. He was called the great communicator, and it makes sense to me because I could comprehend his fundamental belief in limited government even as a young child. Liking Reagan made me feel like my political home was in the Republican Party. William F. Buckley, the great Libertarian intellectual and friend of Ronald Reagan, convinced me that I was really a Libertarian more than a conservative. Buckley felt at home in the Republican Party and that was good enough for me.
Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America was yet another welcome mat that made me feel at home in the Republican Party. I even used to call myself a conservative. Not anymore though. The Reagan Revolution is over and Republicans have rejected his mission to shrink government control over our lives.
I’m a Libertarian who believes government is too big and it doesn’t serve the goal of making men free. Not one of the three candidates for president believes in Reagan’s message that government is the problem not the solution.
McCain sounds like a Democrat when he speaks against tax cuts that are “for the rich.”
Hillary fundamentally believes in tax-payer funded healthcare one group at a slippery-slope time.
Obama understands liberty the least when he says things like, “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times.” He should be saying, “Yes we can!”
If we truly are in an energy crisis, isn’t it tame we roll up our sleeves and fix it? To do that, we have to strip away irrational regulation that keeps us from getting oil wherever we can find it. We need to build clean nuclear power plants that will be ready to charge our future electric cars (or whatever we end up with). We need to innovate like never before because there are solutions out there. Energy is everywhere and if America is still the great nation I grew up pledging allegiance to, we’ll capture it and improve the lives of people around the planet.
If someone starts talking like that rather than about regulating my thermostat setting, I might register to vote, but for now, I’m still politically homeless.
13 Responses to “Political Homelessness”
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As a fan I am hesitant to comment on this post because in general political perspectives are contentious and the least open to genuine feedback. That said… here goes.
Obama isn’t planning to legislate on SUV’s and 72 degree homes. He is, and I realize we haven’t seen it in a while, attempting to use his bully pulpit to appeal to our better angels. The angels that tell us that unbridled consumption of gas,(consumer electronics?), food or anything else is gluttony not a birthright. He did a similiar thing in Hollywood when speaking to entertainment executives. He said that free speech comes with the responsibility to not present adult themes to children. He quickly added that he wasn’t supporting legislation of this. He was in fact simply conveying commonsense to a group that sometimes ignores it.
His energy plan fully embraces your call for innovation. His hesitancy on nuclear power is not dogmatic. He has said that if we can find a safe storage solution for the nuke plants waste stream he would embrace the clean power these plants can provide. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/energy/
Max, don’t worry. It’s a pretty safe place to comment about politics. The only thing that really triggers my personal defense system when people make judgment about my personal choices. Don’t, for example, ask me what I’m doing to reduce my carbon footprint, and you’ll pretty much be safe.
Obama doesn’t stand a chance with me because he isn’t a small government guy. I’m inclined to love Hillary, if she could abandon the evil that is socialized medicine. McCain is just meh.
Also, I don’t agree with Obama telling Hollywood that they have any responsibility with regard to children. As a Libertarian, I believe Hollywood has a responsibility to make good art. Parents have the responsibility to protect their kids.
I would LOVE to be inspired to believe in someone like Obama, Clinton or McCain, but none of them are standing for individual liberty. They’re all suggesting that government can provide solutions. It isn’t true and never has been.
I just want someone who stands for freedom to run.
As long as the sum of your politics and personal choices don’t severely impact my personal life, then whatever choices you make are A-OK in my book.
It’s interesting that liberty is your hook into this election. It’s true that the candidates haven’t been discussing it that much — at least not directly. McCain would infringe on personal liberty through his support of current anti-terrorism policies. Obama and Clinton would interfere with your ability to choose in a single-payer healthcare system.
What type of “individual liberty “are you talking about, Neal? Your inalienable rights? Financial freedom? The political system you participate in?
Neal I am an absolutist on the 1st Amendment so I can appreciate if not entirely agree with your perspective. Thanks for hearing me out.
I almost agree with everything you said. I have a deep appreciation for the National Parks and Reserves. There has to be a incredibly clean and well kept cleaning plan used to get my approval for drilling in the AWR, yet I’m not looking for them to please PETA either. If the lands were not protected, the liberty of the people would have already destroyed those places.
@Michael – I’m a huge lover of national parks too. Visiting Yellowstone last year was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Based on photos I’ve seen of ANWAR, it’s no Yellowstone. It’s mostly desolate.
The first thing I did when I heard discussions about drilling in ANWAR is search for photos.
@SPAMBOY – It isn’t a particular thing. It’s general. Maybe I’m a born-again Christian rebel because I don’t want government to restrict my liberty beyond what God does.
Dude! You are soooo Texas.
Like, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMk208Op1Jc texas.
I think you guys are a bit looney down there (maybe it’s the heat)
But, I love driving on the back roads of your state, very polite drivers.
Uh, didn’t Reagan have something to do with that Iran/Contra bit? Sounds like power grabbing american conservatism to me. I really don’t see how Bush and Bush were worse. You want libertarian, that might have been Carter.
Don’t take it personally, we’re all politically homeless. Searching for a least of the current evils has been a national passtime for a long time.
Something positive would be to look for things that actually work elsewhere. Canadian or Australian healthcare (and where they don’t work, fix that too). Don’t be stupid about it.
IMO, the democrats are conservative. But compared to the current republican fascist platform, anyone would look liberal. I’m expecting brown shirts any day now.
Politics is sales. Selling complex solutions is difficult. Also, getting complex legislation through Congress unscathed seems impossible. I’d run, but i have no sales skills, and am not smart enough to know how to achieve any worthwhile goals.
Neal, I am a conservative and a federalist. None of the political candidates meet my criteria. No one has since President Regan. But vote. Find the best of the choices you have and vote. More importantly vote locally. I believe the local voting is the most important and the least appreciated.
TOTALLY!!
You’ve told my story nearly exactly. Loved Reagan, loved the contract with America, am terrified by the Patriot Act and have been voting straight-libertarian tickets ever-since.
Obama was rated a whopping 5 out of 100 by the National Taxpayer’s Union (yes, that’s a FIVE PERCENT. I’ve not seen a metric that low since college physics).
Thusly, I am terrified by Obama’s policies, but, I have a total man-crush (Scrubs-style) on the guy. It’s really refreshing to hear somebody actually coming from a place of love, hope and sanity.
I’ll probably still vote for Bob Barr, though.
Given that I’m effectively an undecided voter in a swing state (Colorado), I hope the candidates get here and give sufficient notice that I’ll be able to see them all!
Much love and keep up the weight loss. I’m in the same boat with you, dude.
Love to the both of ya,
– Greg
I don’t stop buy daily so I missed this post when it first came up. How strange. I was just reading Newt Gingrich’s book last week and wondering what the heck went wrong. I was so excited and passionate in 1994. It bothers me that I can’t be that excited now.
I’m a government teacher for crying out loud.
It bothers me that so many Americans look to the government as a solution. Because of that, professional politicians have the power to buy votes with taxpayer dollars. I long for liberty and independence. It comes with risks but I don’t see how you can find joy otherwise.
Vote and become active in local politics. It’s time we insisted that our local and state governments start doing more and stop letting the national government move in like a bunch of squatters on our liberty.
I may turn in a blank ballot this fall but I’ll vote. Maybe I’ll write in Buckley and Goldwater (since Reagan is term-limited).
I could go Libertarian. The only thing I have a problem with is the legalization of illegal substances. Too many problems associated with it.