Dibble I have to ask you-how far do we need to go? To the point we're not even libertarians? The public hears the same crap from Democrats and Republicans every year, so we at least have to say a few things to stick out. And David S is right-we really aren't hardcore. Many of the fundamental things that people know is constitutional are things we defend. The fact is that most people don't realize the severity of the problems enough so that it would get them to vote for another party.
Still, the 'wasted vote syndrome' is the worst part of it all. Badnarik gave a great example to counter it: "If you were on a sinking ship like the Titanic, would you wait around on that ship until a majority of the people started fleeing or would you be the first to find a lifepreserver and an escape boat?"
While ending political welfare may make it a little harder for the Republicrats, for third parties to become viable, they need money to get their message out. Most people believe:
1. Voting third party is a wasted vote.
2. The Green Party is for environmental whackos.
3. The Libertarian Party is for anti-tax whackos.
4. The Constitution Party is for theocratic whackos.
Us political junkies who spend our time on forums like these know that these aren't true, but as much as I would love to see a third party succeed, this is what we are up against.
I can't speak for the LP and the GP, only the CP. I also like David's post where he explains the LP isn't that crazy, similar to what I am about to do with the CP.
Yes, a year ago we had nut cases in the party. Now a lot of
nut cases left because a majority of the party were not nut cases and did not want to kick out those who did not share their beliefs. Frankly, I'm glad they left.
Are our positions extreme? The party takes pride in being 100% Pro-Life. Indeed a majority of the population supports an exception for rape. Fair enough at first glance. But I compare slavery to abortion as both are refusing to call someone a person while others feel they are. If you oppose slavery, would you support an except to freeing a slave if a slave owner paid over a million dollars for that slave? Of course not. Today, if anyone believes it is ok to own a slave, that is crazy. One day, the belief that it is ok to kill an unborn child will also be considered crazy.
The CP supports securing our borders and deporting illegal immigrants. Although I don't think building a wall is the best way to go about this, what is wrong with stopping people from entering out country with out permission. Would you let a stranger in your house without permission? Now I do believe that an instant no-questions-asked-deportation policy has some problems and somethings need to change with that. With open borders being a 0 and the CP / Minuteman / Tancredo position being a 10, I am a 7.5.
The CP, like the GP and the LP, opposes the USA PATRIOT Act, the draft, and restrictions on the right to bear arms as they believe they are unconstitutional. Is this extreme?
That's what drives me insane. What Libertarians support is Individual freedom, personal responsibility and government limited to its constitutional duties. Boy thats really insane isn't it? More specifically we believe in free speech, the right to keep and bear arms, privacy rights, property rights, due process rights, habeas corpus and all other rights identified in the Bill of Rights or elsewhere in the constitution. Wow that's really far out there isn't it? We also believe that taxes could be dramatically lower if the federal government stuck to its constitutional duties, as mandated by the 10th amendment. Holy cow! Call out the men in white coats!
The things that probably get us labeled as whackos are believing that people's sexual preference is their own business, not the governments and that people should be free to decide what to eat, drink, smoke, inhale or otherwise ingest. And if I'm not mistaken, Gabu those are things that you support as well,... wacko.
The first paragraph could apply nearly word for word to the CP while the second paragraph is probably almost the exact opposite.
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So
1. Let me people know who we {CP, LP, GP} are.
2. Convince the people we are not nuts.
3. Convince the people that we {CP, LP, GP} are better for the country than the Republicrats.
Poll
