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It's not going to happen. The only way a party can go mainstream is if it's platform appeals to a wide swath of American voters and I don't see any of the third parties that we have in America today doing that.
Problem is that many fiscal conservatives latch onto the libertarian theme of free markets and personal freedom (for them) and don't really give a rat's arse about the rest. Libertarianism, to them, becomes a talking point and a rationalization instead of a heartfelt belief.
Today, that's true but there was a time when the Republican party was actually conservative and that wasn't the case. Yet even though I am very much a conservative, I'd never vote Libertarian because I want a lot more personal responsibility than personal freedom.
With personal freedom, comes personal responsibility. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Funny, I see a lot of people who claim to be libertarian who only want personal freedom and no responsibility for their decisions at all. They want to be able to make decisions that they want to make but not have to consider whether these are good decisions to begin with.
I see this a lot, too.Funny, I see a lot of people who claim to be libertarian who only want personal freedom and no responsibility for their decisions at all. They want to be able to make decisions that they want to make but not have to consider whether these are good decisions to begin with.
I think you are being rather kind of the prospects of the Libertarians.
Key word: claim.
I see this a lot, too.
We know, we try our best.No thanks. I'd rather people with a shred of economic sense be in charge of the fiscal side of things. Liberals couldn't be more financially illiterate if they tried.
Since it's just a label and people can pick whatever label they like to refer to themselves, so what? Nobody elected you the official arbiter of what is and what is not a libertarian. If we go by people who only adopt the entire party platform, libertarianism looks even more pathetic than it otherwise is.
My post was satire.You try to be fiscally illiterate? That's not something to be proud of.
One of the problems is that no party...save, to a small extent, the Green Party... makes an effort to establish local and state bases from which to build a national base.I dont think any 3rd party has any chance to out forward even double digit numbers on even a semi regular basis at a federal level.
It's not about party platform, it's about philosophy. The reality of the situation is that many people these days are slapping the "libertarian" label on themselves without possessing even a juvenile understanding of the philosophy. They think it's about guns and low taxes, they don't give a crap beyond that. Libertarianism is about self-ownership and the right of the individual to pursue their life as they see fit so long as they do not harm anyone else. It is also about, as you said, personal responsibility and reaping the consequences of the personal decisions they make while enjoying this freedom. Some of the newer libertarians do not understand this and cherrypick issues they like and think that makes them libertarian.
Your face is satire.No, your party is satire.
I understand that, it's no wonder the party can't get anywhere remotely close to 5% of the electorate for matching funds. You can, of course, have whatever philosophy you want and slap whatever label on yourself that you want, but when it comes down to national leadership, the only thing that matters is who actually gets elected into office and can lead the country. Libertarians are unlikely to ever achieve that because of the extreme fragmentation of their party. In all reality, there isn't a Libertarian Party, there are a bunch of individualists all doing their own thing, with very little in common, just wearing the same hat. In terms of this thread, that makes them even less likely than the Greens or the Constitutionalists or the Communists to ever be a major factor in national leadership.
Have you ever been to a Libertarian Party meeting? Do you have personal experience with the party itself or is your experience just primarily with asshats on political forums who label themselves libertarians but supported Mitt Romney in 2012?
I, however, have had experience with the party. I consistently attend local meetings, and state meetings. I attend national meetings and I can tell you from personal experience that we are united and all, save a few, share the core tenants of Libertarian philosophy.
My beef is with the Republican "libertarians", of which are basically fake libertarians trying to rope people into continuing to vote for the party. Don't mistake the Randbots for Libertarians.
No, go, going off the hypothetical numbers rocket was giving was being rather kind.
I dont think any 3rd party has any chance to out forward even double digit numbers on even a semi regular basis at a federal level.
Did it ever occur to you that the only people who attend those meetings are the ones who buy into the libertarian dogma, but only make up a small percentage of people who would mark "libertarian" on a ballot? Nah, didn't think so.
Did it ever occur to you that voting for a candidate of a certain party does not make you a member of that party? I voted for Ron Paul, doesn't make me a Republican. I've voted for several Democrats, doesn't make me a Democrat. I'm talking actual members.
I'm talking actual numbers too. Supposedly, going to a Libertarian Party rally, those are people who are committed to voting for Libertarian Party candidates, right?
You've already said that you think most people who claim to be libertarians are not
That the people who think like you are vastly underrepresented in the Libertarian Party?
What? No...the Libertarians dont need someone else to oppress them. The party has more holes in its feet than Jesus.The libertarian party is already the third biggest political party in the US. Unfortunately they are being ground down by a conspiracy between the two main parties and the mainstream media is biased against them so I doubt they will go mainstream anytime soon.
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