16 Dec 2006
Former Congressman Accepts Libertarian Party Leadership Position

I sat in the back office of a furniture store in Zionsville, Indiana in the summer of 1976 at one of the first organization meetings of the Libertarian Party of Indiana. The times seemed propitious for a "Party of Principle" to emerge. We stood for liberty, and electoral success be damned. Our mission was to educate the populace about our roots in the soil of freedom, and to return the political debate to the fundamental questions of liberty versus power.

I had recently gotten out of the Air Force, and had seen Big Government "up close and personal" as it were. Our Presidential candidate was Roger MacBride, who seemed a strident advocate of liberty. I can still recall my bitter disappointment when he returned to the Republicans in 1983... but at least the core of the party held true.

This has, however, been changing. Gradually, like a slow cancer, a movement to "reform" the LP has grown. So it can "win" elections. Read the site carefully - read the "winning" platform proposals and the comments. According to these folks, you can't win an election if you advocate legalization of drugs. You can't win an election by calling for a repeal of the Federal income tax. You can't win an election by supporting a woman's right to choose abortion.

In short, their prescription has been that you can't win an election unless you "reform" the Libertarian Party into the "Republican/Lite" Party. Less filling, tastes great! And this year, the reform caucus won, and essentially took over the party mechanism.

It seems that to win elections you must abandon the cause of liberty. And abandon it they have. The appointment of Mr. Barr to the LP National Committee is the final nail in the coffin of the party as a libertarian political movement. If Bob Barr's a libertarian I'm a Catholic...

This is the bozo who called for the use of the RICO statues to prosecute proponents of drug legalization. His premise seemed to be that if you oppose a law on principle, you're a criminal by definition. Certainly a paragon of liberty, eh? But wait, there's more.

In 1999 Rep Bob Barr wrote letters to the Secretary of the Army and Fort Hood’s commander demanding that the Army cease sanctioning Wiccan practices. It seems some military personnel were practicing their non-Christian religion at Ft. Hood, and Rep. Barr was having none of it! What a classic libertarian position Bob, insuring that this will be a purely Christian nation ... uh, NOT!

On his own site, Rep. Barr still has an article up saying "Make no mistake, I do not support same-sex marriages." Another shining example of his general attitude towards freedom. More of his lunacy can be found here.

Oh, well. I'll not delude myself any longer that the Libertarian Party is "The Party of Principle". The only principle they seem to retain is that of selling out to their enemies in pursuit of a chimerical electoral victory. And if they ever do achieve victory at the polls, they'll be completely indistinguishable from the Republicrats or the Demlicans.

So why bother voting for them at all. I can't think of a single good reason.

On Tuesday evening, former Congressman Bob Barr, a Life Member of the Libertarian Party, was offered the position of Regional 4 Representative of the Libertarian National Committee.

(link) [LibertarianAuthoritarian Party]

22:51 /Politics | 3 comments | permanent link