Wednesday, July 13, 2005

A chance to talk

I am glad to hear that Michael Badnarik is doing well. A couple of days ago, he was hospitalized for what looks to be a heart problem. I have been keeping up with the Libertarian Party for a while now. To see the LP info on Mr. Badnarik you can just go here http://www.lp.org/yourturn/archives/000050.shtml

These guys have been doing a great job considering the size of their party. Though, they are the largest third party in America, they are still way behind in numbers when compared to the Democrats and Republicans.

I would like to talk about this for a moment. I once would primarily vote Republican because they stood for free market, lower taxes and financial freedoms. The more I look into the Republicans and see more and more building of corporatism and a less capitalism. Yes, there is a difference. Some regulation might be needed in some cases to prevent consumers from being railroaded but the Republicans tend to lean toward the rights of corporations more so than the rights of individuals. Basically, living by the alternate golden rule (Who ever has the gold, makes the rules).

The times I have voted for Democrats, it was primarily because of the individual pushing for equal rights for all. People need to have their human and constitutional rights protected and emphasized by those who are elected to do so. But, Democrats tend to select only certain groups to have civil liberties and end up leaving others out in the cold. How can you have “equal” rights if you only give certain rights and privileges to select groups? It just doesn’t make sense. And, the concept of “Robin Hood” economics in a nation known for being giving is a bit much. Why should our government steal from the rich when the rich are willing to give if there is a place to give? Non profit organizations take in a ton of money every year. Imagine if the rich were taxed so much that they could no longer give to those they want to.

Anyway, let me get on with my point. I have always considered myself to be more of a Centrist that anything. However, once I a had a chance to read through the Libertarian website (http://www.lp.org), I found that they were for most of the things I like about Republicans and Democrats. The great thing I found was, they weren’t for all the bad things I didn’t like about the Republicans and Democrats.

I am not the only one that has been converted to the Libertarian Party via their website. I ran across a guy in some political forums that was complaining about the Democratic party, even though he had voted Democrat all his voting life, and just couldn’t bring himself to vote Republican. I pointed him to the LP website. The next day, and ever sense, he was echoed the Libertarian ideas and has been very vocal on the forums against the Democrats.

For me, I have finally found the free market and civil liberties supporting party I had always wanted to find. From my point of view, the Libertarian Party presents all the good things I liked about the others and very few things I disliked about the other two main parties.

I can’t force, nor do I want to, anyone to look into this party. But, I will strongly encourage people to, at least, check them out. You might find something you have been missing.