http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/magazine/has-the-libertarian-moment-finally-arrived.html Libertarians, who long have relished their role as acerbic sideline critics of American political theater, now find themselves and their movement thrust into the middle of it. For decades their ideas have had serious backing financially (most prominently by the Koch brothers, one of whom, David H., ran as vice president on the 1980 Libertarian Party ticket), intellectually (by way of policy shops like the Cato Institute and C.E.I.) and in the media (through platforms like Reason and, as of last year, “The Independents”). But today, for perhaps the first time, the libertarian movement appears to have genuine political momentum on its side. An estimated 54 percent of Americans now favor extending marriage rights to gay couples. Decriminalizing marijuana has become a mainstream position, while the drive to reduce sentences for minor drug offenders has led to the wondrous spectacle of Rick Perry — the governor of Texas, where more inmates are executed than in any other state — telling a Washington audience: “You want to talk about real conservative governance? Shut prisons down. Save that money.” The appetite for foreign intervention is at low ebb, with calls by Republicans to rein in federal profligacy now increasingly extending to the once-sacrosanct military budget. And deep concern over government surveillance looms as one of the few bipartisan sentiments in Washington, which is somewhat unanticipated given that the surveiller in chief, the former constitutional-law professor Barack Obama, had been described in a 2008 Times Op-Ed by the legal commentator Jeffrey Rosen as potentially “our first president who is a civil libertarian.” Meanwhile, the age group most responsible for delivering Obama his two terms may well become a political wild card over time, in large part because of its libertarian leanings.
I still can't consider it libertarian when it's male only. It would be really hard to get elected on a platform of outlawing birth control. Funny, the "libertarian" wing of the Republican Party favors a Constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality for same sex couples, as well as a Constitutional amendment to declare the fertilized egg a person. You can get cheered among youth when you talk about ending NSA spying and legalizing pot, but sooner or later someone might ask you about other issues.
What? http://www.issues2000.org/celeb/Libertarian_Party_Abortion.htm Libertarian Party on Abortion Party Platform Government should be kept out of the matter of abortion Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration. Source: National platform adopted at Denver L.P. convention , May 30, 2008 Abortion is a woman’s choice and does not concern the state Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that libertarians can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe the government should be kept out of the question. We condemn state-funded abortions. It is particularly harsh to force someone who believes that abortion is murder to pay for another’s abortion. It is the right of the woman, not the state, to decide the desirability of prenatal testing, Caesarean births, fetal surgery, and/or home births. Source: National Platform of the Libertarian Party , Jul 2, 2000 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/25/rand-paul-abortion_n_5213294.html Conservatives Fume Over Rand Paul's Abortion Comments Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) may have alienated some of his socially conservative supporters this week after he sounded surprisingly ambivalent on the issue of abortion in an interview with David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. In a sit-down interview with the likely presidential candidate on Tuesday, Axelrod asked Paul whether he would try to overturn Roe v. Wade and ban abortion outright if he were president. Paul responded that even though he personally believes life begins at conception and that abortion is wrong, the country is too divided on the issue for him to try to ban the procedure entirely. “I think where the country is, is somewhere in the middle, and we are not changing any of the laws until the country is persuaded otherwise,” Paul said.
Denny OK, first, I was too pissy and I apologize. I was not talking so much about the Libertarian Party (a third party is not getting elected in this country for a while) but I gather about those like Rand Paul who bill themselves as libertarian while campaigning against personal rights for everyone but themselves. I know members of the Libertarian Party in Portland. We disagreed on things like social security, unemployment, environmental regulations, minimum wage and a lot else, but did tend to agree on personal rights. Sadly, the politicians who bill themselves as libertarian ONLY support getting rid of minimum wage, et al and not the personal rights (except for the "right" to discriminate). So, if you want to support this party, more power to you. I vote third party as well.
I do vote LP. Rand Paul is not his father, but he's also not a typical republican, either. He said he wouldn't outlaw abortion without the people coming around to that position - which he knows won't happen. He's routinely speaking to people of color at venues republicans foolishly avoid. He was even well received at Berkeley of all places. Republicans who call themselves libertarian differentiate themselves from conservatives. I actually prefer the conservatives, but not the Neo- or social variety. William F. Buckley, for example.
