This is the kind of genius that I wish I could churn out. Hmm… maybe if I got more sleep…
I do admit I am a little worried about Ahmedwhatshisname getting nukes and Putin rolling into Europe, with only Obama’s charisma to stop them. I had never really thought of let’s all play nicely together as a foreign policy since it doesn’t even work with kids. But hey, is that really my problem? He has like a zillion brilliant foreign policy advisers and I’m sure they’ll figure something clever out. I can no longer afford a trip to Israel anyway and I assume pictures of it will be archived on the internet.
When intelligent Libertarians examine Barack Obama, they see his high intelligence and intellect as an asset, conducive to rational [libertarian-style] thinking.
Combined with his background as a civil rights lawyer and constitutional law professor who is favorable to voluntary, free community organization, and who as a Senator, took a daring stand against the Iraq War — it becomes easy to see that Barack Obama is more “libertarian” than not.
McCain is highly “pro-war” which would mean at least another four “Bush Years” of endless billion dollar [war] occupations, plus more BIG GOVERNMENT SPENDING, “taxes-from-the-middle-class-to-finance-wealthy-tax-cuts” and “socialized” corporate profits/bailouts with little, if any “trickle down” effect of job growth which, by the way, has NOT happened in spite of Bush’s tax cuts provided to big corporations and the Warren Buffet wealthy.
By voting for Bob Barr, it would be a truly dangerous wasted vote this year, after all he’s NOT going to win. “Wasted Votes” and [conservative] Libertarians who voted for Bush, helped Bush win two terms.
Obama is the best [major] candidate to work on four top libertarian reforms:
1) Iraq withdrawal
2) restoring the separation of church and state
3) easing off victimless crimes such as drug use
4) curtailing the Patriot Act.
Libertarians living in the real world know that only Obama or McCain can actually win. And in that real world, Bob Barr is an ex-CIA Republican and on that basis he is questionable as being truly “Libertarian”.
Because Bob Barr spend most of his political career as a rather right-wing conservative Republican, many long-time Libertarians don’t see him as a “true” Libertarian but some sort of right-wing conservative Republican infiltrator.
With a history of hostile right-wing conservative Republicans infiltrating the Libertarian Party over the years, they have pushed out long-time, true Libertarians and founders.
This hostile LP take-over by conservative Republicans is not easily forgotten — and well, as a backlash — I can see a lot of Libertarians wanting to get Republicans out of power.
And the best way to do this is by voting for Obama and a straight Democratic ticket.
Since I understand that this last comment was a canned response, I won’t actually respond to the person (or bot… I’m lookin’ right at you David Axelrod) who posted it.
But for those libertarians that find this post, I’m sure you were immediately struck by the ridiculous assertion that since intelligence is conducive to rational thought, and libertarians pride themselves on being rational thinkers, ergo Obama must be a great candidate for libertarians. Sorry, affirming the consequent.
Look, libertarians aren’t exactly thrilled with the Republican party. And we realize the chances for the LP to win an election. (Shoot, some of us don’t even like the LP.) I early voted, and it wasn’t for Bob Barr.
This comment assumes that libertarians are a doctrinaire, monolithic group. We are not, and neither is any political ideology. For example, I hate war, but I’m not anti-war. Being anti-war requires a willful ignorance and acceptance of ridiculous assumptions about foreign policy, the interaction between unfriendly nations, and the ambitions of man.
The only way that voting for Barack Obama helps the libertarian cause is through the intention to give America a shock to see what unfettered modern liberalism is like. The Democrats — of which Obama is dyed-in-the-wool — have a platform and have pursued policies that do irreparable damage to the Republic, and a libertarian cannot help but be discouraged by them. We may not be Republicans, but voting for a candidate that is even further to the left won’t help solve the problem. A vote for McCain puts a check against an ultra liberal Congress that salivates at the thought of big government control.
Also, I’m “irritated” by writers who “put things in quotes” when the items quoted are neither “ironic” nor “a quote.”