Comments on: Long Term Trends of Our Political Parties

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:12:45 +0000

A more pragmatic approach is something I’ve been looking at for quite some time. I think we can do this first by opposing new regulations on both civil liberties and capitalism. Easy enough.

But after that, we need to start working on repealing the laws we so strongly disagree with, layer by layer. For example, going with the legalization example, we want complete legalization. That’s a sticking point even for many liberals. So why not start with decriminalizing pot? Or, perhaps outright legalization like California did but on a national level. Allow individual states to outlaw it’s sale if you want, but remove national laws. Then, after a time when the streets aren’t running red from drug induced violence, we can look at the other drugs

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:56:42 +0000

I don’t think we should moderate out positions either – but I readily admit we need a better PR campaign. For example, talking pot legalization to a cop probably isn’t going to go over so well – but talking about genuinely smaller government that treats us like the adults we are might. Convince people of the general philosophy, THEN show them how it works in the particulars. I know it worked with me. When I first started considering the party, legalization was one of my major sticking points. But the more I considered it, the more I realized that ultimately it IS about treating adults like adults and letting them make their own decisions – good or bad – so long as another person is not harmed.

By: Red Elephant

Red Elephant — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:47:57 +0000

While I don’t think that the Libertarian Party should “moderate” any of its positions, the author does have a point. Because the income tax and entitlement programs aren’t leaving any time soon, the Libertarian Party should call these their “long-term goals.” Meanwhile, they can have some reachable “short-term goals.” For example, they could support a flat tax or progressive flat tax on income and handing entititlement programs over to the states as a sort of a transition phase.