Five Libertarian Ideas #7 - A new Pledge of Allegiance??? Romney vs Rand

A new Pledge of Allegiance?

I like my version of the pledge better: I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the preservation of the rights and liberties guaranteed therein. –1/23

Minimal state verses totalitarian state

My friends in the liberty movement know I'm not an anarchist, but they know I agree with many #libertarian anarchist ideas because they're first and foremost libertarian ideas. However, many anarchists have told me that the "minimal state" is just as dangerous as the totalitarian state. I have to disagree there for one (of several) reason(s): I can go out in public and talk about what a fool President Obama is, whereas if I insulted Kim Jong Un's name in North Korea, I'd be up against a firing squad faster than I can say "I'm a sovereign individual." –1/25

2014 State of the Union

Folks, he flat out said he's doing what he wants without consulting Congress. I'm neither surprised nor horrified. I was kind of expecting it anyway. Most second-term Presidents do whatever the hell they want anyway. I'm just gonna keep doing what I want, which is libertarian/conservative activism. Constitution, liberty, star-spangled patriot black-and-yellow awesomeness. Ron Paul! –1/28

Bonus thought: I'm amused that the center of attention at the State of the Union was NOT the President, but Duck Commander. –1/29

Romney vs Rand? Romney supporters joining the Paul camp

This week I've had online exchanges with modern conservatives (supporting Romney in 2012) who are frustrated enough with Republican leadership. For the FIRST time, THEY SUPPORT THE PAULS. It's happening!!!! I know it's all going according to Ron and Rand's plans, but after so many setbacks for the movement, it's freaking awesome to have one's faith rewarded. –1/29

What ‘conservatism’ means

The theory behind conservatism is to CONSERVE, ultimately preserving a laissez-faire way of life so our children can grow up without dependence on a monolithic state. This brand of conservatism was all but extinct, but Ron Paul has managed to light brush fires in people's minds that are giving old-school conservatism and new-school libertarianism a fighting chance in this country. –2/2

* * * 

Porcupine Gadsden flag by "Kowulz" and used via CC BY-SA 3.0 license.  Ron and Rand photo by Gage Skidmore and used via CC BY-SA 2.0 license.  Both images obtained from Wikimedia Commons.

PLEASE STOP: When NeoCons Think They’re Libertarian

Rand Paul makes one endorsement—almost at gunpoint—for Mitt Romney in June of 2012 and Romney actually expects Paulbots to vote for him.  Glenn Beck calls himself a libertarian even though his liberty-themed utopian towns are centrally planned and he endorses the ultra-conservative lunatic Rick Santorum, and now Reince Priebus says he reads Daily Paul every day.  What kind of a circus of make-believe have I walked into?

The other morning I had the dubious pleasure of reading the nastiest query response I’ve ever received.  The backstory: I recently wrote a 1,000 word op-ed titled “Purging the Republican Party to Save Its Future” which I’ve been trying to get published on several venues with the hopes that the ideas I present will click on a wide scale.  The article outlines the way the GOP has abandoned the paleoconservative and libertarian ideals that made it great, as well as concluding with a call to purge current leadership and hand over the reins to the libertarian faction.

Why should this happen?  Simply because the neoconservatives in the GOP have absolutely shattered the party, driven it over a moral and ideological cliff, killed freedom, and ensured landslide victories for ultra-statist Democrat candidates at virtually every level of government.  Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to hand control over to the people in the Party who have been saying “I told you so” since the Sixties.

Honestly, the neoconservative Republicans love to complain about how Obama and the Democrats killed our freedom.  The truth is that many of our country’s civil liberties (and general economic stability) were killed by the Bush administration, whereas the Obama administration’s running wild has merely been the tea bagging of the carcasses (as seen in the Halo games).

Anyway, Senior Editor Eric Dondero of LibertarianRepublican.net had the following gems to throw at me (and I quote verbatim except for the swear words I’ve edited):

·         Thank God George W. Bush invaded Iraq.  Can you imagine a world today where we were still dealing with Saddam?

·         Finally, a GIANT F**K YOU for bashing Mitt Romney, who in my opinion was the single greatest Republican presidential candidate since Barry Goldwater.  Better than Reagan.  This is a man who chose a FLAMING LIBERTARIAN Paul Ryan as his running mate.  And you have the audacity to bash him.

·         Dude, get the f**k out of my in-box.  Go pollute some leftist Republican sites like AntiWar.com or LewRockwell with your America-hating, Republican-bashing tripe.

And this gentleman calls himself a libertarian Republican… 

First of all, his justification for the Iraq War (he listed supposed WMDs Saddam had, plus Al Qaeda camps he allowed in Iraq, and a bunch of other things making Hussein the “Hitler of our time”) would make him at best a paleoconservative like Goldwater—who was a great statesman and even a libertarian up to the point where he proactively used the words “Hanoi” and “atom bomb” in the same sentence—but by no means can Dondero call himself a libertarian, given his implicit outright rejection of the Non-Agression Principle through his defense of aggressive foreign policy.

Read "Purging the Republican Party to Save Its Future" by Zach Foster

I’m not even going to ask how a supposed libertarian can defend Mitt Romney—the man who flip-flopped on everything under the sun and STILL “take[s] a lot of credit” for TARP—can be a better presidential candidate than Ronald Reagan (much less the greatest Republican candidate ever).  Seriously, any man who could conceive of or support the ideas to force people to buy a commodity (health insurance) and rob people (through taxation) for the purpose of redistributing wealth in the form of anti-free market, very crony capitalist bailouts CANNOT BE LIBERTARIAN.

Beyond that, you’d think a supposed libertarian in the Republican Party would have been more supportive of Ron Paul, but alas!  I’ve learned that Mitt Romney is the greatest Republican candidate ever.

I’ll give Dondero a break on the Paul Ryan thing.  I believe when he used the words “flaming libertarian” in regards to Ryan, he actually meant to say “weirdo who goes back and forth between being a phony conservative and phony moderate.”  I would actually be inclined to apply that same description to Mitt Romney…

I don’t frequent AntiWar.com but I conjecture that while some libertarians do, their audience consists mainly of leftists because the left still pretends to be anti-war.  To the site’s credit, though, it does frequently blow whistles on the Obama administration’s militarism.

Regarding Lew Rockwell and his an-cap blog, he may or may not be a registered member of the GOP (I don’t know), but his libertarianism is that of the anarcho-capitalist variety, which is beyond the scope of the paleoconservative/libertarian philosophy surrounding the majority of libertarian Republicans.  While I respect the anarcho-capitalists for their fantastic economic theory and sublime libertarian philosophy, I’m not an an-cap but rather a minarchist.  I believe in Constitutional government of a limited size and scope just like a true Republican of both the capital and lower-case contexts of the word.

If the point of libertarian Republicanism was located on the Moon, Eric Dondero and his self-righteous rocket ship would be crash landing on Mars.  How can you there be a limited government when said government pursues a warlike foreign policy and socialistically redistributes wealth for eccentric programs like ObomneyCare and the cronyist bailouts?  In Dondero’s opinion, a government led by the “single greatest Republican presidential candidate since Barry Goldwater.”

One final note on this neoconservative hiding in libertarian clothing: I’m pretty sure the five years (and counting) of reserve military service, not to mention my ongoing Air Force Auxiliary service as well as my contract work training Army medics for war would attest to the fact that I feel like this American republic is worth fighting for.

All that Eric Dondero had to say about my submission was “No thank you” instead of repeatedly throwing the F bomb at me.  By the way Eric, kiss my ass for questioning my patriotism.

To neocons the above libertarian warning only applies to Obama

Dondero is just one of many neoconservatives in the Republican Party who libertarian values, but their idea of freedom isn’t the freedom to take control of one’s own destiny, but rather the freedom to conform unquestioningly to the dictums of the RNC and the propaganda of neoconservative ideologues.

I wish the phonies would just STOP pretending to be libertarian and simply own up to what they are.  I would have so much more respect if they stopped sacrificing meat to the idol of liberty and were completely honest that they’re nanny state conservatives who believe their version of the ideal government would govern best, and that the populace would fare the best according to the conservative nanny state code they prescribe.  At this point in time, they wouldn’t dare.

Whether they realize it or not, they’re afraid to admit their belief that their ideal form of government has the right to spy on citizens (even if it’s for “security”), to tax citizens (even if just for “defense”), to torture prisoners (even if just for “fighting terrorism”), to conscript people for public service or military service, and to redistribute wealth to corporations to stimulate a failing economy, etc.  They’re afraid to admit these things because they know it amounts to FASCISM.  To them, it’s easier to wave a banner and demonize a dissenter as unpatriotic when the dissenter is in fact a libertarian and a patriot who truly embodies the ideas of liberty while they who accuse him are closeted fascists.

* * *

An-cap Republican elephant image by the author.  Fire breathing Republican elephant image also by the author based on the public domain Manifest Destiny painting by John Gsat. Tea Party flag photo in the public domain and obtained from Wikimedia Commons along with Gast painting.

I bet Eric Dondero enjoys the hell out of Fox News...

 

Recovering from the Falcon Punch

I finally managed to pick myself up off the floor after the spinning kick to the jaw that was the 2012 General Election.  Good Lord, I’m still exhausted!  Hell, unlike your average idiot who only pretends to care about politics when the election debates start interrupting Monday Night Football, I’ve been involved in the election cycle since April 2011.

THANK GOD IT’S OVER.

I fully expected Mitt Romney to lose and, frankly, I don’t sympathize with all my fellow Republicans who couldn’t see this epic failure chugging around the mountain.  After twice losing to Barack Obama, I’m mildly surprised the RNC members aren’t committing mass ritual suicide like the Romulans do whenever they lose a battle to Picard.  Oh well.

Being a dedicated Ron Paul supporter, my vision for “restoring America” (whatever that means) stretches farther than one dumb election cycle.  I think most voters must have political ADD and serious Alzheimer’s disease since they’re all convinced this election is “the most important election of our time.”  Whatever, dudes, I’m not even 24 and I’ve already seen at least 4 or 5 of those, not even counting the midterms.  DGAF.

However, I was genuinely taken aback by the fact that every election I actually supported was crushed harder than the hopes and dreams of a 12-year-old girl who didn’t make the dance team, in part because her parents never told her she had all the grace of a dodo bird bred by Doctor Moreau.  Not one of my personal friends or heroes was elected.  Daaaaaaamn!

Even though I’m not joining fellow Republicans—still mourning Romney’s candidacy—in committing hara-kiri for disgracing Ronald Reagan, this election was a giant falcon punch even for me.

I was already over the RNC punching me in the heart through their destruction of Ron Paul’s candidacy, and I’d picked up the pieces and taken my leftover time and energy to campaign for a friend of mine running for Congress, another friend running for State Assembly, and another buddy running for the Colorado legislature.  All wiped out and in the 60s-30s margin.  Ouch!

Since 2008 the GOP had been obnoxiously crying “This is madness!” and the Democrats responded with a kick to the stomach and the words “This is SPARTA!!!”

I’m also reminded of the scene from Revenge of the Sith where Anakin Skywalker shouts “You underestimate my power!” just moments before Obi-wan Kenobi gives him a permanent height reduction.  In a nutshell, Mitt Romney and the Republican Party were Anakin while the Democrats were Obi-wan Kenobi, his lightsaber, and all the hot lava too.

Since I’ve already surrendered all my journalistic credibility to the idol of Star Wars fandom, I might as well continue with this political fanboy metaphor.  Like Yoda and the few remaining Jedi at the end of Episode III, I can finally go into exile from politics and enjoy my PlayStation for the first time in 8 months.

Better yet, the best is yet to come!  We in the “greater liberty movement” have reason to look to a new hope: Rand Paul 2016!

[Some people call this a “man crush.”  Whatevah, whatevah, I do what I want!]

* * *

Election image courtesy of "DonkeyHotey" via Wikimedia Commons under license CC BY-SA 2.0.

Star Wars GIF courtesy of Ron Paul Problems.  Star Wars is the property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, Ltd.  Or Disney by now.  Or the Chinese government.  Nobody really knows.  I'm beginning to care less and less.