What should a truly Libertarian government look like?

Let’s see if I can gather my thoughts and try and be a little more intelligent about topic I was trying to discuss in yesterday’s entry. This is something that I think that all Libertarians need to think about and discuss, so even if you’re not an Oregonian, please feel free to add to this discussion. It’s my hope that this topic is an ongoing discussion for all.

It started from the question, “If we as Libertarians believe the first tenant of liberty is the right of the individual to have free expression how can we as a party impose a system of governance with rules that would attempt to force how the body would express that message?”

A good example came when we were discussing how we get the word about our ideas out to the people. Mark put it this way (I’m paraphrasing here), “Let’s say that I think that best way to spread our message is to have a parade of elephants. You may think that a website is the way to go. Jeff may think that a parade is fine, but that it should be a parade of dogs. Who is to say any of us is wrong? If I know a guy that has a business that runs a circus of midgets riding elephants, and you have the skills to setup a webpage and Jeff can organize his dog walking group who is the party to say that we all can’t contribute in each fashion? What would need to work out would be to make sure that if Jeff and I both want to have our parades on the same day; we need to make sure we don’t use the same streets.”

His point was basically punctuated by Wes mentioning that every time he comes in contact with other Libertarians, he constantly get told “You should do THIS.” In regards on how the party should express their message. To which he replies, “You know, you’re right. How are you going to make that happen?”

This evolved into, what I think, was the point of the discussion, and I think the deeper question that I titled this post with, that I don’t think we fully answered in the discussion. Wes expanded his point by pointing out that when the Libertarian Party was founded in 1971 it was essentially structured just like other political parties using the same form of government everyone is used to. However, how can we continue to espouse a form of government that is based on personal liberty using a structure that restricts the same? If we do this and manage to put ourselves in a position of greater power don’t we then make ourselves hypocrites? Would it not be better to form a system of self governance, and if it fails, well so be it, it means we were wrong. However, if using a self form of governance ourselves then working our way into government positions of power do we not lead the way and make it easier for others to follow? I’m quite sure I’m mangling that message a little; hopefully Wes will explain what he said better.

A lot of what was said made a lot of sense to me. The current system, as it stands is that a very few individuals set the policies and tenants of our Party and take it upon themselves to express the beliefs of all the Libertarians in the party. Wes is working on ways to make it easier for all Oregon Libertarians to voice their opinion to the state group. I think the system as it stands does need to be changed, and I’d like to invite everyone to continue this discussion here.

Meanwhile, right now, I need to get back to work. A 15 minute break has turned into a full hour and a half, but that’s my problem, not yours.

Quick thoughts after Volunteer night

So I went to my first Libertarian Party of Oregon meeting tonight. It was the regular volunteer night for the party. I figure if I’m going to start talking the talk, I’d better start walking the walk. Besides, considering some of the things the Party as gone through since I officially joined the National Party last December (the reasons why I joined in the first place) , if I want my voice heard, I’d better start involving myself.

I met a number of the party officers, as well as a couple of the other regulars, although not much work was done because they ran out of toner in the copier so the plan to stuff thousands of envelopes kind of fell through. There was, however, pizza.

The night was not a total loss though. Wes Wagner, the state chair started a discussion about what the state committee should look like. It was a very good discussion that started with the question of “What should the state party look like?” letting the members brainstorm their way to the true question, which boiled down to: “How can an organization that espouses personal liberty force its members to do things?”

Maybe not that question exactly, but the gist of the discussion was that if we want a government that is based on Libertarian values how can we govern ourselves using the same systems in place of other political parties and our current government system.

It’s an interesting idea, and I think it requires more in depth discussion, because right at this moment I’m having a very hard time putting to words ideas that were very clear to me just 4 hours ago. This is what I get when I wait until just before bed before trying to post anything.

I plan to spend more time posting here, and I’m promising myself to at least do more on this tomorrow.

Ron Paul who?

I’ve sat on the December 11th email from the LNC, wondering just what to think and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that it is going to be a while before we will be taken seriously as a political force. As long as Libertarians continue to chase fringe Republican candidates that don’t have a chance of securing the Republican nomination and ask them to run on the Libertarian ticket, that statement will remain true.

I think it is very hard to be taken seriously when the best we can come with are Republican cast offs. Ron Paul may have identified himself as a Libertarian 4 years ago, but it is clear that he wants to be identified as a Republican now. It is clear to me that he has resigned himself to the two party system, and is doing his best to work within that system.

That’s fine if he thinks that will work for him, but when that fails why should we then turn around and ask him to seek the Libertarian nomination in Denver in May? I understand Mr. Corey’s message in this email. That Libertarians that support Mr. Paul should encourage Republicans to vote for him in their primary without leaving the party, and that using LNC resources to help that effort can only help us, but…

I think it is very important that we spend this cycle seeking ballot access for our local candidates and attempt to make the changes necessary to allow easier third party access to ballots and get a more permanent place for Libertarians on the ballots all across this country.

I also think we should be focusing on finding a candidate for 2012 that can be the name and face of what it is that Libertarians stand for. What we need is a lightning rod. Someone who can go on CNN and make the liberals nod and agree with him on issues where they agree with our message and then get on FOX and let the Republicans do the same where our ideologies allign.

The thing is, I don’t see that person out there.

I have to admit that I briefly toyed with an idea when Lieberman’s endorsed McCain, that a McCain\Lieberman ticket would make a great lightning rod to get the party on the map, but isn’t that really just doing the one thing I said we shouldn’t do? (Chase Fringe mainstream candidates). Besides, it's right out of “My Fellow Americans” and wouldn’t that just smack as a setup? And neither of these guys are really all that Libertarian..

So I’m stuck asking myself, what would I do? And the only answer I can come with is that we recruit. We find a someone that embodies most everything we are as Libertarians and put our money behind him or her. It is probably a little late for 2008 (considering this election cycle pretty much started when the last one ended), but done right, I think we would a force to reckon with in 2012.

So the question becomes who? And I don’t have an answer for that. Maybe you have an idea or two. Let me know.

An Introduction ... Of Sorts.

Now I’ve had this blog for a long time, and I’ve intended it to be a place for me to well, rant, about government waste and what not me being a Libertarian and all. I always intended to make my first post a little something about who I am, where I come from, and what my views are politically. That however, would turn out to be a book of huge proportions and quite frankly, I don’t think anyone would read it. Besides, I can fill in those blanks as I blog.

I have no delusions about how many people will actually read this thing. I’m not going to link here from my LiveJournal as that is about my personal life, and I intend this to be a strictly political rant. I am also, not the best informed of voters on the planet. I consider myself just a wee bit more informed as I *TRY* to actually research things before forming opinions, but to be honest I don’t exactly have the same amount of time as someone who, say, does political opinion for a living, so I will tend to voice my opinion and hope those that agree with me have the facts to back us both up.

That being said, I am very much a Libertarian. Card carrying in fact. I support my party mostly by financial means, but I hope to be involved at least at some level, in the upcoming campaigns in my local area if I can find the time. Basically, for those of you who don’t know, and to try and distill my beliefs down to their simplest form, I believe people should have the right to do whatever they want to do so long as what they are doing doesn’t interfere with the rights of others to do whatever they want to do. It sounds simple, and at some level it is. However it isn’t cart-blanche to do whatever the hell you please. I’m quite sure we’ll be discussing examples every time I open up a topic, so I’m not going to get into that now.

I am also a huge fan of freedom of speech, however if you’re going post replies here I’m going to have some rules. Absolutely *NO* Anonymous posting. Given the way that Blogger allows people to post, even if you don’t have a Blogger please give a name. Also, although I can’t enforce it, please use the same name. It’s annoying to try and talk to people when they use several names in attempt to be cute or something.

I also reserve the right to not post for weeks on end. I have a life. It’s not much of one, but I like it. I live in a city where it rains. A lot. I don’t mind it, but when it stops I want to ether play golf, ride my bike or go skiing. And when it is raining, or even when it’s not, I enjoy my sex life. So does my girlfriend. I’m also habitually lazy. I hope you get used to it. This will be a fun ride, as I’m an opinionated jerk. I’ll even back up my claims from time to time. When I bother to actually do my own research.

Shall we get started?