United Liberty
Will Libertarians Be Represented in 2012 Primaries?
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 11:59am | posted by David Carlson
I have a major concern: libertarians will not be represented in the Republican Presidential primaries in 2012.
As Ron Paul has reached an age that makes his battle for the nomination even harder, and Gary Johnson’s lack of exposure makes his nomination unlikely, libertarians are faced with a major dilemma as the 2012 presidential primaries near.
Yes, Obama has done a terrible job by any stretch of the imagination. But libertarians know McCain would have hardly been a better choice. If anything McCain’s election would have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to be elected president for the next two decades because his disastrous policies would have been (wrongly) blamed on free market policies. I for one do not think Obama’s election was as undesirable as McCain’s would have been.
2012 will be a year of tough choices for libertarians. Can we honestly vote for a neo-con who we hardly agree with? Would you cast a ballot for Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, or Mitt Romney? Even Tim Pawlenty’s credentials are questionable with his all-out embrace with the climate change movement.
What will be interesting to see is how “conservatives” react to the growing libertarian voting bloc. Will conservatives understand why we want marijuana legalized? Why we want the Federal Reserve abolished? Why we think our foreign policy is disastrous? When you ask yourself these questions and think about casting a vote for Palin, Huckabee, or Romney, can you stomach that vote?
Over the past couple years we have seen that working form within the Republican party is an effective strategy. From Rand Paul’s hugely successful campaign in Kentucky to the exposure gained from Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential bid, we have seen this strategy work. But would it not be a step back if another neo-con is elected in 2012? We have already established working through the Republican (as opposed to the Democrat party) works. Can we honestly be part of a step backwards?
Unless the presidential candidate in 2012 (assuming it is not Ron Paul or Gary Johnson) will make major concessions to the libertarian movement and does not marginalize us, we should be wary of casting a vote their way. There are countless neo conservatives in the Republican party who want nothing more than our demise.
Despite being far in advance, all I am saying it is time to decide what our strategy is if a neo-con is the nominee.
I generally agree with this article. If Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee (shudder) ends up as the GOP nominee, I won’t even entertain voting for either of them.
However, I wouldn’t give it up. Rand Paul is doing really well in Kentucky, as a result of successfully packaging libertarian ideas for a very conservative electorate. Barack Obama succeeded to the Democratic nomination after not even finishing a Senate term. If Rand Paul is successful in his race, there’s no reason he shouldn’t follow Obama’s strategy and work toward the 2012 Republican nomination.
I’m working at the Heritage Foundation right now, and while there are plenty of staff who are holding on to the 1980s, alot of the younger interns are Ayn Rand readers and Ron Paul voters. Paul was the only Republican in 2008 to bring in any excitement at all among young people, and they are the future.
“Philosophy, despite the best obfuscatory intentions of philosophers, occasionally seeps out of the ivory towers and informs our lives.”
You know you <3 Huckabee.
Hahaha. He is a charismatic guy, I won’t lie.
“Philosophy, despite the best obfuscatory intentions of philosophers, occasionally seeps out of the ivory towers and informs our lives.”
Oh my gosh, I didn’t even get that you were making a play on words to cite the movie “I Heart Huckabees” until I looked again. We have some smart cookies here at UL.
“Philosophy, despite the best obfuscatory intentions of philosophers, occasionally seeps out of the ivory towers and informs our lives.”
You guys should see the guy on my personal blog who said that Palin is a libertarian and that I am ill-informed. He also said Paul’s foreign policy is surrender. His blog has libertarian in the title :0
http://www.thelibertyblogger.com/?p=646
Goodness gracious.
“Philosophy, despite the best obfuscatory intentions of philosophers, occasionally seeps out of the ivory towers and informs our lives.”
Let me guess…it’s Eric Dondero. I don’t even have to look at it.
Haha that’s awesome.
That guy actually believes Rudy Giuliani is a libertarian because he is “socially liberal” and “fiscally conservative.”
Wow. What a tool!
“Philosophy, despite the best obfuscatory intentions of philosophers, occasionally seeps out of the ivory towers and informs our lives.”
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