Ron Paul Watch: Libertarians Rising?
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=9tCFZFlX61Y[/youtube]
Libertarians Rising by Michael Kinsley
The chance of the two political parties realigning so conveniently is slim. But the party that does well in the future will be the one that makes the better guess about where to place its bets. My money’s on the libertarians. People were shocked a couple of weeks ago when Ron Paul–one of those mysterious Republicans who seem to be running for President because everyone needs a hobby–raised $5 million from July through September, mostly on the Internet. Paul is a libertarian. In fact, he was the Libertarian Party presidential candidate in 1988. The computer revolution has bred a generation of smart loners, many of them rich and some of them complacently Darwinian, convinced that they don’t need society–nor should anyone else. They are going to be an increasingly powerful force in politics.
The same sloppy journalism and commnentary that resulted in Kinsley being dismissed as the opinion editor at the Los Angeles Times.
Kinsley offers no evidence (besides Ron Paul’s raising $ 5 million in his Presidential Race) that the Libertarian Party is actually increasing in voter registration numbers, number of states that recognize the party or actual votes per party nominated candidate.
Does Kinsley even recognize that Ron Paul is receiving support from the Constitution Party folks? And what is the Constitution Party you ask?
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative United States political party. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992. The party’s official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names. It ranks third nationally amongst all United States political parties in registered voters, with 366,937 registered members as of November 2006, most of whom are registered in California and Nevada.
The Constitution Party advocates a Bible-based platform which it claims to reflect original intent of the U.S. Constitution and the principles of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The party seeks “to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations.”
And the history of this party goes back to George Wallace’s America Independent Party and Ross Perot’s Reform Party. Fancy that.
Internet fundraising is an important tool for a Presidential campaign. But, Kinsley, gives the shine of campaign cash for Ron Paul more importance to political ideology and third party affiliations than to the mechanics of fundraising.
Libertarians rising?
No threat to either the Democrats or the GOP.
Stay tuned…….
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6 Comments
Gregor Morrill
It’s quite clear from reading the article that he’s using the term “libertarian” (and “communitarian”) in its generic sense, not as the proper name of a political party.
Yeah, the Libertarian Party is mentioned in the last paragraph, but that’s aside from the usage of “libertarian” (lowercase L, the political ideology) in the rest of the article.
The confusion probably comes with the capitalization in the headline / beginning of some sentences, but I don’t see how anything he said could be construed as saying the Libertarian Party is rising.
Flap
Michael Kinsley is confused.
What point exactly is he making then? Wishful thinking?
The Green Party has had an effect on national politics (by electing W) but he does not mention them or Ralph Nader.
Gregor Morrill
You’d have to ask him what point he’s trying to make, I’m not a mind reader.
It seems to me like he’s just pointing out common political ideologies and how libertarianism is rising and will thus have an influence on the two major parties. It’s not particularly earth-shattering (or even that interesting to read, IMO) but it’s something to think about. *shrug*
Flap
Exactly! He made no convincing argument that Libertarianism is rising.
Wiseburn
I’d like to make the argument that because of the Paul Campaign, libertarianism is rising.
My proof is that since Flap is watching, It means the Guiliani campaign is worried about Paul.
Steve,
FYI, rather than finding your articles on google news, technorati or twitter. I’ve had
your blog’s feed on my.yahoo.com page since before it became the Guiliani Gazeete.
Flap
Thanks for adding my feed.
Believe me Rudy is NOT worried about Ron Paul.
There are three other candidates that have more standing and are a threat to his nomination. Ron Paul is not and never will be.
Look at the polls. Look at the campaign organization in the caucus states.