I use this site to ascertain voting records. Ontheissues.org
Haven’t seen John Dennis yet but I’m sure he will be on there once the race comes around.
I never claimed you did.
My point was that there are forums that are more open to this sort of thing, so if you post about politics on a forum where people are fairly apolitical, don’t be surprised if you get answers and responses you don’t like.
I’m not surprised at all. I expected posts along the lines of those which were received, which is why I immediately clarified the purpose of the thread (and defended why I vote, despite recognizing the superiority of an anarchic society).
Electing folks like him is a plus either way; if him and folks like him follow through on his campaign promises and actually manage to reduce the government footprint then that’s a plus. If he and his ilk get corrupted and government continues to grow then more folks will have been disabused of the notion that electing ‘liberty candidates’ is the solution.
Frankly folks such focus on the state and local level; getting in state senators, governors etc favorable towards nullification and willing to threaten secession( and preferably actually seceding) seems a better route than trying to elect a Congress full of Ron Paul clones.
bad choice of words.
cause, ‘No we don’t have to.’ sounds like your inner ruler is speaking grasshopper[:P]
That said, are more libertarians seemingly running because it has only been now that I have really paid attention to the libertarian political movement, or is libertarianism on the rise politically largely thanks to the success of Ron Paul?
Or is it on the rise because of the internet…
It could well be a minus. For example, I am not at all certain that getting Ron Paul elected president (this is hypothetical) would be a step in the right direction.
Everything positive that Ron Paul has contributed ,thus far, was precisely because he was NOT a very pragmatic politician.
No liberty candidate in the foreseeable future will be able to reverse the inevitable fate of the welfare and warfare state. There aren’t a few knobs that you can just tweak with and everything will be reversed. You need a change in philosophy and that isn’t going to happened through the political means.
The last thing we need is a libertarian president in charge when there is a world wide run on the US dollar, which seems to be a likely scenario if we hypothetically did the right things and practically a guarantee if we continue on this path.
RP’s been practical in terms of earmarks. He wouldn’t get reelected if he didn’t bring some pork back, even if he votes against the bill that includes the earmark project.
A political campaign is an excellent venue to effect a change in philosophy. I was more or less a Dennis Miller/PJ O’Rourke/ Eric Dondero style libertarian until I listened to Paul. I then started reading Rockwell etc and began to realize that my position was schizophrenic and impractical.
Who would you rather have as a president during a run on the dollar?
EDIT: Sorry my post was for another tread, no idea how it ended up here
But that was my point. His contributions have nothing to do with political achievements, but by getting you to read Lew Rockwell.
So perhaps a more important question is whether this guy Dennis is educated and is able to defend markets and freedom without any apologies or excuses if he ever so happens to reach such venues. Because as a politician, he will always be part of the problem.
Certainly not a Ron Paul. Preferably someone who has a reputation for being a socialist.
Why would you want someone like that as president during a dollar run?
I’d rather have an angry mob hang a reputable socialist. NO! the’re not going to hang the leader of the opposition.
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for starting this thread. For a better understanding of my intellectual roots, take a look at some of the writings of my teacher at Fordham, James Sadowsky, S.J. Jim was a regular at Murray’s apartment and has known Walter Block since the 1960’s.
http://www.anthonyflood.com/sadowsky.htm
I hope this helps.
Regards,
John
Honestly, I hope you win your election. I live in San Ramon and I’d pretty much pay an exorbitant amount of money to watch Nancy Pelosi lose. Good luck to you.