Good evening everyone! As I browse through all of these messages on this conference, that is, from Travis, Robert, Lowell and others, there appears to be a common thread with regard to Democrats and Republicans, there are only two questions that all of us should be asking, namely:
1. Political Expediency, e.g.: Doing what is most likely a probability of getting a half of a loaf, versus nothing at all, and 2. Doing what is the right thing, e.g.: Voting on the principles upon which you stand, and what you believe is the absolute correct course that ought to be followed. Along with this, of course, is the U.S. Constitution, which seemingly during the last seveal decades gets very little attention, either from the politicians, or the people who elect the politicians. Travis points out, with facts I might add, that BOTH the bulk of the GOP and the Democrats follow the first course, that is, doing what is politically 'possible' or expedient -- getting what you can, while you can, and for largely your own political survival. I wonder sometimes if Libertarians would REALLY do things all that differently -- I hope we would, and we stand on principle always suggesting that things would be very different if Libertarians were elected instead of the two other major parties. But I sometimes wonder if we can find a way to get into that power lane and actually win in enough capacity where perhaps we also might fall into the same falacy of wanting to get half a loaf rather than nothing at all! This does happen after all, within our own ranks. Robert Goodman believes we should work within the two major parties and try to achieve what we can, when we can, and incrementally try and go somewhere in a direction different than might be possible doing it alone as a political Party. I've also gone on record that we can't possible achieve everything we want at a given moment in time, and it will take a long while to even turn the ship around. On the other hand, I've also gone on record suggesting that probably nothing we do will come to pass until such time arrives that the majority of Americans awaken to a giant catastrophe in which there is no immediate excape with the common mechanisms in place that we have trusted and relied upon for a long, long time that will take us through. I still hold to that premise. I've run for public office twice in my district, and lost horrendously each time! The Republicans and Democrats still hold the only field in which the majority of voters care to tred. So, I ask, is there a real reason for this madness of even raising the spectre of a third party? Given our 30-year history of horendous losses, I don't even know if I have an answer to that one! I was raised by my parents to believe that principle means everything. You're as good as your word. If you believe something strongly enough, it's worth fighting for! Well, at 56 years old, I no longer have my parents around to encourage me to such strengths, yet I hold to them anyway. Maybe it's because of them, I don't know, since my father was a 'New Deal Democrat' and my mother never made too much fuss about her own political orientation, other than that of principle. One thing I do know, my father certainly had his strength and character, although I might suggest it was misguided, as did my mother, I too have to find a way to justify my own actions insofar as doing the right thing in which I believe is right and justified. One thing however that I was never brought up to believe or practice was the art of compromise, or to put that a bit current in this conversation, the art of what is possible, or political expediency. I understand this is a popular notion today both in politics, and in American society in general. We're stuck with that, I guess. But what if, a political Party really meant what it says, and demonstrates it really means what it says and doesn't play along with the current drift? I think we've tried to do that very hard. I also don't believe we should stop doing what we do. Sure, that's easy to do in this society -- principles are always negotiable, right? What if they are not? What do you do with a bunch of people, actually the third largest Political Party in America today, who say it shouldn't work that way? Principles really do matter. This is what we stand for, and we hold to that at all times, on all of the issues, and in all places? I think some of you might say, "Ya, I've heard all of this before, and we're still losing." Well. Whose losing? Certainly the MAJORITY is losing! The US dollar is in fast track losing value; US foreign policy is an abject failure; the majority's civil liberties are going down the shitter; we're living in a police state growing on steriods; and the list goes on, and on, and on. Should Libertarians stop doing the one and only thing we do best? Pointing out exactly what is wrong in our society and point to the only way to find our way out of this quagmire? I don't want to join alongside the Democrats and Republicans who have created this disaster we are living in. I didn't vote for George W. Bush or John Kerry. I have no reason to assume I have a moral responsibility to support the current regime in power in this country. I don't. I didn't vote for it, so I have no contract whatsoever to support the direction of the US political process insofar as it is controlled by the bastards representing the two major parties in power. That is what a real election means to me. It means if I win, then I have an obligation to support the choice I made in the voting booth. If I lose, then I have no reason whatsoever to support or defend failed and reckless policies in which I did not sign on to in the voting booth. I voted Libertarian as much as I was able to in the November election. I would be a hypocrite if I signed onto the status quo now as some sort of 'obligation' to support what the rest of the sheep decided to go with, whatever that might be. I won't do that, sorry. Kindest regards, Frank _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
