How are we going to get the "Libertarian brand" out there when a social conservative is our spokesman? How is anyone with a brain ever going to trust us? I will admit that Mr. Barr would make a great Republican, a far cry better than today's Republican Party, but he IS NOT a libertarian. What just happened to the Libertarian Party is that we sold out our values to do better in the election, IF we do better.
I'd like to hear what Mr. D. Jahn has to say about this. He was at the convention.
I'm short on time right now, so I can't write at length the way I would like.
Since I came to the party in 2000, I notice that the party has fractured every time we nominate a candidate for president. In 2000, folks thought Harry Brown was at the center of corruption charges. In 2004, the delegates wanted to reverse their votes when they learned that Badnarik was a state citizen without a drivers license, etc. This year is no different.
I can tell you we listened to all of the candidates, and none of them were perfect. The delegates made their choice.
Some folks insist on hitching our wagon to a non-compromising candidate even if they won't get out of the barnyard. What a disservice to this nation. Instead of focusing on getting libertarians elected, we insist on shocking the electorate with our principled views. The end result is the major parties continue to run our liberties and our country into the ground. It is time for us to mature. We may have reached the point where libs would prefer to get some people elected.
This party split years ago into educational and political branches. We are in the political branch. That means our priority should be getting candidates elected who will take this country in a libertarian direction. We arrived at this juncture in increments, and we will only succeed in reversing it in increments.
I'd like to see us put up a candidate who will get more than one percent of the vote, so people will take notice to our party and give our candidates more consideration in the coming years. We don't need a candidate who is going to shout about legalizing heroin and crack or legalizing prostitution for example. That may be the way we want to lead the country, but the electorate isn't ready to go there in one big leap. We have to guide them there. Let's push for legalizing marijuana. Once we get that, the public might begin to see it our way and we can push for more.
All of the candidates had issues. I believe the delegates felt that Bob Barr offered the greatest opportunity for our party. They were concerned about Barr, but he addressed those concerns.
I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and see where it leads us. Next year, we may say it was the best thing we ever did, or the worst, who knows. I'm not one for whining. I didn't whine in 2000 or 2004, and I'm not going to start now. I don't look back, I look forward. I'll back Barr as long as I'm able to tolerate the views he espouses from this day forward. It is in his hands now. It is up to him to keep us with him. If he loses us, he is done, and I'm sure he knows that. I haven't heard anything from him throughout the convention that turned me off. I hope he keeps it that way. After serving two years on the Libertarian National Committee, he should know how we think.
I hope that helps.
David Jahn
