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11/7/2008 6:28:52 PM

Quote :

"You'll be dead before you see that party get more than 10% of the national vote."

I love it when God makes statements that come back to bite him in the ass.

11/7/2008 6:29:07 PM

^Seriously? Their brightest star was Barr, and he ended up getting 0.4% of the national vote. That's a long way to go to being a "serious contender." Which, in other words, means "a contender that anyone takes seriously."

11/7/2008 6:34:58 PM

God hates liberty

11/7/2008 6:35:40 PM

How the hell did that get double-posted?

Meh, see below.

[Edited on November 7, 2008 at 6:40 PM. Reason : vv]

11/7/2008 6:36:07 PM

My point, which clearly did the same thing to you, was that you're advocating "personal responsibility" without giving any clearer explanation of what that means.

What do you want, people to pay for their own healthcare? Their own education? How far does it go?

11/7/2008 6:38:35 PM

Quote :

"I'd like to see a municipality where they don't collect taxes, but instead everyone "volunteers" their money and support to help their fellow man. Shit would last about one week until people started bitching about their being no electricity, running water, maintained roads, education, or anything else that taxes pay for."

Yes, that's EXACTLY what Duke was saying! That Libertarianism advocates the total and complete abolition of taxes!

Also, to assume that such an anarchist commune would still rely upon an outside government for infrastructure is to create a basis that sets the scenario up for failure.


Anyway... imagine you are the person, and the toy plane is Duke's point:



Also:

Quote :

"Their brightest star was Barr"

Barr is an ex-neocon hack who decided to run as a Libertarian to re-energize his political career. I'd be surprised if he even believes half the party's platforms.

11/7/2008 6:38:54 PM

Hahah, so your best national performance was by someone who doesn't even represent your party's values? Wonderful job.

11/7/2008 6:44:32 PM

Quote :

"My point, which clearly did the same thing to you, was that you're advocating "personal responsibility" without giving any clearer explanation of what that means. What do you want, people to pay for their own healthcare? Their own education? How far does it go?"

People differ on this one within the party, which I think is why Duke may have been so vague on the topic. Personally, I think that a person should pay for their own healthcare, assuming that the price of healthcare hasn't been completely inflated by government involvement (with the system we have now, someone is guaranteed to get shafted for another person's bill in almost any arrangement... be it employers, taxpayers, doctors, or whoever). Unlike some Libertarians, I think that education should be federally funded, but without as many of the wastes as the current system allows... rather, I'd advocate higher teacher's salaries and less focus on the "everyone can go to college" ideal. Also, I believe that people should be responsible for saving for their own future and retirement, and that social security should have an option to opt-out (if not gradually phased out of existence completely).

It's a vague one because it varies person-to-person.


^Now you sound like hooksaw... asserting that popularity = superiority. You're usually better than that in TSB, don't be an ignorant douche here.

[Edited on November 7, 2008 at 6:48 PM. Reason : .]

11/7/2008 6:47:11 PM

Quote :

"assuming that the price of healthcare hasn't been completely inflated by government involvement (with the system we have now, someone is guaranteed to get shafted for another person's bill in almost any arrangement... be it employers, taxpayers, doctors, or whoever)"

If you think the government is at fault, you're mistaken. Healthcare companies in the United States are profit oriented. This is why it's so inflated. Government run healthcare in foreign countries is... well... free because taxes pay for it. And considering we have a crisis due to all of the fatasses, smokers, and other people dying early, I'd say they're doing much better than we are.

Quote :

"Also, I believe that people should be responsible for saving for their own future and retirement, and that social security should have an option to opt-out (if not gradually phased out of existence completely)."

That's fine, and I agree with you there.

Quote :

"^Now you sound like hooksaw... asserting that popularity = superiority. You're usually better than that in TSB, don't be an ignorant douche here."

Dunno what you mean there, and sorry if I came off that way. Everyone in this thread seems to be "pumped" by Barr's performance and is looking forward to 2010 and 2012. And then we see that he only gets 0.4% of the national vote and you say he doesn't even really represent the values of your party. What's to be pumped about? That's what I'm asking.

Off to get a pizza, laters!

11/7/2008 6:51:28 PM

^It's being pumped over Munger's performance in NC that people are happy about, not Barr's. Munger getting >2% of the vote guaranteed the Libertarian party a place on the state government ballot, and as Noen said: "It means in the next election cycle, Libertarian candidates can spend their time and campaign dollars on WINNING, instead of just gaining entry to compete." I think you may have just missed the name in the original post.


As for Barr, I'm sure plenty of Libertarians out there like him, and frankly he IS one of the most electable Libertarian candidates to come about recently, though electability is almost entirely about charisma than anything policy-related. Unfortunately, the Libertarian party on the national/presidential level tends to find people who come off as somewhat nutty, and Barr breaks the trend by being someone with a good experience record and an aura of "a guy you can have a beer with". Unfortunately he also happens to be a supposedly reformed neo-con who I don't trust at all.


Also, enjoy the pizza, I'm out to a LAN and probably a following house party.

[Edited on November 7, 2008 at 7:01 PM. Reason : .]

11/7/2008 7:00:54 PM

I voted for Munger as well - he was definitely a great candidate.

11/7/2008 7:14:31 PM