We wouldn't vote for each other!

[klamath]

Almost all of us couldn't get elected by the very people on these forums. Any one of us could post our platforms and within hours that person would be a neocon or socialist especially as people did searches on that persons post history and found any contradictions. If you don't believe me I challenge you to try posting your platform and say you are running for office.:D

[StilesBC]

True to an extent. I used to be a socialist. I'm sure anyone interested enough could go back a few years and find me praising Chomsky somewhere on the internet.

I prefer to use my change in ideology as a positive, rather than a negative. I've seen the world through many sets of eyes and have chosen the most legitimate based on trial and error.

[klamath]

True to an extent. I used to be a socialist. I'm sure anyone interested enough could go back a few years and find me praising Chomsky somewhere on the internet.

I prefer to use my change in ideology as a positive, rather than a negative. I've seen the world through many sets of eyes and have chosen the most legitimate based on trial and error.

That is the point I am trying to make. Even if you now fully believe in what the RP believes in someone with an ax to grind would have you painted as a socialist by bringing up all of you old posts. Consistancy is very important for trust but many of us take this to the extreme.

[RJB]

(Shrug) Not to pick on anyone but I'd even vote for Kade. Politics and personalities aside, he's honest and knows what's going on. I do mean that as a compliment-- no backhandedness nor sarcasm.

Yeah, I'd vote for most people on this forum.

[Knightskye]

Seriously. I was a liberal until mid to late last year.

Bob Barr was a libertarian longer than I was.

[klamath]

Seriously. I was a liberal until mid to late last year.

Bob Barr was a libertarian longer than I was.

How old are you?

[Theocrat]

Almost all of us couldn't get elected by the very people on these forums. Any one of us could post our platforms and within hours that person would be a neocon or socialist especially as people did searches on that persons post history and found any contradictions. If you don't believe me I challenge you to try posting your platform and say you are running for office.:D

I guarantee you that the majority of the members on RPF would vote for me, were I to run for office.

[Kade]

I guarantee you that the majority of the members on RPF would vote for me, were I to run for office.

Not if they valued their freedom. But hey, I've been saying that we have a lot of stupid on these forums, if your point is true, chalk one up in the fact column.

[Feenix566]

That's just how politics works. You don't get to vote for your ideal candidate. You can talk all day about what the ideal candidate would do, but when you get into that voting booth, you only get to choose from the names that are actually on the ballot.

I'm sure everyone here would vote for anyone here over McCain or Obama.

[constituent]

I'm running for office.




DON'T VOTE! (for me)


^my slogan

[Dary]

If you don't believe me I challenge you to try posting your platform and say you are running for office.:D

I'll give it a shot.
(but please people don't waste your time on this. It's only a joke.)

If I were to run for the U.S. Senate, these would be the issues that I'd run on.


I would work towards:

Stopping all foreign aid.
Ending the so-called war in Iraq.
Abolishing the Federal Reserve.
Ending all government subsidies and funding of all unconstitutionally authorized programs.
Abolishing the federal income tax.
Abolishing the death/inheritance tax.
Abolishing all corporate taxes.
Ending the failed war on drugs.
Closing all overseas military bases.
Ending our participation in NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the IMF and the WTO.
Ending birth-right citizenship.
Legalizing the production of industrial hemp.
Outlawing executive orders and presidential signing statements.
Reaffirming congress' commitment to following the US Constitution.
Challenging the US Supreme court’s decisions on all unconstitutional matters.
Standardizing elections and mandate paper audits.
Getting rid of the patriot act.
Outlawing the implementation of the Real ID national identification program.
Outlawing the practice of bundling Congressional bills.
Opening up talks with any country willing to sit down and talk.
Fighting against all attempts to limit free speech on the net and everywhere else.
Abolishing the selective service.
Fighting for veteran’s benefits.
Getting rid of the department of education and all other unconstitutionally mandated departments.
Pushing for competing currencies backed by value instead of debt and military force.
Stopping the blackmailing the states by threatening to withhold federal funds.
Strengthening our military, our coast guard and our bases here at home.
Requiring all spending bills to be put through the process rather than relying on so-called emergency spending.
Giving free cheese to everyone. :) Doh!!!

[jbuttell]

Seriously. I was a liberal until mid to late last year.

Bob Barr was a libertarian longer than I was.

Even though I have a long history of dispising contemporary Liberals - I'd likely be more willing to support you than Bob Barr with his record ;)

I understand where the first poster of this thread is coming from. I think the difference between some 'new' candidate who may have had prior views, and someone like Bob Barr - is that there's no voting record. Bob Barr has a mess of a voting record to "right." I'm far from convinced the guy really has or will change. Then we have people that are concerned about Baldwin and what he *hypothetically* might do, because they're afraid of his Christian beliefs. For me, between those two individuals, the choice is clear... Unfortunately I only have Barr on the ballot here, so I suppose I'll be checking off his name ;/ (I'm up for any critical reasoning against this, if you have any...)

We should be ready to give people chances, but once they wrong us - be very weary of ever supporting them again.

If we could find ways to hold our representatives accountable - which I don't think anyone really feels they have the power to effectively do, the march toward liberty would move much faster.

[Theocrat]

Not if they valued their freedom. But hey, I've been saying that we have a lot of stupid on these forums, if your point is true, chalk one up in the fact column.

Hey, I believe in liberty, not libertinism. Freedom is not without moral responsibility, Kade.

[jbuttell]

I'll give it a shot.

Giving free cheese to everyone. :) Doh!!!
[/LIST]

You have my support, so long as you provide the wine too!

[constituent]

Hey, I believe in liberty, not libertinism. Freedom is not without moral responsibility, Kade.

Moral responsibility is not w/in the state's purview, Theo.

;):)

[johnrocks]

I saw a quote a while back that made sense to me "Organizing Libertarians is like herding cats....angry cats", we need to stop bickering among ourselves on the smaller issues that divide Libertarians,constitutionalists,classical liberals and paleo cons and focus on the issues that we all agree on for the most part that are now tearing this Nation I love apart. We need to somehow "tie" us all together between now and 2010 and get behind one person instead of everyone trying to be the fucking purist and dividing our voices!:mad:

[Theocrat]

I'll give it a shot.
(but please people don't waste your time on this. It's only a joke.)

If I were to run for the U.S. Senate, these would be the issues that I'd run on.

I would work towards:

Stopping all foreign aid.
Ending the so-called war in Iraq.
Abolishing the Federal Reserve.
Ending all government subsidies and funding of all unconstitutionally authorized programs.
Abolishing the federal income tax.
Abolishing the death/inheritance tax.
Abolishing all corporate taxes.
Ending the failed war on drugs.
Closing all overseas military bases.
Ending our participation in NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the IMF and the WTO.
Ending birth-right citizenship.
Legalizing the production of industrial hemp.
Outlawing executive orders and presidential signing statements.
Reaffirming congresses commitment to following the US Constitution.
Challenging the US Supreme court’s decisions on all unconstitutional matters.
Standardizing elections and mandate paper audits.
Getting rid of the patriot act.
Outlawing the implementation of the Real ID national identification program.
Outlawing the practice of bundling Congressional bills.
Opening up talks with any country willing to sit down and talk.
Fighting against all attempts to limit free speech on the net and everywhere else.
Abolishing the selective service.
Fighting for veteran’s benefits.
Getting rid of the department of education and all other unconstitutionally mandated departments.
Pushing for competing currencies backed by value instead of debt and military force.
Stopping the blackmailing the states by threatening to withhold federal funds.
Strengthening our military, our coast guard and our bases here at home.
Requiring all spending bills to be put through the process rather than relying on so-called emergency spending.
Giving free cheese to everyone. :) Doh!!!


You just lost my vote with your last issue. :(

[Dary]

You have my support, so long as you provide the wine too!

I should have burried that in the middle just to see if anyone would have noticed it.

[constituent]

I saw a quote a while back that made sense to me "Organizing Libertarians is like herding cats....angry cats", we need to stop bickering among ourselves on the smaller issues that divide Libertarians,constitutionalists,classical liberals and paleo cons and focus on the issues that we all agree on for the most part that are now tearing this Nation I love apart. We need to somehow "tie" us all together between now and 2010 and get behind one person instead of everyone trying to be the fucking purist and dividing our voices!:mad:

if 2010 is your goal, the best way to go about it would be for all libertarians to unify as republicans, you know stop bickering on the smaller issues (like labels) and what not.

[Theocrat]

Moral responsibility is not w/in the state's purview, Theo.

;):)

Of course it is. Otherwise, we wouldn't have laws forbidding theft, lying, destruction of other people's property, murder, and a host of other immoral acts.

[constituent]

Of course it is. Otherwise, we wouldn't have laws forbidding theft, lying, destruction of other's property, murder, and a host of other immoral acts.

oh goodness.

[torchbearer]

Hey, I believe in liberty, not libertinism. Freedom is not without moral responsibility, Kade.

Whose morality?

[johnrocks]

if 2010 is your goal, the best way to go about it would be for all libertarians to unify as republicans, you know stop bickering on the smaller issues (like labels) and what not.

How many votes did Ron Paul get total? (I honestly don't know) Let's say a million, now if that million could somehow be convinced to give $200 each between now and June 2010 in what ever increments they can, that would be 200 million dollars! That could really make a difference in State Legislature races, Congressional races and Senate seats if we could do the one thing we detest....succumb to central planning:p come together under one banner as opposed to 100 different parties and organizations pulling at each other and competing for the money and the votes.

[enjerth]

Almost all of us couldn't get elected by the very people on these forums. Any one of us could post our platforms and within hours that person would be a neocon or socialist especially as people did searches on that persons post history and found any contradictions. If you don't believe me I challenge you to try posting your platform and say you are running for office.:D

I ran for congress in the primary. I announced it here, but it didn't get much attention.

The day before the primary, people started asking who this guy was (looking at my website) saying I sounded like I might be a Ron Paul supporter. It was funny. Sad, but funny.

[brandon]

I'm running for office as a legislator. Here is my platform:

I will only vote 'aye' on bills that repeal current laws, remove regulations on people and business, and abolish government programs and departments.
Other then that, I will vote no on everything. EVERYTHING

Will you vote for me?

[Micah Dardar]

I would have an easier time winning an office here in New Orleans by saying that I used to be a Democrat. This city is probably 80% Dem. I'm an outcast with my Ron Paul signs down here in Obamanation.

[ChaosControl]

I was thinking about this concept too. Instead of worrying about every small thing why not focus on the most important issues which we all agree on. Sound money, abolishment of the federal reserve, non-interventionist (or at least scaled back) foreign policy, etc.

Heck I know I changed my views a lot over the years. I probably started out as moderate, then moved to social conservative, now I'm more so a libertarian. Of course there was views I disagree with other libertarians on. I'm more of an environmentalist and animal welfare type than most libertarians or conservatives. I detest corporations as well, but then I see that as an extension of being supportive of free market rather than in conflict considering a corporation can only exist because the state allows for the limited liability status of it.

I see a lot of disagreement among people though over various issues whether it be social, foreign policy, or even economic. But there are generally some common themes among the vast majority of people here, and to some extent I think even among most Americans.

I think all the third parties should unite as a single force and focus on the major issues we agree with and get those implemented, then afterwords after those are achieved we can maybe breakup and try and achieve our own specific goals. That was one aspect I liked of the tihng Ron Paul did where he got the four bigger third parties (candidates) to agree on the four fundamental issues, we should take that idea and carry it more and unite the parties under a banner and work on getting those achieved before we worry about smaller issues.

[Feenix566]

I'll give it a shot.
(but please people don't waste your time on this. It's only a joke.)

If I were to run for the U.S. Senate, these would be the issues that I'd run on.


I would work towards:

Stopping all foreign aid.
Ending the so-called war in Iraq.
Abolishing the Federal Reserve.
Ending all government subsidies and funding of all unconstitutionally authorized programs.
Abolishing the federal income tax.
Abolishing the death/inheritance tax.
Abolishing all corporate taxes.
Ending the failed war on drugs.
Closing all overseas military bases.
Ending our participation in NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the IMF and the WTO.
Ending birth-right citizenship.
Legalizing the production of industrial hemp.
Outlawing executive orders and presidential signing statements.
Reaffirming congress' commitment to following the US Constitution.
Challenging the US Supreme court’s decisions on all unconstitutional matters.
Standardizing elections and mandate paper audits.
Getting rid of the patriot act.
Outlawing the implementation of the Real ID national identification program.
Outlawing the practice of bundling Congressional bills.
Opening up talks with any country willing to sit down and talk.
Fighting against all attempts to limit free speech on the net and everywhere else.
Abolishing the selective service.
Fighting for veteran’s benefits.
Getting rid of the department of education and all other unconstitutionally mandated departments.
Pushing for competing currencies backed by value instead of debt and military force.
Stopping the blackmailing the states by threatening to withhold federal funds.
Strengthening our military, our coast guard and our bases here at home.
Requiring all spending bills to be put through the process rather than relying on so-called emergency spending.
Giving free cheese to everyone. :) Doh!!!


You've got my vote. there's only one part of that plan with which I disagree. (and it's not the cheese part) So unless someone comes along to run against you who supports every one of those points except the one I don't like, I'll vote for you :)



I'm running for office as a legislator. Here is my platform:

I will only vote 'aye' on bills that repeal current laws, remove regulations on people and business, and abolish government programs and departments.
Other then that, I will vote no on everything. EVERYTHING

Will you vote for me?

Yes.

[dannno]

I would vote for anybody on this forum over Obama/McCain.

[constituent]

Heck I know I changed my views a lot over the years. I probably started out as moderate, then moved to social conservative, now I'm more so a libertarian. Of course there was views I disagree with other libertarians on. I'm more of an environmentalist and animal welfare type than most libertarians or conservatives. I detest corporations as well, but then I see that as an extension of being supportive of free market rather than in conflict considering a corporation can only exist because the state allows for the limited liability status of it.


rock on.

[surf]

Almost all of us couldn't get elected by the very people on these forums.

my fellow prisoners, i strongly disagree w/that statement.

edit: my platform is all about reducing government spending these days, as i see this as, basically, our only hope - as well as a first step. the expected result of reducing spending is increased liberty.

[josephadel_3]

This is what I have been saying all along to anti Barr people. I used to kinda think like a neocon. Now I hate neocons, completely converted. Get over it.

[constituent]

completely converted.

care to elaborate?

i've always wondered what people meant when they said "converted"

[josephadel_3]

i'll give it a shot.
(but please people don't waste your time on this. It's only a joke.)

if i were to run for the u.s. Senate, these would be the issues that i'd run on.


giving free cheese to everyone. :) doh!!!


socialist piece of shit!

[josephadel_3]

care to elaborate?

i've always wondered what people meant when they said "converted"

Maybe converted isn't the best word. More like awoke. I was kind of in "limbo" I guess you could say, waiting to be awakened. I didn't really know what I believed but I tended to side with war mongering neocons like michael savage, and the like. Hell, I even once sent Bill O'Reilly an e-mail thanking him for having the guts to speak the "truth." What a mistake, huh? When I heard Ron Paul speak about the law, the Constitution, and how it wasn't being followed, everything kind of stemmed from there. When I was in high school I kind of remember saying ," Hey wait a minute, why isn't this war being declared? Wtf?" There you can see how my mind was ready to accep RP's message of freedom, peace, and law. I was really just searching desperately for someone good to vote for this year, and they all seemed the same, until I gave RP a shot. From there, I went on his site and watched every youtube video and was completely amazed.

[Kludge]

Abortion: Anti-Life, but an issue I would vow never to vote on.

Gun Control: Disallow all violent criminals from owning guns. Otherwise, eliminate all restrictions (background check would obviously have to remain)

Marijuana: Legalize it.

Other Drugs: Legalize "soft" drugs (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Hard_and_soft_drugs.svg/774px-Hard_and_soft_drugs.svg.png) on the national level, leave the "hard" drugs to the states.

Oil Drilling: Property owners may do as they please with their property - including drilling for oil so long as they don't pollute.

Illegal Immigrants: Eliminate all quotas, make fees due to the naturalization department flexible, increase the difficulty of the citizenship questions. Also consider tacking on a light (5-10%) permanent income tax to immigrants since the tax would be voluntary (no one forced them to immigrate).

Homeland Security: Cut spending by at least 1/3, focus on SDI and similar defenses.

Health Care: Phase out Medicaid/Medicare, allow each citizen three free ambulance rides in their lifetime at taxpayer expense and leave it at that.

Foreign Policy: Isolationism-leaning non-interventionism. Keep trade open, no embargoes (less tariffs) or threats - stay out of all non-US affairs that are not an imminent threat. Require a declaration of war for troops to be stationed anywhere outside the U.S. Get out of all current world organizations we are involved with.

Global Warming: If it's important to people, the invisible hand will self-regulate to benefit the environment (and their marketing department). Corporations will introduce more (they already are making big pushes toward eco-friendly products) eco-friendly products so long as there is demand for it.

Gay Marriage: Government has no role in marriage. It should not be legally recognized/subsidized/regulated. (As for hospitals, relatives should have medical power of attorney by default, with social contracts giving medical power of attorney as law that the hospital must recognize).

Death Penalty: Make prisons harsher and for-profit (not privatized). Eliminate the death penalty.

Gambling: Legalize, but tax winnings at the NST (National Sales Tax, mentioned below) rate.

Age Of Consent: Maintain, but take away the "sexual offender" status given with being convicted of statutory rape.

National ID's: No RFID chips. Allow the IDs to be scanned like a credit card or similar to be used for all government services (getting a driver's license, charging for one of your ambulance trips, taking gov't transportation, etc.). Do not require to be carried at all times.

Foreign Trade Policy: Eliminate all tariffs if the budget permits, absolutely no trade embargoes.

Transportation:


Federal: Turn over interstates to the private sector.
State & Local: Privatize major roads if possible. Keep remaining roads in their current status of maintenance.

Unions: Mandate Right-To-Work laws (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work) on the federal level for public job sectors only. Protect workers' ability to voluntarily unionize.

Education: Eliminate public schools. Eliminate mandated standardized tests. Require schools to provide their tuition/year rate, less they forfeit the privilege to be eligible for vouchers. Provide vouchers that pay 75% of the average tuition/year. Any excess funding will go back to the treasury department. Eliminate collage grants.

Taxes:



All current taxes - Eliminate.
National Sales Tax (internet included!) - ~10% (~ $1.3 trillion in annual revenue)

IRS - No tax filing req'd for individuals who do not own a business.




General Financial/Economic Goals of Federal Gov't:



Military Budget - Cut by no less then 33%
Social Security - $2,000 for each year working full-time to be refunded to all for those not currently on social security benefits. Maintain the full benefits for those currently on the system. Completely eliminate the program and all associated programs in 40 years, giving those still alive $25,000.
Medicaid - Phase out in no more then 5 years time from initiation of cutting benefits.
National debt - Increase national sales tax % as needed to slowly (~20-30 years) eliminate the national debt. Once the national debt is eliminated, there should be a Constitutional amendment that disqualifies the President, Vice President, and all members of congress from running for ANY political office should there be an annual deficit over .5% of the annual GDP for that year. There should be a small but independent federal department to watch those statistics and alert the public and the FCC if a violation of that amendment occurs.

Currency: Maintain current system, but peg % extra money printed to a statistic which takes into account GDP and population growth.

Non-Profit Status: Eliminate. Eliminating taxes not associated with product sales essentially gives organizations current non-profit status.

Intellectual Property "Rights": Enforce contracts. If the contract doesn't expressly forbid something, then no crime has (or should have) occurred.

Net Neutrality: Property "rights" > "right" to access the internet in its public entirety.


About You:

Political Affiliation: LP/GOP member, libertarian conservative.

Age: 18

Gender: Male

State: Michigan

Race: Native/White

Religion: Agnostic Atheist

Candidate you will likely vote for: Bob Barr

[josephadel_3]

Abortion: Anti-Life, but an issue I would vow never to vote on.

Gun Control: Disallow all violent criminals from owning guns. Otherwise, eliminate all restrictions (background check would obviously have to remain)

Marijuana: Legalize it.

Other Drugs: Legalize "soft" drugs (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Hard_and_soft_drugs.svg/774px-Hard_and_soft_drugs.svg.png) on the national level, leave the "hard" drugs to the states.

Oil Drilling: Property owners may do as they please with their property - including drilling for oil so long as they don't pollute.

Illegal Immigrants: Eliminate all quotas, make fees due to the naturalization department flexible, increase the difficulty of the citizenship questions. Also consider tacking on a light (5-10%) permanent income tax to immigrants since the tax would be voluntary (no one forced them to immigrate).

Homeland Security: Cut spending by at least 1/3, focus on SDI and similar defenses.

Health Care: Phase out Medicaid/Medicare, allow each citizen three free ambulance rides in their lifetime at taxpayer expense and leave it at that.

Foreign Policy: Isolationism-leaning non-interventionism. Keep trade open, no embargoes (less tariffs) or threats - stay out of all non-US affairs that are not an imminent threat. Require a declaration of war for troops to be stationed anywhere outside the U.S. Get out of all current world organizations we are involved with.

Global Warming: If it's important to people, the invisible hand will self-regulate to benefit the environment (and their marketing department). Corporations will introduce more (they already are making big pushes toward eco-friendly products) eco-friendly products so long as there is demand for it.

Gay Marriage: Government has no role in marriage. It should not be legally recognized/subsidized/regulated. (As for hospitals, relatives should have medical power of attorney by default, with social contracts giving medical power of attorney as law that the hospital must recognize).

Death Penalty: Make prisons harsher and for-profit (not privatized). Eliminate the death penalty.

Gambling: Legalize, but tax winnings at the NST (National Sales Tax, mentioned below) rate.

Age Of Consent: Maintain, but take away the "sexual offender" status given with being convicted of statutory rape.

National ID's: No RFID chips. Allow the IDs to be scanned like a credit card or similar to be used for all government services (getting a driver's license, charging for one of your ambulance trips, taking gov't transportation, etc.). Do not require to be carried at all times.

Foreign Trade Policy: Eliminate all tariffs if the budget permits, absolutely no trade embargoes.

Transportation:


Federal: Turn over interstates to the private sector.
State & Local: Privatize major roads if possible. Keep remaining roads in their current status of maintenance.

Unions: Mandate Right-To-Work laws (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work) on the federal level for public job sectors only. Protect workers' ability to voluntarily unionize.

Education: Eliminate public schools. Eliminate mandated standardized tests. Require schools to provide their tuition/year rate, less they forfeit the privilege to be eligible for vouchers. Provide vouchers that pay 75% of the average tuition/year. Any excess funding will go back to the treasury department. Eliminate collage grants.

Taxes:



All current taxes - Eliminate.
National Sales Tax (internet included!) - ~10% (~ $1.3 trillion in annual revenue)

IRS - No tax filing req'd for individuals who do not own a business.




General Financial/Economic Goals of Federal Gov't:



Military Budget - Cut by no less then 33%
Social Security - $2,000 for each year working full-time to be refunded to all for those not currently on social security benefits. Maintain the full benefits for those currently on the system. Completely eliminate the program and all associated programs in 40 years, giving those still alive $25,000.
Medicaid - Phase out in no more then 5 years time from initiation of cutting benefits.
National debt - Increase national sales tax % as needed to slowly (~20-30 years) eliminate the national debt. Once the national debt is eliminated, there should be a Constitutional amendment that disqualifies the President, Vice President, and all members of congress from running for ANY political office should there be an annual deficit over .5% of the annual GDP for that year. There should be a small but independent federal department to watch those statistics and alert the public and the FCC if a violation of that amendment occurs.

Currency: Maintain current system, but peg % extra money printed to a statistic which takes into account GDP and population growth.

Non-Profit Status: Eliminate. Eliminating taxes not associated with product sales essentially gives organizations current non-profit status.

Intellectual Property "Rights": Enforce contracts. If the contract doesn't expressly forbid something, then no crime has (or should have) occurred.

Net Neutrality: Property "rights" > "right" to access the internet in its public entirety.


About You:

Political Affiliation: LP/GOP member, libertarian conservative.

Age: 18

Gender: Male

State: Michigan

Race: Native/White

Religion: Agnostic Atheist

Candidate you will likely vote for: Bob Barr

Did you write Anti-Life just to stir things up or what? Who says that? Seriously? Also, why wouldn't you want a sound monetary system that isn't easily inflateable? As soon as you get out of office, the raping of the spending would commence.

[Kludge]

Did you write Anti-Life just to stir things up or what? Who says that? Seriously?

Does it matter? The issue is so polarizing, I might as well pull out a smirk or two from non-partisans.


Also, why wouldn't you want a sound monetary system that isn't easily inflateable? As soon as you get out of office, the raping of the spending would commence.

What's to stop them from taking us off the gold standard? There may need to be a Constitutional amendment to require annual voting on the inflation rate by federal AND state legislators to be effective. The Fed would be abolished, so Congress would have all control.

[josephadel_3]

Does it matter? The issue is so polarizing, I might as well pull out a smirk or two from non-partisans.



What's to stop them from taking us off the gold standard? There may need to be a Constitutional amendment to require annual voting on the inflation rate by federal AND state legislators to be effective. The Fed would be abolished, so Congress would have all control.

Right, so once you abolish the Fed, it can't be put in power again right? So if you were president, why reinstate the gold standard just to show everyone how well it works? Why not have it all if you could? I agree with abolishing the Fed and Congress having control though.

[brandon]

Wow, I would never vote for kludge. :) Background checks for guns?? Are you serious? On a federal level? Either way...I would never vote for someone who supports background checks. Do you know how many false positives result in good standing citizens being denied their rights in our current system?

And why should violent criminals be denied the right to protect themselves? After they serve their sentence, how can you justify continued restrictions on their liberty?

[brandon]

Kludge, what about a person who stabbed someone...After they get released from prison should they be allowed to buy a kitchen knife? Should we require mandatory background checks on everyone before they can buy a steak knife?

[micahnelson]

After they serve their sentence, how can you justify continued restrictions on their liberty?

If a person uses a weapon in a crime, should they be allowed to legally posses that weapon again?

[brandon]

If a person uses a weapon in a crime, should they be allowed to legally posses that weapon again?

yes, unless they are sentenced to life in jail. Once a person completes their sentence, there is no way to justify continued restraints on their life.

[Kludge]

Right, so once you abolish the Fed, it can't be put in power again right?

Well.... It could. I can do nothing to prevent that. All laws can be amended, removed, or created.


So if you were president, why not reinstate the gold standard just to show everyone how well it works? Why [not] have it all if you could? I agree with abolishing the Fed and Congress having control though.

Gold is limited in quantity, both the amount in the Earth and the gold extracted. I don't believe that gold could/will be mined at a fast enough rate and once we run out, deflation would likely become rapid.

Perhaps a system where coins were minted out of precious and semi-precious metals would work... Then the gov't could mint more/less valuable coins as needed, marking the metal symbol and % within. The gov't could then create a type of "artificial currency" which combines the value of global fiat currencies to the value of the coins to give the coins an imperical value to the coins. The value could then be regularly updated (perhaps a small federal dep't could be created) for merchants (databases could be updated via the internet) and consumers.

[Kludge]

Kludge, what about a person who stabbed someone...After they get released from prison should they be allowed to buy a kitchen knife? Should we require mandatory background checks on everyone before they can buy a steak knife?

I've heard this point enough that it should be a habit to think of when talking about gun rights. I suppose if the sentence is proper for the crime, there is no reason to strip them of their right to bear arms and thus no reason to conduct background checks.

[brandon]

I've heard this point enough that it should be a habit to think of when talking about gun rights. I suppose if the sentence is proper for the crime, there is no reason to strip them of their right to bear arms and thus no reason to conduct background checks.

I'm just extremely opposed to background checks since I failed mine for no reason a couple weeks ago. If you talked to me before that I might agree with saying violent criminals cant own guns.

[torchbearer]

yes, unless they are sentenced to life in jail. Once a person completes their sentence, there is no way to justify continued restraints on their life.

An interesting note about Louisiana- first time felons who complete their time and restitution get an automatic pardon from the governor.
Meaning they can vote, own a gun, etc.

[josephadel_3]

Well.... It could. I can do nothing to prevent that. All laws can be amended, removed, or created.



Gold is limited in quantity, both the amount in the Earth and the gold extracted. I don't believe that gold could/will be mined at a fast enough rate and once we run out, deflation would likely become rapid.

Perhaps a system where coins were minted out of precious and semi-precious metals would work... Then the gov't could mint more/less valuable coins as needed, marking the metal symbol and % within. The gov't could then create a type of "artificial currency" which combines the value of global fiat currencies to the value of the coins to give the coins an imperical value to the coins. The value could then be regularly updated (perhaps a small federal dep't could be created) for merchants (databases could be updated via the internet) and consumers.

Actually, I've always kind of thought this. What's wrong with using platinum, silver, palladium, etc. You could use paper, just have it redeemable in PM. You know? It's still sound money and they are all hard assets.

[Feenix566]

Once Kludge has implemented his policy to decriminalize drugs, the drug gangs will be replaced with legitimate law-abiding companies. The gun violence would go down dramatically almost overnight. I think once that's done, then his policy on denying gun rights to people who have been convicted of gun crimes would make a lot more sense.

As it stands right now, drug dealers carry guns everywhere because that's the only way they can protect themselves from thieves and each other. A lot of gun violence is carried out by drug dealers who see it simply as a means of protecting themselves. Once you take the drug trade off the streets and put it into liquor stores where it belongs, it can be regulated by the cops just like every other legitimate business. At that point, the only people committing gun violence would be the genuine assholes who think robbery is a great way to make a living. I have no problem taking away their right to bear arms.

[Micah Dardar]

An interesting note about Louisiana- first time felons who complete their time and restitution get an automatic pardon from the governor.
Meaning they can vote, own a gun, etc.

I didn't think that the first offender pardon grants the right to own a gun again. Are you sure about that specific?

Unfortunately for me, they waited until I had two felonies for marijuana before they arrested me for either. I'm waiting on a pardon hearing at the moment. So far the felony hasn't given me any problems, but I have to get a pardon to own a gun and run for political office.

If I do get my pardon and run for office, I can't wait to see how society responds to politicians attacking me for selling pot in the 90's. That may be exactly the kind of publicity I need to win in New Orleans. In fact, that may be my key to getting the black vote here. New Orleans has not had a mayor that isn't black since 1978.

[Dary]

socialist piece of shit!

Damn. Klamath was right! :)

[torchbearer]

I didn't think that the first offender pardon grants the right to own a gun again. Are you sure about that specific?

Unfortunately for me, they waited until I had two felonies for marijuana before they arrested me for either. I'm waiting on a pardon hearing at the moment. So far the felony hasn't given me any problems, but I have to get a pardon to own a gun and run for political office.

If I do get my pardon and run for office, I can't wait to see how society responds to politicians attacking me for selling pot in the 90's. That may be exactly the kind of publicity I need to win in New Orleans. In fact, that may be my key to getting the black vote here. New Orleans has not had a mayor that isn't black since 1978.

I got my information from Scott Lewis, our new Vice-Chair of the LALP. He's a former NFL player, and was discussing this at our last meeting.
We were talking in particular about getting people registered to vote. We were looking at targeting people busted with marijuana etc... He said he was instrumental in getting that legislation passed.
I haven't seen the law, but I don't think he had any reason to lie about it.
You should contact him as soon as the LALP website gets back up.

[torchbearer]

I didn't think that the first offender pardon grants the right to own a gun again. Are you sure about that specific?

Unfortunately for me, they waited until I had two felonies for marijuana before they arrested me for either. I'm waiting on a pardon hearing at the moment. So far the felony hasn't given me any problems, but I have to get a pardon to own a gun and run for political office.

If I do get my pardon and run for office, I can't wait to see how society responds to politicians attacking me for selling pot in the 90's. That may be exactly the kind of publicity I need to win in New Orleans. In fact, that may be my key to getting the black vote here. New Orleans has not had a mayor that isn't black since 1978.

Just a guess, but i'd say the first felony pardon was put in because so many of our politicians have gone to jail for corruption, and wanted to continue their looting through government as soon as they get out of jail.
In fact, the sheriff of Avoyelles was re-elected while still in jail.

[Micah Dardar]

I got my information from Scott Lewis


I voted for him for Secretary of State.

[torchbearer]

I voted for him for Secretary of State.

I'm very surpised at the LALP demographics now...
T. Lee Horne, III brought in a large african-american following.
5 years ago, it was mostly old white guys.
Now we have a good mix of men, women, black, white, christian, athiest, poor, and rich.
Our new Baton Rouge rep is the owner of the House of Blues in baton rouge.

[Micah Dardar]

I'm very surpised at the LALP demographics now...
T. Lee Horne, III brought in a large african-american following.
5 years ago, it was mostly old white guys.
Now we have a good mix of men, women, black, white, christian, athiest, poor, and rich.
Our new Baton Rouge rep is the owner of the House of Blues in baton rouge.

That is good to hear. Freedom is for everyone, so we have to tear down the artificial walls that society has made for us.

[klamath]

I'll give it a shot.
(but please people don't waste your time on this. It's only a joke.)

If I were to run for the U.S. Senate, these would be the issues that I'd run on.


I would work towards:

Stopping all foreign aid.
Ending the so-called war in Iraq.
Abolishing the Federal Reserve.
Ending all government subsidies and funding of all unconstitutionally authorized programs.
Abolishing the federal income tax.
Abolishing the death/inheritance tax.
Abolishing all corporate taxes.
Ending the failed war on drugs.
Closing all overseas military bases.
Ending our participation in NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the IMF and the WTO.
Ending birth-right citizenship.
Legalizing the production of industrial hemp.
Outlawing executive orders and presidential signing statements.
Reaffirming congress' commitment to following the US Constitution.
Challenging the US Supreme court’s decisions on all unconstitutional matters.
Standardizing elections and mandate paper audits.
Getting rid of the patriot act.
Outlawing the implementation of the Real ID national identification program.
Outlawing the practice of bundling Congressional bills.
Opening up talks with any country willing to sit down and talk.
Fighting against all attempts to limit free speech on the net and everywhere else.
Abolishing the selective service.
Fighting for veteran’s benefits.
Getting rid of the department of education and all other unconstitutionally mandated departments.
Pushing for competing currencies backed by value instead of debt and military force.
Stopping the blackmailing the states by threatening to withhold federal funds.
Strengthening our military, our coast guard and our bases here at home.
Requiring all spending bills to be put through the process rather than relying on so-called emergency spending.
Giving free cheese to everyone. :) Doh!!!


"work towards? is that working toward removing the troops from Iraq in 50 or 100 years:D

[Mini-Me]

At the federal level, I'd vote for just about any of you guys over McCain or Obama, even Theocrat (though I might have to rule him out at the state or local level ;)). I'd vote for Kade in a heartbeat, too. Sure, he may not be a libertarian, but he's a bonafide liberal in the true, unperverted sense of the word, and that automatically makes him a much better choice in my eyes than at least 99% of our current elected officials. Some of you are certainly more my type than others, but if we ever have the luxury of running against each other, I think I'll be able to deal with the dilemma!

Despite our constant bickering over minutiae and our inability to unite over a single third party candidate in this election, I know that a good enough candidate could bring us all together: After all, that's exactly what Ron Paul did in the first place. I believe it will happen again.

[nodope0695]

Shit, I'd lose...I voted for Bush, TWICE! Something I'm deaply ashamed of, and regret ever having done.

I am a reformed, former Sheeple.

[nodope0695]

Giving free cheese to everyone. :) Doh!!!


Socialist!!! :D:D:D

[kojirodensetsu]

I would vote for both Dary and Kludge (or probably anyone else here that would run for an office). We need to get back to small, limited government first.. and then we can worry about the minor details.