[REASON] Where do Libertarians Belong?

[Sentient Void]

Reason Magazine's cover article, "Where do libertarians Belong" - is a good one. Good debate on whether we as libertarians should dissolve the fusionist alliance with conservatives, amongst other things.


What counts today isn’t engaging the other side with reasoned arguments; it’s building a rabid fan base by demonizing the other side and stoking the audience’s collective sense of outrage and victimization. And that’s a job best performed not by serious thinkers but by hacks and hucksters. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Joseph Farah, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin: they adorn the cathedral of conservatism like so many gargoyles.


The first step, though, is recognizing the problem. Right now, like it or not, the libertarian movement is a part of the vast right-wing conspiracy—a distinctive and dissident part, to be sure, but a part all the same. As a result, our ideals are being tainted and undermined through guilt by association. It’s time for libertarians to break ranks and stand on our own.

http://reason.com/archives/2010/07/12/where-do-libertarians-belong/

DISCUSS!

[AuH20]

I stopped reading after coming across "brutish nationalism" and "anti-immigration xenophobia." If the country was so xenophobic, there wouldn't be 25 million illegal immigrants living here. I CALL BULLSHIT!!! This guy is a clueless libertarian twit.

[Sentient Void]

I stopped reading after coming across the always telling "brutish nationalism" and "anti-immigration xenophobia." If the country was so xenophobic, there wouldn't be 25 million illegal immigrants living here. I CALL BULLSHIT!!!

That was one of the people in the debate talking about 'conservatives', and much of the Republican party - not the country as a whole.

Reason Magazine is a libertarian outfit. The article is a debate between a few people, the first one saying to dissolve the libertarian-conservative fusion and it's time for libertarians to stand on their own, with the second guy talking about how that would be a bad idea.

[AuH20]

That was one of the people in the debate talking about 'conservatives', and much of the Republican party - not the country as a whole.

Reason Magazine is a libertarian outfit.

Brink Lindsey is Cato's vice president of research apparently. And as an open-minded paleocon, I am deeply offended by his ridiculous choice of words and conclusions.

[Imperial]

Brink Lindsey is Cato's vice president of research apparently. And as an open-minded paleocon, I am deeply offended by his ridiculous choice of words and conclusions.

He is the one who made the idea of "liberaltarianism". He actually just left Cato, along with another guy.

[AuH20]

He is the one who made the idea of "liberaltarianism". He actually just left Cato, along with another guy.

There is a awfully smug tone resonating through his invective. I should have known.

[Sentient Void]

Yeah, Brink Lindsey is the guy in the first part of the debate. The second part is Jonah Golderg, third part is Matt Kibbe - for those who haven't read the article yet.

The 'situation' is addressed by 3 different viewpoints - whether and why to leave the conservative-libertarian fusionism behind and try to appeal a little to the left as well as the right, the second idea of staying with the conservatives due to the view of the free market, and the third argument which says to embrace the Tea Party.

[Brian Defferding]

I pick and choose who I vote for and align myself with, thankyouverymuch!

[AuH20]

Read what Brink wrote about our beloved Ron Paul. Yikes.

http://www.brinklindsey.com/


I wasn’t a fan of Ron Paul to begin with. And Ron Paul’s crowd didn’t think much of me, either.

I hadn’t known about his old newsletters and their cesspool of racism and homophobia. But I didn’t need to know about them to know that I wanted nothing to do with Ron Paul’s brand of libertarianism.

Here’s why. I’m a libertarian because I’m a liberal. In other words, I support small-government, free-market policies because I believe they provide the institutional framework best suited to advancing the liberal values of individual autonomy, tolerance, and open-mindedness. Liberalism is my bottom line; libertarianism is a means to promoting that end.

Ron Paul, by contrast, is no liberal. Just look at his xenophobia, his sovereignty-obsessed nationalism, his fondness for conspiracy theories, his religious fundamentalism — here is someone with a crudely authoritarian worldview. The snarling bigotry of his newsletters is just the underside of this rotten log.

[ChaosControl]

He sounds like a piece of crap, to hell with him.

[Badger Paul]

"Ron Paul, by contrast, is no liberal. Just look at his xenophobia, his sovereignty-obsessed nationalism, his fondness for conspiracy theories, his religious fundamentalism — here is someone with a crudely authoritarian worldview. The snarling bigotry of his newsletters is just the underside of this rotten log. "

Two words: Utter Nonsense.

Religious fundamentalism, are you kidding me? This isn't Pat Buchanan or Mike Huckabee we're talking about here.

Brink Lindsey is the last person who should be talking about nationalism since he was a flag-waving Iraq war supporters for many years. Given how many crippled and dead soldiers Lindsey's war has left behind, I'll take xenophobia any day of the week.

[Sentient Void]

Read what Brink wrote about our beloved Ron Paul. Yikes.

http://www.brinklindsey.com/

Wow - fuck this lying douchebag. What an asshat.