From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Mon Dec 04 2000 - 04:10:30 MST
Chris Russo wrote:
>
>
> The Libertarian party relies *supremely* upon substantial reduction
> of the power of the Federal Government. Without reduction of the
> power of the Federal Government, only shadows of Libertarians' goals
> can be achieved.
>
Personally, I agree with L. Neil Smith. The Libertarian party will not
be a force to be reckoned with until every single person who comes in
contact with it knows that it stands squarely for individual rights and
especially for the strong and whole-hearted enforcement of the Bill of
Rights. As long as the party mealy-mouths about wanting to reduce the
power of Federal government and other side-effects of what is really
crucial, it can be easily coopted by the mainline parties. The
Libertarian party is for reduced government because and only because it
is for seeing individual rights and their protection as the only
legitimate reason for having any government at all (if even this is a
worthwhile reason). It is against the initiation of physical force
because all such is a violation of individual rights.
>
> I dislike the religious component of the Republican party as much as
> anyone. I'm an atheist living in Houston, and the vast number of
> churches here gives me the heebie geebies. It *scares* me when
> Republicans like George Bush Sr. say that they don't think that
> atheists should have a voice in American politics.
>
It scares me too. Until I remember that the office of President
requires that one upholds the Constitution. That includes the First
Amendment. But then I remember who interprets the Constitution. And I
remember that all elected officials swear to uphold the Constitution and
most of them install copies in their bathroom that regularly need to be
replendished.
> But the Republicans are the only ones even *willing to entertain* a
> reduction of taxes and a corresponding decrease in the size of the
> Federal Government. As the Government's size decreases, they'll have
> no choice but to cut out more and more Government programs. They'll
> have no choice but to reduce their expensive war on drugs. I may not
> really like the goals of religious conservatives, but I can see how
> working with them, for now, can put us in a position to become a more
> Libertarian country.
Sure they will "entertain" a reduction in how much of your money the
will steal in order to take away more of your rights than they have any
intention of acknowledging, much less protecting. The Republicans will
never, ever, reduce their drain on the economy enough to undermine their
own favorite tyrannies against the American people they claim to serve.
- samantha
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