“Hockey Mom and Hunter Leaves Two United States Senators as Road-kill!” That should have been the headline in newspapers following Sarah Palin’s convention speech, says Libertarian Party vice-presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root. He says McCain’s selection of Palin will ensure Obama’s defeat in 2008. Of course, W.A.R. himself is a former (?) advocate of McCain-Lieberman, and a past donor to Joe Lieberman’s senatorial campaign.
LP co-founder David Nolan takes a different view. He says McCain’s selection will not help McCain’s chances. He also states that Ms. Palin is not a “closet libertarian.”
She’s a SOCIAL CONSERVATIVE. She supports the war in Iraq, and she’s a fervent “right to lifer” (i.e. she favors involuntary servitude for pregnant woman), and I’ll bet she doesn’t favor ending the War on Drugs anytime soon either. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Despite his criticisms of the Barr-Root campaign, Nolan says he will be voting for the Libertarian ticket on Election Day.
15 responses so far ↓
1 Steve LaBianca // Sep 8, 2008 at 4:30 pm
I highly respect David Nolan. He is a founder of the LP and I get the impression that he sort of feels obligated to “support” the LP ticket. MAybe I’m mistaken.
Make no mistake about this, though many folks probably couldn’t care less:
“Despite his criticisms of the Barr-Root campaign, Nolan says he will be voting for the Libertarian ticket on Election Day.” I however, pursuant to my criticism’s of the Barr/W.A.R. campaign, will NOT be voting for the Libertarian ticket on Election Day!
If W.A.R. ever runs for anything again, with the LP or otherwise, I will likely not vote for him. If he were to apologize for all the lies, and have an epiphany and become a libertarian who actually BELIEVES in liberty instead of just saying that he does, I MIGHT consider voting for him. Any less than this, forget it.
2 paulie cannoli // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:02 pm
He says McCain’s selection of Palin will ensure Obama’s defeat in 2008.
Ridiculous. VP picks do not trump economy in tailspin and unpopular wars. Palin will be a liability to McCain among many moderate swing voters, although I agree that she will head off any chance of a breakthrough by Barr and/or Baldwin at the pass.
3 paulie cannoli // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:10 pm
David Nolan is absolutely correct. I gave his article a thumbs up. The only part where he is in error is in granting Palin any libertarian ground whatsoever. Her borrow-and-spend economics are not libertarian, and shooting meese and being a life member of the sellout NRA lobby (which supports increased enforcement of existing gun laws) hardly makes her a principled defender of unabridged private gun ownership as a bulwark against government tyranny.
4 G.E. // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Nolan, another staunch advocate for legal infanticide, criticizes Palin for being pro-life — disingenuously characterizing her position as advocating “involuntary servitude” for women — and IGNORES the fact that Bob Barr, for whom he intends to vote is ALSO pro-life and therefore ALSO advocates “involuntary servitude” for women.
Or is the fact that Barr paid to murder his own baby enough to satisfy the bloodlust of the anti-family wing of the LP?
5 Thomas M. Sipos // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I think McCain will likely win. I don’t want him to, but I think he will.
I’ve a gut feeling that many Americans, when they go in the voting booth, will think…
Obama? Black…African black…possibly even African black Muslim?
Palin? Sexy, all-American, girl-next-door, apple pie mom!
Obama? Muslim?
McCain? War hero!
War hero and sexy all-American girl next door, vs. black African Muslim…
Why take a chance?
6 G.E. // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Yes, I hope Nolan is right, but I fear that WAR is actually giving his first-ever “sure winner” right here, free of charge.
7 paulie cannoli // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Ignore abortion altogether, and examine the rest of Nolan’s article.
8 svf // Sep 8, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I think McCain will likely win. I don’t want him to, but I think he will.
Me too. I’d be willing to bet a small amount of money on it, in fact.
9 Peter Orvetti // Sep 8, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I had offered Mr. Root my likely support for 2012, based primarily on his advocacy of homeschooling (secular and otherwise), and the fact that he issued a news release on the D.C. homeschooling regulations after I suggested it. But based on his recent speculations about Barack Obama’s college days and other odd statements, I no longer plan to back Root. I still think he’s an essentially decent guy with an essentially libertarian outlook, but he has lost my backing.
10 paulie cannoli // Sep 8, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Me too. I’d be willing to bet a small amount of money on it, in fact.
How much?
11 G.E. // Sep 8, 2008 at 6:58 pm
You guys can both place your bets at InTrade.
12 Fred Church Ortiz // Sep 8, 2008 at 7:24 pm
GE raises a good point. Betting online on a site where the posters measure odds might run afoul of Root’s patent.
13 Deran // Sep 8, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Palin is a social conservative, a neocon even.
I think the libertarian capitalists who are unhappy with Barr are just spinning Palin as a “closet libertarian (capitalist)” out of contrariness and frustration. If we’re calling Palin a crypto-libertarian; Ralph Nader has more credentials as someone who has done more to fight coporate welfare, war, and to secure a more democratic election system – Nader’s more of a crypto-libertarian than Palin!!
And Palin as VP does not make McCain any different from who he is.
14 darolew // Sep 8, 2008 at 9:06 pm
McCain increasingly looks like he might pull it off. I’m really quite surprised, last June I thought Obama was a shoe-in. I think Obama would be a better president, given his slightly less insane foreign policy. Then again, I could take pleasure from a McCain victory — pleasure based solely on spite.
“Palin is a social conservative, a neocon even.”
Ironically, Deran is more correct about Palin than many libertarians (e.g. Walter Block). She’s a conservative, and not even a particularly good one. Less-bad than McCain to be sure, but that’s a low bar to clear.
“Ralph Nader has more credentials as someone who has done more to fight coporate welfare, war, and to secure a more democratic election system – Nader’s more of a crypto-libertarian than Palin!”
While I would never apply “libertarian” to Nader even prefixed with “crypto”, he certainly is to be praised for many of his positions. Heck, I think Nader would be a better president than Obama. As socialist as Nader is, he makes up for it with a sane foreign policy, and his stance against corporate welfare and the military-industrial complex. I also think he’s less connected to special interests, and all-around more principled than Obama.
15 Spence // Sep 8, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Will someone tell me why anything that hustler has to say makes news at this site? He’s to libertarians what Quayle was to Republicans.
And honestly, Nolan may play the pseudo-role of “elder statesman” up as much as he can because he founded the party, but it’s not his baby anymore. He already has forgotten one of the prime reasons Palin was picked anyway, and that’s because she’s a woman. So just drop all the social-con/closet lib shit for a second, cause that was clearly secondary.
“As socialist as Nader is, he makes up for it with a sane foreign policy, and his stance against corporate welfare and the military-industrial complex.”
Socialism and statism are not synonymous, no matter how much you would like it to be. But I agree with you. The only question is how much of cutting back on our military budget would save our economy after one term of him? No to Nader.
Leave a Comment