Being Libertarian | Libertarian Party Gets Win For Fair Debates Being Libertarian Currently, the CPD requires a candidate to have 15% approval rating from five national polls. During the last election, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson was close to reaching the benchmark but was shy by 3 percentage points. Furthermore, candidates ... |
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Libertarian Party Gets Win For Fair Debates - Being Libertarian
Being Libertarian (satire) | A Warning From A Spanish Libertarian Being Libertarian (satire) On January 22nd 2017, I woke up early to catch up with some work. As I turned my computer on, I saw a Facebook post shared by a friend. It was a video showing a group of masked men and women beating a 20-year-old girl to a pulp. What was going on ... |
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A Warning From A Spanish Libertarian - Being Libertarian (satire)
On the day of President Trumps inauguration, the WhiteHouse.gov website was completely stripped of its previous build (which was archived as Obamas White House on a separate URL) and a new set of Issues were listed on behalf of the Trump administration. Conspicuously absent? LGBT issues, civil liberties, and the environment.
Many Trump apologists made excuses for this, claiming that since the new administration had to start from scratch, it would take time for them to fully flesh out the website. I agree which is why the Issues page was the only completed page upon the new WhiteHouse.gov launch. The rest of the site remained bare, but for a very specific reason, the Issues page was revamped and presented as a complete whole in the new website build. Trump wanted his voters (and the American people at large) to get familiar with the issues that most concerned him, and so it is clear that his transition team had already prepped this particular page of the website ahead of time so that the American people would at least have something to look at upon their new president taking the all important oath.
Considering this, the excuses dont hold any water if Trump truly wanted to say something reassuring to the LGBT people of America, who have publicly expressed fear of this new administration, he would have made sure it was included in his new Issues page. He didnt. Which means hes indifferent toward this demographic at best.
Now, to be fair, Trump did say pro-LGBT things during the campaign, and there was recent news that his administration would continue the lawful protections against active discrimination that Obama had previously put in place for gay and trans employees, etc. And thats all wonderful. I dont actually believe Trump is the boogeyman the liberal press has spun him into. However, the fact that Trump doesnt think LGBT issues are worthy of having a voice in his main advertised agenda is still a problem. It indicates, if nothing else, that our new president is ignorant to the true will of the people. Hundreds of thousands of gays, women, blacks, Latinos, and American-born Muslims are publicly crying out at the moment because they are genuinely afraid of Trump.
And what has Trump done to bring the American people together, considering this? Has he publicly stated on his website that he will continue Obamas LGBT protections? Has he publicly clarified that his recent executive order regarding Muslim immigration is only temporary, and only applies to non-American Muslims? No, he has not. And he should, if he intends on dispelling the ore exaggerated claims about him. Why he has yet to do so is trouble, because it is indicative of a lack of empathy or awareness of the unrest found in large portions of the people he claims to now represent and protect.
Is our president truly this tone deaf? Is he really so unable to understand that a simple addition to his website, a simple White House statement, a single tweet., etc. could start to make the difference and ebb peoples fears? Who cares if many of said fears were kicked up by the media unjustly? That ship has sailed, and the currently reality is one of fear, paranoia, and violence. If President Trump were truly presidential, he would be making his positions much more clear, and he would be reaching out to all Americans (not just in a general statement, but in direct addresses to specific demographics) to assure them that he is going to preserve their rights as well as the rights of their straight, male, white fellow citizens. Equally. With liberty and justice for all.
Until the President can do that, which is now warranted considering the hostile climate that has been kicked up by partisan fear mongering and demagoguery, then he has not earned the privilege of actually being referred to as presidential. Because being president is more than just the actions; it is also the words. Kennedy and Reagan spoke to their citizens like brothers and sisters is a common quest for liberty and greatness; Trump trashes people on Twitter for making harmless jabs at his expense. The bar has fallen significantly. And we are likely going to spiral further into chaotic unrest and heterogeneity as a result.
Brace for impact.
This post was written by Micah J. Fleck.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.
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Why Trump's First Few Actions Already Matter - Being Libertarian
The Democrats have been decimated nationally and now face a national government controlled, in all three branches, by Republicans. In response, quite cynically, theres been a revival of a certain states rights mentality among liberals.
In sanctuary cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Oakland, mayors have boldly stated that they will not cooperate with federal authorities seeking to deport undocumented denizens. Like Loretta Lynch, under Barack Obama, Trump has said he will cut off federal funds to cities that do not submit to federal will.
Democrat Governors like Dan Malloy and Jerry Brown are saying they will challenge federal laws, and progressive groups are looking to the states more and more to get what they want.
I may not like a large chunk of the liberal agenda but, if there are other folks who want to help shift the field of battle from the national to the local level, Ill take it.
Since FDR, progressives and liberals have pushed for an ever-greater centralization of authority; but in the age of Trump, it will be Republicans who reap what Democrats have sown, and liberals are cowering.
Libertarians are the truest champions of political decentralization, and if liberals want to serve our ends we should let them.
If the centralization of authority that liberals have pushed for over the decades is still around after theyve lost power; then, by that logic, the decentralization they cynically retreat to, when theyve lost elections, can remain when they inevitably get back into power only to find that power has been oh-so-beautifully diminished.
We can use liberal angst against big government nationalistic Republicans today, and use the fruits of liberal rage against incumbent progressives tomorrow.
We libertarians should use the changing battlefield to our advantage. We should be part of the push to shift politics to local and state levels, and then use that opportunity to seek power at lower-level offices that are more easily influenced by insurgent movements like ours.
Libertarianism has often been described as the perpetual ideology of the opposition in the United States, and federalism doubly so. As the biggest advocates for the nationalization of politics suffer the effects of their disastrous ideology, lets take the opportunity to prevent them from being able to do much damage down the line.
Jacob Linker is a Campus Coordinator with Students For Liberty and the State Chair of Young Americans for Liberty in his state.
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Progressives are Retreating to Federalism: Ironic, but an Opportunity - Being Libertarian
The Liberty Conservative | Layin The Sarwark Down: Nullification Expert Mike Maharrey Pile-Drives Libertarian Chair On States' Rights The Liberty Conservative One of the many contentious issues in the libertarian community is the notion of States' Rights. There is confusion over what the term means and how it pertains to the liberty movement as a whole. A recent exchange between Mike Maharrey, ... |
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Layin The Sarwark Down: Nullification Expert Mike Maharrey Pile-Drives Libertarian Chair On States' Rights - The Liberty Conservative