Liberty Alone

I’ve been told that the US republican party is the most libertarian party and the best bet for libertarians in the US.

This doesn’t fly well with me. As opposed as I am to the Democrat’s ‘liberalism’ and statism, I don’t see that republicans today are libertarian.

Some of the liberal agenda was pushed by Reagan and before him Barry Goldwater campaigned on a far more libertarian basis in 1964 (and in the 1980s broke ranks against the religious right on many issues).

Yet look at the republicans today. Dominated by war mongers, led by a man who wants to lock people up without trial and confiscate the property of political dissidents. The party contains people would would quite happily put people to death for being anti-war.
They are socially conservative and not even economically liberal. Bush has presided over the biggest increase in state spending ever.

True, there’s the Republican Liberty Caucus, but they are frankly marginalised by the religious right and the social conservatives and the pro-war lobby.

None of the front runners for the Republican nomination are particularly liberal. Guiliani has shown himself to be illiberal on many things such as pornography despite his social liberalism. He’s also authoritarian personally and not in the least bit economically liberal.
McCain has led the biggest assault on free speech with the McCain-Feingold campaign financing act. He’s a nationalist and “national greatness” conservative and vehemently pro-war. He took over from Goldwater promising you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but has been a meddling, authoritarian in public policy.
Thompson - Easily the most pro-Bush candidate. Hawkish on foreign policy and socially conservative.

There is of course Ron Paul who seems to be getting a lot of attention on the internet and now some attention in the mainstream media, but he doesn’t realistically stand much chance…

Not much choice really. They’re all as bad as each other.

Perhaps the GOP contains some libertarians, but its policies for the foreseeable future are going to be broadly illiberal and authoritarian.

Whilst I share many people’s intense dislike for George W Bush and his allies in the Republican Party, I do not see the Democrats as saviours as many do. Whilst I am sympathetic to the ideas of lack of discrimination and equal opportunity and eradication of poverty, that does not make the Democrats natural allies, in the same way that Labour are not natural allies for Liberals.
The Democrats are more akin to Labour, they are, for the most part a big government, high taxation, interventionist party. Like Labour they take an authoritarian view, seeking to make people live as they wish, rather than setting people free from restrictions.

True, this is the line Bush’s administration has taken, and against him, even John Kerry would have been an improvement, indeed, even Ralph Nader would have been, but that does not make the Democrats the great hope many make them out to be.
Look at the new crop of new senators and representatives: They campaigned on illiberal anti-free trade platforms, on protectionist, isolationist, verging on nationalist platforms. Edwards is positioning himself as a Souther populist, the Southern populists was a group which first sought to ally with the black population in the South, but followed up by attacking them along with Catholics and Jews.

There are many decent Democrats, but as a party they are not fundamentally liberal, their presidential candidates are all big state, high tax devotees and will not deliver a liberal program.

Neither party promotes a liberal agenda, although the Republican Liberty Caucus (’The Conscience of the Republican Party’ as they term themselves) promote a libertarian liberal agenda, both parties have serious flaws from a liberal viewpoint and strong illiberal tendencies.

The best interests of the American people, and the world, would be served by a split administration, one party in the executive and another in control in the legislature, and just pray for moderates on both sides.

I live in hope of a liberal group consisting of liberals in both parties emerging, but the electoral system and the political climate do not encourage this so I think the dedicated liberal cause in the US will continue to be weak.