As the civil war rages on within the Republican Party, between the Tea Party Conservatives, the Anti-Politician Trumpets and the Establishment Moderates, there is a lot of talk about a major alternative candidate in November. True conservatives who seek to restore our republic, who crave liberty over party, may have to relocate their support as the Republican Party (potentially) goes off the deep end. That's where the Libertarian Party comes in.
The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971 and it's currently the third largest party in the United States. Its support has experienced tremendous growth since then, and as the two-party system betrays the true desires of the people, 2016 could be their best year yet.
Now, many conservatives see the Libertarian Party as too radical or too obscure. While the obscurity might be dead-on, considering the lack of attention the Libertarians receive from the media, the radical aspect just doesn't ring true.
According to the Libertarian Party of Florida, the basic platform for Libertarians goes something like this:
- Recognizing freedom of speech, religion and association
- Demanding Constitutionally-limited government
- Ensuring minimal taxation and balanced budgets
- Defending property rights
- Asserting sovereignty of the State from unconstitutional federal interference
- Asserting sovereignty of the Republic from unconstitutional international interference
- Upholding the Second Amendment and the absolute right to self-defense
- Promoting a true free market economy
- Defending personal privacy and the Fourth Amendment
- Promoting strong national defense through a Constitutional foreign policy
- Ending government corruption
- Ensuring no individual, corporation or government is above the rule of law
- Ending prohibitions on all personal activities that do not infringe upon the rights of others.
These principles certainly aren't radical or unheard-of. Actually, these are principles many of the founding fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson, embraced, as well as many 21st century right-wing conservatives. Many of these principles are also wielded by the Republican Party in its platform, but the problem here is that many elected officials don't always live up to their principles.
As the parties leave the people, and the people leave the parties, the Libertarians should receive much more credibility in the months to come. Even though the primary season is still on the table, at least for Republicans, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get educated about all that American politics has to offer.
