I met Mike Kozikowski in
1998. I was running for the U.S. House
of Representatives as a first time candidate on the New Jersey Libertarian Party
ticket. Mike was a UAW shop steward and
a staunch Democrat. He is now also the
12- year incumbent Recorder of Deeds* in New Castle County, Delaware.
Over beer and crabs at the UAW Hall,
Mike asked what I planned to do for the working man. I gave him the typical libertarian line that
I wanted to reduce government and slash taxes so as to put money back in
workers’ pockets, to reduce burdensome regulation so a as to unleash
innovation, investment and fuel economic growth that would benefit everyone.
He was not impressed. He wanted me to do things for his guys by doing things to other guys. He wanted me to give things to his peeps by taking
away from others. As Franz Oppenheimer
would say, he wanted me to us the “political means” of force and coercion to
rob from others for the benefit of his union bros.
In America there are conservative
parties and there are constitutional parties but there is only one party that
will call a spade a spade call taxation what it is, “theft”. It is stealing from a producer / tax-payer for
the benefit of a tax consumer. As the
only party that is opposed to the political means of wealth redistribution, the
Libertarian Party must be considered to be a non-political party.
The question is, can a non-political
party be expected to win political contests?
The good
news is that Americans are becoming more apt
to voice libertarian sentiments when queried by pollsters. CNN:
“has
regularly asked a pair of questions that touch on libertarian views of the
economy and society:
Some
people think the government is trying to do too many things that should be left
to individuals and businesses. Others think that government should do more to
solve our country’s problems. Which comes closer to your own view?
Some
people think the government should promote traditional values in our society.
Others think the government should not favor any particular set of values.
Which comes closer to your own view?
A libertarian, someone who believes that the
government is best when it governs least, would typically choose the first view
in the first question and the second view in the second.
As of
June 2014, the libertarian index was at an all-time high.
The bad
news is that many people are unwilling to trust politicians of any stripe to wipe
away all government set aides. They
suspect that their little piece of the rock will be chipped away while that of
others who are more connected will hold onto theirs. I can’t say that I blame them or that their
fears are unfounded.
Do not expect
Americans to vote en masse for a party that will not vow to protect their
narrow interests while possibly letting the other guys slip by. David Stockman’s classic saga The
Triumph of Politics recounts how the ostensibly ant-government Reagan
administration was undone by infighting and turf wars to protect well-heeled interest
groups.
So do we
despair? No. Let’s take heart from the track record of the
socialists and Marxists. While theses “fringe”
parties never enjoyed significant electoral success in America, they did manage
to implement almost their entire agenda over the course of decades.
Instead freedom lovers must defeat the system
issue by issue. We are winning on school
choice, pot, government snooping and the right to bear arms. The
Tenth Amendment Center reports on nullification victories every day. Traditionally “pro-business” Republicans are
awakening to the evils of crony capitalism and out of control central
bankers. Despite the fact the Obamacare
is the law of the land, no one really seems to like it. It has become the poster child for government
overreach. Bitcoin promises to make Ron
Paul’s vision of competitive currency a reality.
So
libertarians, keep on fighting your electoral battles as I have done
twice. Use your soapbox to spread the
gospel of liberty and give voters a real choice. But do not expect to harvest the fruits of
your labor on Election Day. That will
come law by law, statute by statute and state by state.
*An
elected off in Delaware if you can believe it.
Also a nice way to reward Party toadies.
Related
Posts:
Subscribe to the 2 Percenter blog by going to http://feedage.com and entering 2percentpov into the Search box on top -choose your favorite reader.
Connect through:
OnFire Radio Show
"Half the people are stoned and the other half are waiting for the next election.
Half the people are drowned and the other half are swimming in the wrong direction." - Paul Simon
Half the people are drowned and the other half are swimming in the wrong direction." - Paul Simon
No comments:
Post a Comment