Monday, September 26, 2016

‘Libertarian for Life’ Donates to GOP Candidate

From The Boston Globe:
Back in May, when Bill Weld attended his first Libertarian national convention seeking to become the party’s vice presidential nomination, a skeptical candidate for the same position summoned the former two-term Republican governor of Massachusetts back to the stage.

“Pledge to our party that he will not betray us and that he is not a Republican,” Alicia Dearn demanded.


Weld returned to the stage and announced, “I’m a Libertarian for life.”

What Weld didn’t say is that even a Libertarian can root for Republicans once in a while.

Just a few months after the convention, Weld made two donations totaling $450 to support Republican Chris Sununu’s bid to become New Hampshire governor this fall. Sununu is running against a Democrat, Colin Van Ostern, as well as a Libertarian, state Representative Max Abramson of Seabrook.
This is serious:
Johnson and Weld are at best opportunists, if not deliberately setting out to damage the Libertarian Party.

  -RW

2 comments:

  1. This isn't a bad thing for the LP because they need to stay in front of the media at all costs as they already are slipping back into obscurity. What does $450 buy in a campaign anyway? A couple radio spots?

    If the LP wasn't a terribly run organization and assuming this guy is a libertarinish-Republican like Tom Massie or Justin Amash they'd say something like:

    "We strongly support Gov. Weld's right to free speech and, frankly, we support any candidate who is interested in advancing the principles of liberty in society, whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, Brown, Black or Yellow. Since the majority of elected politicians are big government ideologues or self-serving sellouts, we need all the help we can get. Likewise, the Libertarian Party welcomes with open arms anyone who shares the goal of advancing human freedom and liberty, regardless of race, religion, gender or political affiliation."

    Since you mention Johnson, the sad thing about him is he appears to be a relatively decent executive based on his record. However he is both dull and awkward, a terrible combination - especially in this election.

    I'll still vote for Johnson because I believe 'signaling' is powerful messaging and politics is still the best arena for advancing toward a libertarian society. He's not libertarian though. He's classical liberal-lite at best.

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  2. Every minarchist has to choose between the GOP and the LP. I read Weld was donating to a friend and it really doesn't bother me. If the LP is small and disorganized, it reflects the libertarian movement.

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