I was recently informed by a dear friend who had been a dues-paying member of the National Libertarian Party since the late 1980s that The Donald would be speaking at the National Libertarian Convention on May 25.
As someone who has been a dues-paying member of the party since 1984, I seriously thought he was either joking, testing me or actually had gone crazy. And to make it all even more bizarre and unbelievable, both Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy are scheduled to be there, too. But why?
Without a doubt, there’s definitely some cognitive dissonance here.
A little history for you:
Way back in 1971 in Colorado Springs, a bunch of disenchanted young political activists who were seriously concerned about the U.S. involvement with the war in Vietnam, and moreover, President Nixon’s call for wage and price controls throughout America, gathered to figure out what to do.
They met at the home of David Nolan to actually establish a new political party, because the Republicans had in effect joined the Democrats, as evidenced by the GOP president accepting socialist policies.
These young turks intended to be not at all like Nixon’s Republican, nor like the traditional “left” or the socialist-lite Democrat Party.
Live and let live, in addition to the non-initiation of force, were the two fundamental basic tenants of this new political party.
So, in 1972, although they gained ballot access in just two states, they actually did it, and the Libertarian Party was formed. The first Libertarian Party presidential ticket included Dr. John Hospers, a philosophy professor at the University of Southern California, and Theodora (Tonie) Nathan, an activist in Eugene, Ore. Nathan happened to become the very first female vice presidential candidate in history to receive a vote in a U.S. presidential election in the Electoral College.
Over the years the LP has run literally thousands of candidates for office, for Congress, U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, as well as state and local candidates.
The LP has been on the ballot in all 50 states many times; that’s more than any other “third” party since 1971.
This group of serous young Americans actually established the Libertarian Party that was to become the only political party in America that was founded to work in a principled and consistent way for everyone’s liberty, on every issue. That has lasted for half a century, apparently until now, with non-Libertarians addressing the Libertarian Party.
It’s total madness.
This would be like having Thomas Sowell, or Murray Rothbard or Richard Boddie speaking at the Democratic National Convention this summer, or ever. What’s up with the NLP here?
Far too many Trump supporters rationalize that he is a “good Christian,” I suspect that is to placate the evangelicals and other conservative Christians. I submit he is not even close to being a “good” Christian, but compared to the woke lefties and their craziness he’s almost a saint. Not surprisingly, few of The Donald’s supporters even acknowledge any of his terrible personal morals or bad acts.
Trump, the bully, and unprincipled narcissistic showman, is protected generally due to the even worse performance of the current president, whose record, presence and leadership make him look better than he could ever be. And that takes a lot of rationalization.
Anyone who is the least bit honest knows that The Donald is not a good nor great man.
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But, maybe this is the strategy of the LP folks: Since 1972 to 2020, the LP presidential candidate has not received as much as 5% of the presidential vote. So just maybe the NLP leadership is on to something. The expression that has loomed in the LP for years by insiders who wanted a change: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.”
Perhaps the party believes that by embracing The Donald, they can feel as though they are having an impact.
My fear is that if the current LP leadership is “successful” in growing and saving the LP by embracing The Donald and the MAGA movement, then the the Libertarian Party will no longer be libertarian. This would be a repudiation of its own mission and purpose, not to mention its own principles.
The Libertarian Party is the only party based on the ideas and ideals of the Declaration of Independence of 1776. And that is what I fear will be sacrificed for short-term gain.
Richard Boddie is a member of the Southern California News Group’s editorial board.