Yet Another Example of Big Government Republicanism
Hat tip to Dayton Politics who says “Vote NO on Kettering Income Tax”
As a liberty-loving, jealously-protective-of-my-paycheck Libertarian, 99.9999999% of the time I will vote no on any tax levy, simply on principle. Income taxes, possibly the worst form of taxation EVER, are no exception. Unfortunately, I do not live in Kettering, so I will be unable to cast a NO vote, but I wish the citizens of Kettering luck in their bid to fight back the ravenous demands of their local politicos.
But there is a bigger point here. My understanding is that the Kettering City Council is dominated (almost exclusively, I think) by Republicans. Isn’t it odd that the “Conservative” Republicans are making a bid to raise taxes?
I also once heard that almost every Republican on that same city council supports overturning the concept of private property, to allow the City Council to dictate to private business owners what sort of smoking policy they may have.
Conservatives! This is what YOUR party does! It raises taxes and it dictates how people can and cannot use their property! When are you going to wake up and smell the Big Government Subsidized Coffee? Your continued support of Republicans tells them that you LIKE what they do, and it makes you look like complete buffoons when you whine about your lost liberties!
posted by Libertarian Jason at 10:40 AM
5 Comments:
There you go again with your necessity to attach the word conservative with republican. Let me ask you one question have you ever read any of Russell Kirk’s books and those of John Stuart Mills?
Sorry, Brian... But if you line up 100 conservatives, 99 of them will admit to voting Republican almost exclusively. Republicans bill themselves as Conservatives.
As long as Republicans identify themselves as Conservative, and Conservatives continue to support Republicans, the invitation for comparison will continue.
Re: Kirk and Mills... I have read some analyses and summaries of Kirk's writings... But I have read a number of Mills works, including On Liberty, and The Subjection of Women. Why do you ask?
No offence, but the day the Libertarian Party can mount a successful campaign I will consider for voting for them. But unfortunately we are stuck with what we have. While I have no problem going on the offensive concerning RINOs or in reality most of the Republican Party, it does become a case of the lesser of two evils.
However with that said, I am registering to vote independent and will not, under any circumstance, vote for DeWine. I have not made up my mind as to whether I will vote for the opposition or abstain from voting for a senator. I do favor abstention and wish the major did the same to send a clear message.
I ask what you have read because without clear understanding of what you are arguing against one can appear imprudent. Before attacking “Conservatives” I think it prudent to know where we are coming from. We do not represent neo-cons or republicans. Furthermore, if true conservatives and libertarians stopped attacking one another and got to the business of dismantling government we might be doing something else besides blogging!
No offence, but the day the Libertarian Party can mount a successful campaign I will consider for voting for them. But unfortunately we are stuck with what we have.
None taken. Its a valid criticism. But, we have had many successful campaigns. Until last year, we had over 10 elected officials in office around the State, including the mayor of Piqua. We have TWO people on teh Gahanna city council. We have a guy out in Preble county who's on the town council, and we used to have a guy on the Cederville council. A couple of years ago we had someone on the Centerville city council...(lost re-election after a couple of terms). The number is a bit lower now because of retirements and such.
But the point is...we can and do win elections, and if our party were bigger and had more supporters, we would win more. To say, I won't vote for a libertarian becasue they don't win, when they CAN'T win without votes and/or support, is a catch-22 of your own manufacturing.
However with that said, I am registering to vote independent and will not, under any circumstance, vote for DeWine.
Good for you!
Before attacking “Conservatives” I think it prudent to know where we are coming from.
I am fairly well-versed in Conservative academic writings, which I find admirable on some points, but problematic overall (which is why I'm not a conservative.)
But, when you go out and find your Conservative-On-The-Street, the average Joe who identifies as a Conservative, and votes Republican straight ticket, you'll find a person who generally knows nothing of Hayek, Burke, or even Mills (who I'd argue was not really a "conservative"). These are the "Conservatives" am critizing, because this is how Conservatism expresses itself... (which isn't entirely at odds with the philosophical underpinnings that you assert.)
Now, you can argue all day long that these people are not really conservative, in the philosophical sense of the word... but at that point, you are just arguing semantics. You may be technically correct, but who cares? If no one agrees with you on what true "conservatism" is...including self-identified conservatives.... then all the carping about deviation from philsophical purity is a waste of time.
Furthermore, if true conservatives and libertarians stopped attacking one another and got to the business of dismantling government we might be doing something else besides blogging!
I hear this argument all the time, but what it usually translates to is that libertarians ought to shut up, sacrfice their principles, and vote Republican. If "conservatives" were truly interested in banding together with libertarians, they would offer a bit more in the exchange. Conservatives seem to have this idea that they own libertarianism...that libertarians are just a subset of conservatism...which isn't true. Yes, there are areas of overlap, and I've always been an advocate of libertarians forming coalitions with like-minded groups on specific issues and occasions. But the problem right now is that Conservatives, and the right in general, present the gravest threats to liberty we now face. We could work together to "dismantle" government, but tell me...when it comes to dismantling the war-machine (perhaps the biggest government program of all), how likely are you to go along with that?
What you seem to be asking is that Libertarians support the Warfare State, while working to reduce the Welfare State - which is impossible, because they are two sides of the same coin - in essence, you are asking Libertarians to become conservatives. I don't know if this is because of a lack of understanding about what libertarianism is, or as I said above, a lack of willingness to view libertarians as partners in a coalition.
Ahem. I, as a fringe-libertarian Republican, wholly and completely disagree with this council. Good riddance come election day.
Post a Comment
<< Home