Battered Tea Party syndrome

We are all familiar with the sad tale of battered women who keeping taking their abuser back because they fear they have no place else to go, until eventually, their abuser kills them. It is heartbreaking for Libertarians to watch our friends in the Tea Party and other liberty activist groups in the GOP follow that same dismal path.

No Wasted Votes

This year we have an excellent Libertarian Party Presidential candidate, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, but realistically, he is not going to carry Virginia. Worse, Virginia is a battleground state this year, and a significant vote for Johnson could well swing the state, and the Presidency, to Barack Obama.

Still, it is very important that Gary Johnson gets a good share of the vote nationwide if we are to make progress toward the day when we will be competitive. So, what is a Libertarian to do?

Political Super Fans

When I meet people, I like to ask the about their political beliefs without sharing mine. I probe their convictions with questions to try to understand their point of view. I have found talking to most people about politics is like talking to Bill Swerkski about sports. Of course Jordan is going to average 100 points per game and Da’ Bears are going to 8-peat as Super Bowl Champs. Who would win in a battle between a hurricane and Coach Ditka?? Ditka! No amount of evidence will make him consider otherwise. Individuals root for their team which can do no wrong and that they will support with their dying breath.

Look at all the Redskin fans here in Virginia or all the Raider fans in my native Northern California. It doesn’t matter what idiotic moves their front offices make, you’ll just hold out hope that a new coach or touted draft pick will turn around an otherwise bad and underperforming team. Support will not waiver. Works the same for the Republican and Democratic parties. At least with elected officials (unlike Dan Snyder and Al Davis), you get a chance to fire them, which may feel good but has done nothing to improve the team. They are replaced with a clone.

Told you so

Well, I did, the day after the 2008 election, in a post titled Well, There You Go Again, I warned that the Democrats would mistake voter anger at Bush for a mandate to rush toward socialism and the voters would recoil. And they did.

I did not foresee the rise of the Tea Party movement and the swiftness of the Democrats fall, but nobody’s perfect.

Now we will see if the Republicans will make the same mistake and believe the voters anger at the excesses of the Democrats will be mistaken for a mandate to advance their social issues agendas. It is not, this is a rebellion of the voters against the excesses of government, not a choice for different excesses.

What to do Wednesday?

I have a sense that a lot of people are going to feel lost and homeless Wednesday morning when the results of the Virginia Primaries are known. The Democrats will probably still be without a clear winner, but their choices will be limited to a black male socialist or a white female socialist, neither being the true heart of most Virginia Democrats.

Unless Gov. Huckabee pulls off a multi state miracle, the Republican race may well be decided. More likely, the GOP establishment will be lining up behind a candidate who sees the Constitution as merely an obstacle to overcome in imposing his view of government on the country.

So, perhaps Wednesday will be the day to find a home in the Libertarian Party here in Tidewater