Now Jack does make some good points as to why Rand had to endorse Romney, whether you accept them or not, but this got me to thinking, who would Rothbard endorse this time around and would he think that Gary Johnson is "libertarian enough"?
As we all know, Robert Wenzel called out Gov Johnson for his failure to be versed in libertarian authors and writing. Johnson's libertarianism has also been called into question by various hardcore Libertarians, Austrian School adherents and Ron Paul supporters for a multitude of reasons, chiefly that he is not a by the book libertarian, that his pragmatic view of governing based on a cost/benefit analysis has no root in libertarianism and finally that he is a statist because he supports the fair tax, taxation of marijuana, limited military intervention only with Congressional approval and did not pardon drug offenders during his two terms as New Mexico's Governor.
Okay, so Gary Johnson is an 8 on a scale of 1-10 but does that disqualify him from consideration especially given that the only other candidates on the ballot in all 50 states rate about a 1 or 2? At least a Gary Johnson Presidency would be a step in the right direction and as he says, if we don't like it we can always go back
I'm no Rothbard scholar by a long shot but I think in this cycle, he would be supporting Gary Johnson given that he is by far the most libertarian candidate we have a choice of, especially when you look at the fact that there is little daylight between the positions of Mittens or Barry on the major issues. Yes both candidates differ on some social issues, but where the rubber hits the road both men are pro-big government, pro-war, pro-police state and anti-liberty.
If you take a long, hard look at the three candidates' records and beliefs, to use Rothbard's own words, "there is only one rational answer for the conservative, the libertarian, or indeed any sensible American".
That answer should be Gary Johnson.
Very cool piece! Gary Johnson is not the "perfect Libertarian" some want. He is the one who won the nomination over those folks.
ReplyDeleteVote for the good guy not the lesser of two evils.
http://garyjohnsongrassroots.com/
Well said Anon
DeleteI understand that some people don't like Fairtax, but if we get rid of income tax, who's gonna pay the military on the 1st and the 15th of the month? There's a difference between limited-government libertarian, and no-government anarchist.
ReplyDeleteSteve
DeletePersonally, given the choice I'd prefer the flat tax, although I'd rather have neither.
As Bastiat puts it, "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."