"Polls show that fewer Americans are calling themselves Republicans or Democrats and the number of Americans unaffiliated with either party has reached an all-time high — good news for Libertarians, say officials of the nation's third-largest party.
"The Libertarian Party has had an 18 percent increase in membership since January, said Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian National Committee....
"A survey released last month by Rasmussen Reports found that a record share of Americans, 32.9 percent, identified themselves as neither Republican nor Democrat.
"The Rasmussen poll — conducted in May with a sample of 15,000 adults — found that the percentage identifying themselves as Republicans (30.8 percent) dropped for the fourth consecutive month, while the percentage of Democrats (36.3 percent) decreased for the third straight month, following trends that began for Republicans in the middle of 2005 and Democrats in January 2006."
I can imagine this trend continuing through the entire 2008 election cycle. As both parties spend more time bashing the other side, the people in the middle might realize that, in that respect, both major parties are correct.
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Vote Libertarian.
6 comments:
"people in the middle might realize that..."
The Libertarian party is not exactly what I would call attractive to a swing voter - it's extreme right wing, ie privatize the fire department.
The LP is not extreme right. It is dead center. We support legalization of all drugs, sex between any consenting adults, and absolute free speech on the internet (and everywhere else).
The bigger issue is that both major parties like to suggest that the Libs are extreme on either side (i.e. Republicans suggest we are extreme liberals, and Democrats suggest we are extreme conservatives). We are neither.
If you're trying to show how centrist and moderate the Libertarian party is, "legalization of all drugs," and "absolute free speech" might not be the best ideas to throw out there.
I should point out that I don't think the LP is moderate. Centrist, but not moderate. Legalization of all drugs is one of our more liberal traits. On the other hand, elimination of all taxes is one of our more conservative ones. However, I cannot stress enough that I don't believe we are, nor would I want us to be, moderate.
You don't become "centrist" just because you take offsetting views on alternating extreme sides of the political spectrum. This isn't some sort of average we're dealing with.
To be "centrist" is to take middle-of-the-road positions. I don't really see the LP as any more "centrist" than the Republicans or Democrats.
That's not an insult, I tend to be critical of anything that purports to be "centrist" or "bipartisan" but let's not confuse taking some extreme points from both parties with finding the middle ground between them.
You're right. Centrist isn't the word. I (like most libertarians) subscribe to a political grid rather than a line, like that found at http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
The square has left and right as usual, but at the top is libertarians and the bottom is occupied by authoritarians. The scale measures economic freedom on one side and social freedoms on the other. It's worth taking a look at.
Post a Comment