SocraticGadfly: Snarking on Libertarians in depth: More dramatic and newsworthy, part 1

June 10, 2020

Snarking on Libertarians in depth:
More dramatic and newsworthy, part 1

That comes from my post two weeks ago about Libertarian Party presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen. Paulie wound up linking to it on Independent Political Report, then Richard Winger, proprietor of Ballot Access News, dropped multiple comments.

One theme, besides Jorgenson being "The Libertarian Lady is not for turning," a la Maggie Thatcher, was that she was NOT the leader in the first round of balloting. AND, that who knows who Libertarians at state caucuses and primaries actually wanted because LP presidential delegates are unpledged, which led me to call Libertarians more disorganized than Greens. (Both Paulie and Richard are capital L-Libertarians, AFAIK, not just small l's.) And, part 2 is up and here.

The second half of the header comes from Richard's third comment to that post, about unpledged delegates:
(I)t makes the Libertarian conventions more dramatic and newsworthy than a convention where it is obvious in advance who is going to be nominated.
Well, this is all interesting, of course.

You know what else is interesting?

Two drivers driving without driver's licenses having a wreck. You know, Richard, drivers like 2004 LP presidential nominee Michael Badnarik!

(Contra his book title, Badnarik isn't actually king, and as I said in one of my updates to the original post, Libertarians who think like that need to read them some Hobbes.)

Picture a Badnarik type going beyond Badnarik's original refusal to get a DL because Texas requires a Social Security number, and to his more base-level refusal.

"We didn't, and don't, require people to get licenses to ride a horse, and what is a car but a bigger, faster horse? It even is measured in horsepower!"

Or to go one step further?

"We didn't, and don't, require wagon masters to get a license to drive a wagon train of horses, and what is a locomotive but a bigger, faster wagon train? I mean, it's even called a train!"

There are many things that are dramatic and newsworthy in your Libertarian universe, Polonius, that aren't really desirable.

No comments: