Have you ever wondered what Republicans & Libertarians mean by "freedom"?

[Jamaal510]

Are they talking about slavery? Are they talking about 1st amendment rights, or 2nd amendment rights? Are they talking about releasing every person from jail and prison?
They say that liberals and Democrats have taken away the country's "freedom", yet gun control laws are fairly loose nationwide, we still have the right to free speech, and slavery is still illegal. Furthermore, last time I checked, we're not the ones who have been introducing countless anti-abortion and anti-birth control laws around the country.

[CTyankee]

1. Everything that we consider freedom they miscontruct into some kind of slavery,

e.g., union membership, civil rights laws, universal health care, food stamps, government services, such as public health, the court system and infrastructure support, all of which support these folks who want to diss them all the time.

I guess they think that no government is the best government. I can see them filling their own street's potholes now....

[annabanana]

2. Freedom to do whatever the hell I want to you.

Whenever the hell I want to?

[1StrongBlackMan]

9. But, and this is a big but ...

the freedom to have authority figures, e.g., law enforcement, the judiciary, etc., to make you do whatever I want you to do, whenever the hell I want you to do it.

[nobodyspecial]

3. Freedom to not pay taxes

or to not give a shit about anyone else but themselves (and perhaps their family).

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. Yep! nt

[hfojvt]

27. yeah, but then they complain because I don't pay any taxes

But word around here is that the EPA is gonna force us to spend $40 million to upgrade our sewer plant. The big pollutant - organic material. Then changing standards are gonna force us to spend $10 million to upgrade our water plant.

[w4rma]

4. The freedom to enslave others. (nt)

[SergeyDovlatov]

5. Republicans use Libertarian rhetoric because ...

It is easier to sell than what they really want to do,

ban abortions, teach the religious teachings they approve of in school and lock up everyone using the drugs they don't approve of.

Libertarians (in theory) are for John's Lock life liberty property negative rights. You have a right to do whatever you want as long as you are not interfereing with same rights of others

[kentuck]

6. That is an excellent question...

They are always saying that the Republican Party stands for "freedom" and "opportunity"?? It sounds good but I doubt if they have any idea what they are talking about??

[JHB]

7. The freedom to bully without someone bigger pushing back.

The freedom to be an expert at everything so that you can watch your back 24/7, because you have to.

The freedom to leave things to our worst impulses and expect something better to come out of it.

The freedom to lecture "the road to hell is paved with good intentions", and say it with the best of intentions.

[jp11]

8. They mean the freedom to do whatever you want barring the few things they think are 'really big'

like murder, and even that they could be okay with if it fits their ideology.

Republicans in general want freedom to buy people, laws, etc so that with enough money you can be a 'king' free to do whatever you want.

Libertarians as I understand them want to be 'left alone' by government and seem to fall in line with most of rich republican 'freedom' where no laws stop someone from buying people/politicians/laws/influence etc because "we are all free to do so" no matter we all can't do it.


This comes to mind about them on freedom, you could replace the last two 'love's with freedom.

"You don't care about anything except you. You just want to persuade people that you love 'em so much that they ought to love you back. Only you want love on your own terms. Something to be played your way, according to your rules. "

[Johonny]

10. same thing they mean when they say abortion

an abstract moral idea that they can't clearly define. When you ask them to say support not wire tapping without a warrant or sex education to reduce the number of people seeking abortion, they look at you blankly. They don't believe in these things in the concrete policy since. If a person says they believe these things they mean they believe in them in some kind of absolute morality sense. Their morality is reduced to if my candidates abstract ideas line up with my abstract ideas, well that is good enough for them. These abstract ideas either come from some cosmic belief in absolute morality based on God or the "constitution". To actually think about what freedom and your rights as a concrete things that can be put into policy by people actually takes a different view of where morality and rights come from. If you don't think of freedom as an absolute right granted by a god or a piece of paper but a logical constructed created by men and can be taken away by human policies toward each other, then you in general don't think like a GOP voter.

[blm]

11. Their 'freedom' always turns out to be for corporations to do what they will to workers, consumers,

and to the earth. They always vote for LESS freedoms for families to make their own choices on marriage and reproduction, and less freedoms for workers, consumers and the earth..

[Populist_Prole]

12. I've argued with enough of them to peel back the BS: Freedom = Money

In the form of a business doing whatever the hell it wants.

[Marr]

13. For most, it's just a brand name.

For others, it means unregulated capitalism. For some, it just means the ability to purchase a gun.

In my experience, conservatives don't like freedom much at all and actually want to control the most private aspects of others' lives.

[Populist_Prole]

14. And pretty much every one makes an exception in their dislike of "big government"

If it comes in the form of busting the heads and tasering those who dissent. They want to lock up the whole damned country, but of course if one of them get a traffic citation, then the bleat about tyranny and shit. They name streets after those assholes: One Way.

[Prophet 451]

15. They mean total freedom for corporations

Oh, you get freedom too. Freedom to starve under a bridge, freedom to die of some preventable illness...

[Iggo]

16. Freedom to hate. Freedom to kill.

Mostly.

[saras]

17. Free dumb. They want to be stupid, ignorant, careless, reactionary, and not be held responsible

Freedom is the right and ability to instantly act on impulse in response to advertisements.

[stuntcat]

19. +1. all of that, plus

all of that plus freedom from science.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. I'd like to see the freedom for consenting adults to smoke a fucking plant in their own homes

if they want, and I'm a Democrat.

[Jamaal510]

24. Are you listening, Obama?

[TBF]

21. Freedom to oppress, to enslave, to discriminate, etc ... nt

[XemaSab]

22. For some of them, freedom is following God's laws

[athenasatanjesus]

23. Freedom at a superficial level.

If you don't use critical thought,their version of freedom is really freedom.

[Zoeisright]

25. They mean freedom to do what THEY want

and to hell with the consequences. And everybody else.

[hfojvt]

26. I always just assumed it was another word

for nothing left to lose.

But I may listen to the weird radio too much. Especially in alleys.

[gulliver]

28. Libertarian - Immaturity = Democrat

I used to subscribe to Reason magazine. I agree with their positions on drugs and staying out of wars. But they are heavily infiltrated with chronic whiners and flakes, unfortunately. I dropped the magazine.

They let their anger and their immaturity overwhelm mechanism and strategy. That's how a bunch of them end up voting for Republicans. Just stupid really. I claim that all of the smart Libertarians are Democrats. They know that it is the Koch Brothers and their Republican Party who are against liberty.