Reply #94: I disagree with your characterization of "Libertarian"

[Jr_Samples]

Atman,

You said, a Libertarian is simply a republican too embarrassed to admit it! I disagree this is always, or even usually, the case.

Oh sure, Miller probably uses the line "I'm a Libertarian" because he's ashamed of his Rapture-ublican tendencies, but I seriously doubt everyone who claims to be a Libertarian is an embarrassed GOPher. They might be naive and just be saying "I think freedom is a good thing!" Maybe they're liberals in a pro-Republican setting. I'm sure there are at least a couple left-leaning folks in the Pentagon who have claimed to be "libertarian" when pressed for their political views at the $21,500 water cooler.

But the idea that "libertarian" is a Republican description is faulty, IMO.

In today's media-soaked political environment, where ideologies inherit erroneous definitions, it's not so hard to see how the same political party that turned "liberal" into a nasty word also turned "libertarianism," an American ideal, into a synonym for their own belief system.

It's equally easy to see the tables turning at this very moment in political history. Now that they're in power, the ideals are out the window. With the political on/off switch in their formerly oxycontin-stained fingers, the GOP is committing all those nasty sins that used to make their formerly-libertarian blood boil:

(1) They're the masters of political correctness ('homicide bomber'; 'racial profiling' {it's racism, folks}; 'coalition forces';'freedom fries'; 'clear skies initiative').
(2) Big government: true, the money goes to different places with these guys in power, but the bottom line remains - never before has our Federal government been so massive or expensive.
(3) Fiscal irresponsibility: never before have the deficits been so high.
(4) Personal privacy: do you really think if 9-11 hadn't happened they'd not be inventing ways to snoop into our personal affairs?
(5) Federal Government trumping local government: four words - No Child Left Behind.

I could go on, but I'm not nearly as interesting or resourceful as Joe Conason or Robert Parry.

Libertarianism is neither conservative nor liberal. Neither is it, in its purest form, possible. It's to government what perpetual motion is to engineering. But just as when engineers who strive for maximum energy efficiency are technically moving towards the untenable "perpetual motion," our nation's founders pointed us in the direction of the untenable "absolute freedom" by building this nation on the notion of personal liberty.

Imagine! So many folks are convinced Dennis Miller's an intelligent man. When you think about it, "But on everything else, I'm a Libertarian" is a lot like, "But on everything else, I'm a pro-good stuff supporter."

Gee, Dennis, thanks for giving it so much thought.

Phil