The Future Looks Bleak. And White.
Libertarians are screwed. Sorry, folks. I can be pretty optimistic most of the time, but not now. I mean, Bob Barr? Pro-prohibition, anti-choice Bob Barr is the best person to represent the party in what could be a banner year? Not after Ron Paul. If there’s one thing I’ve learned after the Paul movement, it is that libertarians can’t rally around a leader who has baggage. The movement needs a fresh face, not someone who has been around government for a long time and has allied himself with other paries in the past (I’m looking at you, Mike Gravel). It isn’t that the Libertarian Party is the only means by which change can occur, or even a viable option at this point, but rather that the movement as a whole is desperately in need of some youth.
This starts with the college kids, and I’ll be working hard at IU for the next four years trying to accomplish just that, but it isn’t limited to the traditional “grab ‘em while they’re stoned” tactic of the left. The internet needs a solid libertarian rallying point. Whether this is one website or one group on an existing social network doesn’t matter. Someone needs to plot the trajectory of this movement before it loses steam, and that person certainly isn’t another old white guy.
Sorry to say it. I’m the last person to support the nonsensical MSM stance that image is more important than policy, but we need someone who looks different and thinks different (grammar goes out the window when a blogger is on a roll). Just look at the lp.org listing of the candidates for the presidential nomination. Wayne Allen Root leads the pack with a whopping $15,000, and the top three candidates are all white men.
I’m sorry, but people need someone to rally around that either looks young or not like a stereotypical conservative. Get some diversity in the party and start expecting real results, or leave. I, for one, am strongly contemplating the latter option.
you have a lot of gall, attacking Mike Gravel, Jarvis.
But you do have a legitimate point — people lean toward young and good looking, regardless of policy, and the libertarian party desperately needs a fresh face.
My only criticism is that one can’t simply expect results solely based on the physical appearance of the candidates. americans love simplicity. if someone in the libertarian party were to actually step up with one major goal in mind that average americans can relate to, rather than a smattering of policies foreign to anyone else in the election, americans may actually stop what they’re doing long enough to acknowledge that candidate’s existence. another thing to note is that libertarians rarely (read never) get the same coverage as other parties, and if the public was actually informed of their existence i think they wouldn’t so easily be dismissed. we all know how Ron Paul was treated in mainstream media, and of course americans assume if the pundits dismiss him and make remarks like they do then he must not even be worth looking at. you know what i’m saying. this is getting long, i’ve said enough.
adamant09
May 13, 2008 at 11:57 pm