The Lib is Back!

The New Libertarian is back to the blog.  After a long and active run on this blog ;) and an even longer hiatus, I'll be sharing my Libertarian/Independent views of politics.

So, let's jump right in, the system is broken!  We have too many career politicians running our country.  Many of them are older than our grandparents and out of touch with our generation, even if you're part of my dad's generation, the Baby Boomers.  Politicians should not be dying of old age in office, they should have long since retired and been put out to pasture, or at least the golf course.

The smartest legislation our congress could pass would be Term Limits, but why would a person ever pass a law limiting how long they can do their job, nope, too busy passing pay raises and better benefits, wouldn't you?  Fortunately, we don't need to wait for congress to pass this law, we can pass it for them by voting.

Every two years, every representative has to run for reelection and senators run every six.  Check this site to see what senators are up for reelection.  2010 can be a big year for some "House" cleaning.

My own senator, John McCain, ahem, age 73, is running for reelection again in 2010.  Luckily some decent candidates will challenge him in the primary, U.S. Navy veteran and businessman Jim Deakin, Chris Simcox, the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and former U.S. Representative J.D. Hayworth.  If McCain manages to make it past this group, well then we'll take off our Republican ball caps and enforce term limits by voting for the democrat.

This kind of sweeping reform will be difficult, if not impossible, for some voters, but sometimes the same old same old doesn't fit anymore.  During the 2008 election, John McCain admitted to never using email, really??  Wow, time for some fresh faces.

Obama the Communist

First watch this video with Joe the Plumber, if you haven't seen it yet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwtnPi7hi0U&feature=related

To me, what Obama is saying sounds very socialistic, bordering on Communism. Quoting Karl Marx: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”. Every time I hear this quote, my stomach turns. This is basically what Obama is telling Joe the Plumber. Maybe this is exactly what some Democrats wants to hear, I’m not sure. If you're a Democrat, you may like how Obama says he'll help the little guy, but as history has already proven, Communism failed miserably, do you think the US should try it? This idea of taxing those who make more at a higher rate and giving it to the poor is very in line with what Marx believed.

Seems to me if the government increases the taxes on small businesses making more than $250k per year and increases taxes on large companies, that they’d have less money to hire new employees. So sure, you and me get a tax break, but how good will that be when our employer has to start laying people off because it has to pay more in taxes.

Trickle down, not trickle up. Vote Libertarian, shrink the government and the need for taxes from anyone will dwindle.

Open the Debates Please

So what do you think of the debates so far? Good information, the candidates, obviously there are only two right, are really answering some tough questions, really being put to the test? I say nay!

I watched the first two, the initial Presidential and the VP debate. What I really learned was the misinformation the other candidate wanted us all to know about their opponent. What I'd really like to know is their honest, unrehearsed opinions about the real issues, like the economy. I'd like them to answer a question thoroughly and within their time limit. If a candidate doesn't answer the question the moderator asked, the moderator should interrupt them and make them start over answering the real question.

Being President of the United States is not something you can rehearse for, hopefully if you've come this far, you'll be somewhat prepared, but challenges will arise and you'll have to think on your feet. I want to see these candidates think on their feet during the debate. I'd also like to see a session where the candidates ask each other questions and the moderator make them answer the questions.

More than any of these rants, I'd like to see the debates open to more candidates. The Commission on Presidential Debates has three criteria that must be met in order to participate in a debate: 1.) Constitutional Eligibility; age 35 or older and born in the US. 2.) The candidate qualify to have his/her name appear on enough state ballots to have at least a mathematical chance of securing an Electoral College majority in the 2008 general election. 3.) The candidate have a level of support of at least 15% (fifteen percent) of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations.

Criterion 3 is what keeps the debate locked in for just Republicans and Democrats. Bob Barr, for instance, easily meets criteria 1 and 2. I know voting for Bob Barr is a long shot at best, but he is on the ballot for 47 states. The ability to hold the office of President and get yourself on that many state ballots should be enough requirements to appear on the debate and debate all the candidates. So far the debates have been completely lacking in any substance, adding more candidates, at least the leading third party candidate to at least one debate would really give the American public more to think about. Plus it would bring in tons of ratings for the networks.

According to Zogby poll, 55% of likely votes want to see Bob Barr in the debates. Even 46% would like to see Ralph Nader should be included.

If you would like to see more candidates in the final debate on October 15th, consider doing the following:

Sign the debate petition found at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/presidential_debates. All you need to do is put your name (unless you choose to remain Anonymous) and email address, then click on the submit button.

Contact the Commission on Presidential Debates and state your desire to have more candidates appear in the debate. Use the following contact info:
(202) 872-1020
Commission on Presidential Debates
1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036