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May 27, 2024

The Libertarian Party decides to compete against Biden not Trump *UPDATED*

By Andrea Widburg

For decades, the Libertarian Party was the edgier conscience of the Republican Party. It was louder and prouder about wanting a small government rather than the behemoth that Republicans helped birth.  However, libertarians still recognized that smaller government must be grounded in the Constitution and morality. For example, Ron Paul’s pro-life stance reflected the fact that constitutional liberty starts with the first spark of life. This year, however, the Libertarian Party abandoned the Constitution and nominated a presidential candidate indistinguishable from the most radical people in Biden’s base. That’s good for Trump.

Frankly, most people really don’t think about the Libertarian Party. Depending on their political orientation, they either resent or celebrate it when the 2-3% of votes it gets in every election harm a Republican candidate in a close race. Mostly, though, it’s considered a political backwater.

Conservatives are wary of the Libertarian Party because, while they appreciate its small government focus and decry the size of the current federal government, some of its positions are unrealistic. For example, the libertarian position on trade is that there should be no limits whatsoever. However, in a world in which China subsidizes its trade, conservatives understand that “free trade” is a myth and, in Chinese hands, an alternative form of warfare. Warfare does require government intervention. 

Likewise, Republicans have recognized that drugs are a scourge, destroying communities. The libertarian approach, which would see all drugs legalized, is immoral. Equally silly is the libertarian belief in an open border, which effectively erases America entirely. That’s taking small government notions to suicidal extremes.

Summed up, the core Republican ideology believes in a small, moral government that defends America’s interests. By contrast, the core libertarian ideology believes in a small government, end of story. No wonder most people don’t take it too seriously.

Still, the Libertarian Party found itself in the news this weekend when Donald Trump accepted its invitation to speak at its convention. While the mainstream media celebrated the fact that many at the convention booed Trump, others, both conservatives and independents, were impressed. First, Trump showed political courage in going there in the first place. Second, they liked his riposte when he was booed:

My friend, the Unpolled Conservative, perfectly illustrates what happened when Trump did that:

Now, the Libertarian Party has gone even further down the path to irrelevance because of its chosen presidential candidate, a guy named Chase Oliver. Oliver is essentially a rehashed far-left Democrat. Indeed, he was once a Barack Obama supporter. He is gay, pro-trans, pro-abortion, pro-open borders, pro-drugs, and pro-Hamas. However, he’s all in for big government when it comes to masks, vaxes, and lockdowns.

In other words, Oliver is indistinguishable from any other member of the Democrat party. He’s not supporting a small, moral, pro-American government; he’s just a radical leftist who’s found a welcoming new niche.

The tweets, of course, are awesome, whether because of their photos or their commentary:

(All I can say is thank God he doesn’t have children.)

I’m sort of sorry to see this happen to the Libertarian Party because it used to be the small-government conscience of the Republican Party. Now, as this meme shows, it’s not:

However, once one accepts the new status quo, what happened is great. In the upcoming presidential race, there are effectively three Democrats running for the presidency (Biden, RFK Jr., and Chase Oliver). I couldn’t be happier. The more fragmented the left, the better.

UPDATE: Well, that was fast! A top libertarian influencer has already thrown his weight behind Trump:

Image: X screen grab.

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