On the Libertarian Party

On Saturday, the Libertarian Party held its first debate in Biloxi, MS. Sometime in March, the party will hold a second debate on John Stossel's Fox Business show. If you care about the state of politics in the present-day United States, you should watch this debate, and you should also consider voting for the Libertarian Party candidate in November.

Libertarianism has had a minor revival in the United States n the past decade-plus, due in large part to the popularity of movement godfather/missing Keebler elf Ron Paul. Basic libertarian philosophy calls for small government in nearly all respects; this includes socially liberal areas like women's reproductive rights and the drug war, and fiscally conservative areas like corporate regulation and (most) welfare programs.

Libertarianism can seem idealistic, refreshing, cold-hearted or completely logical depending on which cable news talking head is yammering on at the time. And yet, I will reiterate: if you care about the state of politics in the U.S., you should pay attention to their debate and consider voting for the Libertarian candidate in November.

Why throw away your vote, you ask? Why cast a ballot for Gary Johnson or Austin Petersen or John McAfee (yes, that John McAfee) when they haven't got a shot of winning? Why go third-party when we all know Ross Perot is not walking through that door?

I'll tell you why. Have you seen this shit? I mean, Jesus, guys. We're trying to pick someone to lead the country for the next four years, in what I hear will be the most important election ever for the 10th straight election cycle, and this is the best we can do? A slap fight between the three GOP frontrunners over who's a bigger liar, and a quite Republican argument between the two Democratic nominees over who's more progressive?

As of press time here on Super Tuesday 50 (Coldplay is coming on in a few minutes), Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio's jingoistic campaigns are being curb-stomped by a man who might redefine the term "xenophobia," at least to the extent that Donald Trump holds actual consistent worldviews, which he doesn't. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders' Doc Brown hair and inability to grasp how economics works have fallen under the wheels of HilRod's Train of Inevitability, which has somehow blown past her hawkish tendencies, cozy relationship with big banks and a trail of scandals.

In all likelihood, a career politician with a chameleon-like ability to change policy positions that Mitt Romney and John Kerry would be proud of will square off against a cartoon rich person come to life who can't really be accused of flip-flopping on any positions since the only position he seems to have taken is "Duh, winning." It is literally my worst nightmare, my least favorite candidate from each side taking a vast majority of the polls. And I know I'm not alone in thinking this.

You know what happened during the first Libertarian debate? Of course you don't. It was streamed online and the video/sound quality was, um, passable. I missed it too, only watching it on replay tonight. But it was such a wonderful change of pace from the ad hominem attacks that make up the bulk of Republican debates, and even some of the Democratic ones. Sure, there was some stumping, and Gary Johnson, the 2012 party nominee, even broke out one of Trump's favorite words to describe the Donald himself. But there were also policy discussions! Legitimate debates over the future of cyber-security and Sharia law, and none interrupted by a game-show bell or name-calling or a roar from the crowd every 15 seconds.

Yes, libertarianism is the movement favored by the Koch brothers, but despite their ties with the party, they're much more focused on trying to influence major-party candidates like Rubio and Rand Paul. And sure, the libertarian party didn't show up on two states' ballots in 2012, but that was a hell of a lot better than the Green Party or any other third party - including the one that had Rosanne Barr on its ticket, really. (I will also say that, while Johnson's recent about-face on burqas is very stark, his explanation involved a good deal more thought than most other politicians would have given)

I repeat: if you're concerned with the way political discussion has devolved in the modern United States, you owe it to yourself to watch the next Libertarian debate. Maybe you won't agree with the positions the candidates take, or maybe you will. But it won't devolve into the playground chaos that the two major parties usually do, and even if I didn't consider myself a (mostly) libertarian, I'd rather "throw away" my vote than continue to validate that. Maybe you will too.