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| Source:Reason Magazine- Obama/Biden 2012. |
If Barack Obama and the Democrats are going to win, they will need every vote they can muster. So maybe the party of stimulus spending, Dodd-Frank, and the broccoli mandate is willing to turn libertarian this time around.
To be sure, Obama's economic and regulatory policies have rightly irradiated him with most libertarians, but there's still little love lost among libertarians for the GOP. When they last controlled the White House and Congress, Republicans spent wildly, expanded government at every level, meddled in people's personal choices, and charted a disastrous foreign policy. If the GOP faithful is lukewarm about Mitt Romney, voters who favor less government spending and more social tolerance are even less enthusiastic.
So if Obama and the Democrats explicitly move libertarian on some issues, anything could happen.
Here are three ways that Obama might win at least some of the 10 percent to 15 percent of libertarian-minded voters who believe in shrinking the size and scope of the federal government."
Well to be cynical for a minute, (not that I've never done that) if President Obama were serious about appealing to Libertarians ( and perhaps the Tea Party and Communists as well) this is what he would do.
President Obama would call for the elimination of the New Deal and our broader public safety net.
President Obama would say the 1964 Civil Rights Acts has outlived it's usefulness and call for repealing that and perhaps the same thing with the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Law.
President Obama would say America should no longer be part of NATO and the United Nations. We're cutting off foreign aide, period.
President Obama would call for the elimination of the FBI and perhaps the entire U.S. Justice Department. As well as Education, Labor, Energy, EPA, etc.
President Obama would call for going back to the not so gold standard.
President Obama would say the War on Drugs is not only a failure but 12 year olds should be allowed to use cocaine, if they make that choice themselves.
President Obama would say that Americans are too stupid to elect our own U.S. Senators and that our legislatures with all their wisdom should elect our upper members of Congress for us.
And I could go on, but to not waste anyone's time (especially my own) I'll stop here, because you get the point and we all have better things to do.
If President Obama is serious about appealing to Libertarians and neutralizing some of the Gary Johnson vote, this is what he would do.
He would move to decriminalize marijuana, at least in this sense, that if States legalize it, the Federal Government would no longer enforce marijuana prohibition in States, that have already decided to legalize marijuana. That would help, but coming out in favor of legalizing marijuana and regulating it like alcohol, would be much better for Liberals such as myself and Libertarians. And then come out against the War on Drugs all together. That we should stop arresting people and sending them to prison, for their own good, even jail and prison is bad for them.
Come out against the Patriot Act and indefinite detention.
Real tax reform that eliminates corporate welfare all together. Eliminates wasteful tax loopholes and lowers rates on everyone.
A defense policy that no longer defends developed nations around the World that can afford to defend themselves, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Korea. And use these saving to help pay. Down the debt and deficit and invest in special forces and operations, to concentrate on terrorists groups that would attack us.
Pickup on Gary Johnson's idea of block granting the safety net to the States, with resources to run those programs would be another idea. The problem with this strategy, is that it would be way to late to attempt now, because President Obama would end up doing what he's finally ready to go after Mitt Romney for, which is flip flopping. He would end up reversing course on several key positions, relating to the War on Drugs, Patriot Act, indefinite detention and marijuana as a whole. Now in 2012 it's too late for the President to do it now, but if he gets reelected and idea worth looking into in a second term.
If you're President Barack Obama running for reelection in 2012 spending your first four years not just trying to get America out of the Great Recession, but back to full recovery allowing for the economy to start growing strongly again and you're serious about appealing to Libertarians and so-called Left-Libertarians the Gary Johnson's of the world would your best opportunity here, you target issues where you yourself as a Progressive and moderate Liberal where you could have issues in common with Left-Libertarians. Like civil liberties, defense policy, foreign affairs, civil liberties. Instead of completely flip flopping on all your core issues and ideas that have gotten you to the White House in the first place.
President Obama would call for the elimination of the New Deal and our broader public safety net.
President Obama would say the 1964 Civil Rights Acts has outlived it's usefulness and call for repealing that and perhaps the same thing with the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Law.
President Obama would say America should no longer be part of NATO and the United Nations. We're cutting off foreign aide, period.
President Obama would call for the elimination of the FBI and perhaps the entire U.S. Justice Department. As well as Education, Labor, Energy, EPA, etc.
President Obama would call for going back to the not so gold standard.
President Obama would say the War on Drugs is not only a failure but 12 year olds should be allowed to use cocaine, if they make that choice themselves.
President Obama would say that Americans are too stupid to elect our own U.S. Senators and that our legislatures with all their wisdom should elect our upper members of Congress for us.
And I could go on, but to not waste anyone's time (especially my own) I'll stop here, because you get the point and we all have better things to do.
If President Obama is serious about appealing to Libertarians and neutralizing some of the Gary Johnson vote, this is what he would do.
He would move to decriminalize marijuana, at least in this sense, that if States legalize it, the Federal Government would no longer enforce marijuana prohibition in States, that have already decided to legalize marijuana. That would help, but coming out in favor of legalizing marijuana and regulating it like alcohol, would be much better for Liberals such as myself and Libertarians. And then come out against the War on Drugs all together. That we should stop arresting people and sending them to prison, for their own good, even jail and prison is bad for them.
Come out against the Patriot Act and indefinite detention.
Real tax reform that eliminates corporate welfare all together. Eliminates wasteful tax loopholes and lowers rates on everyone.
A defense policy that no longer defends developed nations around the World that can afford to defend themselves, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Korea. And use these saving to help pay. Down the debt and deficit and invest in special forces and operations, to concentrate on terrorists groups that would attack us.
Pickup on Gary Johnson's idea of block granting the safety net to the States, with resources to run those programs would be another idea. The problem with this strategy, is that it would be way to late to attempt now, because President Obama would end up doing what he's finally ready to go after Mitt Romney for, which is flip flopping. He would end up reversing course on several key positions, relating to the War on Drugs, Patriot Act, indefinite detention and marijuana as a whole. Now in 2012 it's too late for the President to do it now, but if he gets reelected and idea worth looking into in a second term.
If you're President Barack Obama running for reelection in 2012 spending your first four years not just trying to get America out of the Great Recession, but back to full recovery allowing for the economy to start growing strongly again and you're serious about appealing to Libertarians and so-called Left-Libertarians the Gary Johnson's of the world would your best opportunity here, you target issues where you yourself as a Progressive and moderate Liberal where you could have issues in common with Left-Libertarians. Like civil liberties, defense policy, foreign affairs, civil liberties. Instead of completely flip flopping on all your core issues and ideas that have gotten you to the White House in the first place.
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