Freedom or Totalitarianism

Freedom or Totalitarianism
Liberty or Death

Friday, September 18, 2015

Reason Magazine: Terry Michael- 'Bernie Sanders: First Libertarian Socialist?'

Source:Reason Magazine- U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Democratic Socialist, Socialist Republic of Vermont) Libertarian-Socialist?
Source:The New Democrat 

"Ground-breaking research by political science experts (actually me, Googling) reveals that a new breed of American politician has been discovered, the first ever "libertarian socialist." And it has a name: Bernie Sanders.

Oxymoronic, you say? Call me crazy, but the senator from the Peoples' Republic of Vermont is at least two-thirds of the way there on the road to free minds and free markets.

There are three issue frames in politics. Foreign. Social. Economic. Sanders is as non-interventionist as Ron Paul on foreign policy. He is as pro-choice and pro-gay rights as Yahweh on social issues (Yahweh has come a long way in the past several decades). And like most of us libertarians who despise crony capitalism, Bernie eschews the big three rent-seeking lobbies: Big Investment Banks, Big Pharma Drug Dealers, and Big War Profiteers.

Granted, he wants free health care, free day care, free college tuition, and free scoops of Ben and Jerry's. But hey, nobody's perfect." 


"Rand Paul is not a libertarian and Bernie Sanders is not a socialist.
Sanders ("Socialist") vs. Rand Paul ("Libertarian")
featuring Al Franken" 

Source:Gavin Lockard- U.S. Senator Rand Paul (Republican, Kentucky)

From Gavin Lockard

Bernie Sanders, supports Freedom of Speech and doesn’t defend political correctness and try to censor people who he disagrees with, or who say things that might be offensive for people on the Left. He actually talks to people he severely disagrees with like speaking at Liberty University this week. He doesn’t want government telling people what they can eat and drink. After all he’s represented a major ice cream maker in Vermont in Congress (both in the House and Senate) since 1991. He voted against the 2001 Patriot Act and against the 2002 Iraq War Resolution. He’s pro-choice on abortion, sexuality and many other issues. Here’s a Democratic Socialist who generally speaks in favor of the U.S. Constitution and our Federal form of government and defends it.

Vermont is known as a socialist-liberal state. Some people might call that socialist-libertarian, or libertarian-socialist, but what that means is that they are a very liberal on social issues and doesn’t want big government involved in our personal lives at all. Even to try to protect us from ourselves. But they believe in socialism when it comes to human services and social welfare and will pay the taxes to pay for those government services. 

When I say Bernie Sanders is the moderate of the New-Left, this is what I mean. Yes, socialist on economic policy, but wants big government out of personal lives especially a nanny state to try to protect us from ourselves. Unlike the mainstream New-Left in America that doesn’t really put any limits on what they believe government can do for people. Even preventing us from hearing speech we may not like.

With Bernie Sanders, you’re not going to get a soft Neoconservative who thinks America doesn’t do enough to try to police the world. Unlike Hillary Clinton. You also won’t get someone who gets most of their campaign funds from Wall Street. Unlike Hillary Clinton. You’ll get someone whose been the same politician ideologically as they were in 1981 when he became Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Big government out of our personal lives, but big enough to see that everyone has a shot at a decent life. And to see that no one has to go without the basics in life. Like education, health care, health insurance, housing. (To use as examples) 

But Bernie is not a Marxist who wants government to try to run the economy. You get someone who even though they are a Democratic Socialist has people on the Far-Left and Far-Right who disagrees with him on a regular basis.

No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments that are not personal, don't have spam, and aren't personal in nature, that are relevant to the post, are welcome at FreeState Now. Everything else will be marked as spam.