have you ever voted Libertarian?

Everyone likes to harp on the government being corrupt, but then we keep voting in incompetent people who represent the people we say are ruining the country. Is it beyond our human brain capacity to be able to focus on more than two competitors at a time?

Most importantly:

- have you ever voted Libertarian? why?

- have you ever voted for a third party? will you if you have not?

- what is your opinion on Libertarianism?

- will a Democrat or Republican win the presidential election in 2016? or possibly a third party candidate?...

My answer to every question is ROFL.

• No. Got no libertarian party or candidates where I live.
• Yes, I vote for the third party equivalent.
• I think it has an appeal for many voters, specially younger ones who just wanna be left the **** alone and not deal with an intrusive, suffocating, behemoth of a government.
• To early to tell. A third party winning would be a long shot.

Nope. Although my hero, Ron Swanson, is a Libertarian.

"Have you ever voted Libertarian?"

**** no. I don't consider Libertarianism a mature ideology.

You mean that brand of libertarianism Republicans flocked to as a GOP proxy to save face after 8 years of Bush? No.

Both liberals and conservatives piss me off.

Video games cause kids to go violent and shoot up schools!!! The horror!

Gay people affect my life D=

See how both are equally stupid. To me they're all the same, politicians taking stuff when they want it.

I think that group had some decent ideology at some point, but they went crazy and stupid.

I think it got hijacked by stupid teenagers and weirdos.

I tend to always vote Democrat.

Relavent

More Libertarian Than Thou is hilarious, Selectively Frugal is silly since taxes would be so low already.

I agree.

This. ^ Libertarianism is the ideology of the lazy who just ignore problems and pretend they do not exist.

Libertarian is a dirty word to most Americans.

I share some ideals with the "small l" libertarian position, but do not hold any ties to the "big L" Libertarian organization in the US.

Things like bodily sovereignty (free to do what I please with my body), private property rights (free to buy and sell what I please, within a free market) and the reasonable use of force to defend both.

People tend to synonymize libertarianism with Objectivism, but they are not the same thing.

How?

If I understand Libertarianism correctly, than I am one. Financially I have very conservative views, but I think gay people should be able to get married and believe in equal opportunity and all that.

I guess that makes me the only liberal who doesn't have his hands in other people's pockets.

Only every time I've bothered to vote. Which was once.

Not like it matters. Let's not kid ourselves, if you don't live in a swing state, your vote doesn't count.

@Master_Live said:

That comic is both funny and accurate.

How can you have conservative fiscal views and be a libertarian? Doesn't make sense.

That's not libertarianism.

No. The Libertarians that have run for office around me are just Republicans in a disguise. Not much difference between them. If I'm going to vote for the lesser of many evils, I'll vote Democratic most of the time. I'm tired of seeing minuscule tax cuts to pacify the masses, why the real benefits go to corporations. Services suffer, the rich get richer, and I have $10 more a year in my pocket. I'd rather that money go to local services.

Edit: It has surfaced that many of these views could be due to liberal/libertarian mean different things in different countries. Everything I say is from the view of an American. If you are from another country and I called your view out please disregard.

Reading these replies the majority of you don't even know wtf a Libertarian stands for; Educate yourselves please.

First of all just like any political ideology there are differing degrees of libertarianism, everywhere from anarchist to moderate. The dude who said how can you be a fiscal conservative and be libertarian.....ummm, that is exactly what moderate (which I refer to as rational) libertarians are; fiscal conservatives and social liberals.

They basically take away the hypocrisy of the left and the right; the right wants government out of their lives yet still keeps pro-life around; the left wants you to leave them alone when it comes to being homosexual and abortions but let's government control everything else like a British Nanny.

This is a rational libertarian. The federal government should stay out of state business when it comes to stuff like gay marriage and drug legalization, which should be liberal in nature anyway. The state government should stay out of our lives when it comes to victimless crimes, and its programs should promote independence from government rather than dependence. This does not mean zero welfare, it means the system is designed to help people get off welfare rather than stay on. Free market truly is free, government spending is under control, zero income tax but rather a program such as a 20% flat sales tax or just a 1% service tax which would double revenue and save most Americans 50% of their income. You could always create a get out of taxes free card for poor people, anything is negotiable.

Democrats get their gay marriage, pro-choice, and legal pot......Republicans get their lower taxes, less government interference, and free market. Best of both worlds. How anyone can say libertarians are just Republicans in disguise are ignorant. Maybe it is because we loathe liberalism more than we do conservatives....

Take the quiz to find out how libertarian you are, you may be surprised.....

This is an absurd statement without elaboration.

So ironic considering your avatar. Libertarians would make that happen for you smokey.

This is so wrong on so many levels, just more ignorance.

This is as ignorant as it gets. You people really need to educate yourselves on libertarianism before spouting off here. Conservative fiscalism is one of the core values of libertarianism.

2.0 Economic Liberty

Libertarians want all members of society to have abundant opportunities to achieve economic success. A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.

Yea...doesn't sound conservative at all.....

Really now? So they are against gay marriage and abortion just like the Republicans? They are all for corporate bailouts? Libertarians are not about tax cuts, they are about tax models that cut taxes for ALL but increase revenue at the same time, all while reducing government spending. They are all about NOT bailing out corporations. You are just another ignorant poster who knows jack shit about libertarians.

Did you know a mere 1% tax on all services would double the tax revenue of the government and allow us to erase the income tax? The math does not lie. The problem is this would tax lawyers 1% on all services.......what profession do the majority of our congressmen share? No wonder it has never been entertained....

"Libertarianism is for the lazy". I think you're confusing that with modern liberalism, where personal responsibility is just too damn hard.

I didn't say Libertarians in general, or in principle, I said the Libertarians who have run in my area. I am aware of what Libertarians espouse, and thus I feel that those that run for major office most of the time are Republicans in disguise, not true Libertarians.

My bad, after reading so much of the ignorance here I assumed too much from your post.

No it doesn't. Sounds very liberal if anything. Makes sense considering how close liberalism and libertarianism is.

So basically you are ignorant by choice because free market, less corporate regulation, and not believing in the redistribution of wealth are certainly "very liberal" views......... cool story bro, good luck with that.

I think you're confusing liberalism with Social democracy and Socialism.

Yes. That's basically the definition of liberalism. Wtf are you talking about?

I am talking 2014 American liberalism, if you are not an American then the premise of this debate is already going to be wack and I apologize for calling you ignorant. There are differing degrees of liberalism as with anything else....but today's typical American liberals (basically socialist) are certainly not about free market (not to be confused with free trade), not for LESS corporate regulation but would regulate most corporations into the ground, and are ALL for redistribution of wealth. Which would also explain your other post here. American liberalism is more akin to socialism these days than any traditional definition you could come up with. They will fight this tooth and nail, but in the end a spade is a spade. Oh yea, most of them would call me racist for saying that as well because apparently freedom of thought has been taken over by "open minds".....which unless you agree with them 100% you do not possess.

Well ok that's fair. But seriously Democrats are very very far from Socialism still. Those are the liberal ones right?

Well you cannot just say Democrat because once again....differing degrees. Those who associate themselves with being "liberal" tend to be further left. Same would go for conservatives. This is not even a valid blanket statement because everyone has a different perception of these things. I would certainly not say American Democrats are "very very far" from socialism; this country is leaning more toward socialism every day. Will we ever be Venezuela? I don't think so.

Liberal- MORE corporate regulation, believing in distribution wealth through welfare, more taxes, free-market, and socially left(weed, gay marriage, etc.).

Conservative- LESS corporate regulation, trickle down effect(wealth distribution), less taxes, free-market, and socially right(God Bless America, war on xmas, etc.).

Libertarian- Fiscal conservative, Social Liberal.

Not a problem. I'm sure you and I disagree on most things philosophically and politically, but as long as that comes from an intelligent place for both of us, which I know it does, I'm not fussed.

Since the GS change-over, it seems like OT is infested with the ignorant right-wing folk, who depend on right-wing media and talking points, rather than intellectual discourse and critical thinking.

Nah, in general libertarian politicians I've found to be either too extreme economically ("end the Fed") or to be Republicans masquerading as libertarians.

@themajormayor: You don't know what modern American liberalism is. Please stop.

Unfortunately this is the case.

Ron Paul is crazy.... but he's gonna legalize pot ain't he? kek

There does seem to be more rightwing mouthbreathers lately.

Yeah. The pigheaded extremeness is what gets me. It's hard to even have a dialogue with people who don't live in the real world and will not even consider the possibility that issues are more complex than they make them out to be.

One thing that bothers me about pretty much all Libertarians I've ever encountered is their lack of mental flexibility. They get an idea in their head about the free market or whatever and then interpret EVERYTHING through that lens, which makes them ill equipped to talk intelligently about problems, much less take steps toward solving them. How can you possible talk about issues realistically if you're answer to everything is "free market/freedom/etc." That kind of one dimensional thinking gets tiresome. The world doesn't conform to an ideology. It's a complex place that requires the ability to look at things on a case by case basis. And the real kicker is that they somehow think that their consistency is some kind of virtue when in reality it's just an unwillingness to approach different problems/scenarios in suitably different ways.

Combine that with the callous lack of compassion that many of them display and it all becomes pretty distasteful IMO.

Amen to this. "I have no moneys! But the rich have so much moneys... I should just be able to have some because they have too much!"

Yes I do. You didn't mention specify what kind of liberalism you were talking about.

@themajormayor: Use your brain.

Once again.....this is not American libertarianism, it is American liberalism.

No wonder the Libertarian Party cannot get a leg up.

I believe he was referring to liberals, as was I.