Sunday, January 14, 2007

My Current Opinion Regarding A Viable 2008 Libertarian Presidential Candidate

Let me just say that it fills my heart with joy to live in a country, such as the USA, that is even semi-capitalist. A friend of mine named Praveen Puri recently told me that I could make money, by doing something as simple as creating a blog, and allowing Google to advertise on it. I believed Google to be a fine company, and so decided to give collude with them, that they might peddle their wares, hitching a ride on my various and sundry opinions (and the occasional piece of breaking news).

In this mood, let me just announce that I am supporting Wayne Allyn Root for President of the United States of America. It occurs to me that:
1) Wayne can reach many millions of Americans with basic libertarian principles, in a way that doesn't sound like a basic economics text, or an intruduction to Objectivist epistemology.
2) Wayne can do #1 because he has media connections, personal wealth, and lots of energy!
3) None of the other candidates seeking the LP nomination, thus far (as of 01-15-2007) , have these qualities.
4) The Libertarian Party needs the media attention, and no candidate of their is likely to win. Thus, they can nominate a Libertarian who takes "libertarian purity" to another level, but cannot reach Joe sixpack, or the major media, or even semi-interested voters in most states, or they can take a bunch of Republican and Democrat votes away from the bastards, and force the major parties to reckon with us, or lose elections.
5) The "libertarian purity" question is a non-issue, so long as he doesn't grossly misrepresent the LP (Which Wayne is clearly smart enough not to do). Moreover, this non-issue is the reason we don't have a serious shot at the Presidency in 2008. The sooner the public knows who we are, the sooner we can worry about who would win a moderated debate in a college classroom full of pontificating objectivists. Until then, we are idiots if we neglect to get serious about our presidential vote total! <---NOTE: Ayn Rand was a towering mental giant in some areas (her stated political philosophy, her fictional works, some of her ideas about art), and a mental midget in others (homophobia, domineering over her hubbie, adulterous and thus contract breaking, critical of political allies making due with the voters they had to work with, and still do, politically stupid and mindlessly supportive of socialist "Republican" candidates like Reagan and Nixon. She is a large part of the reason why many Americans wrongly remember these dimwitted puppets as "capitalists". Compare John Hospers candidacy to that of Reagan any day of the week and he's a genius compared to Rand in the arena of US politics.).--->

Having said my piece (roughly), I urge you to consider this quote that was graciously sent to my inbox by the Free Market News Network:
"If you're serious about changing the world and you know that your philosophy is correct, you owe it to your philosophy to study how to win [elections]." -- Morton Blackwell

I heartily agree. You can check out Libertarianism MAINSTREAM.

Nevermind that he's a "Republican". So is Ron Paul. But intellectual forces are always changing partners and battlefields. Let's welcome Root to the only Party that can protect a Constitutional Republic in our fight for freedom. Who doesn't like Ron Paul now? Every libertarian in any way associated with winning elections likes him. But the "purists" bitterly opposed Paul at first. Is it because they'd rather lose freedom than compromise on one single battle?

One battle does not win or lose a war! But sitting out every battle loses without fail... We can nominate Root, or we can sit on the sidelines and get around 340,000 votes for President of the US, and pat ourselves on the back when it's all done, slide further towards abject socialism, and blame America for "not doing their homework".

But if we do that, should we castigate fellow libertarians who haven't done their homework on something important?

I know very few libertarians who are in great physical shape, and altering their diet for maximum longevity. I know very few libertarians who are familiar with the concept of a (technological) singularity. I know very few libertarians who know the difference between a "molecular assembler" and "nanoscale chemistry" as it pertains to nanotechnology. These are life and death ideas too. They are every bit as likely to shape the outcome of politics in the 21st century.

Most libertarians resent their "fellow man" voting away their freedom out of sheer ignorance. How many libertarians are resented by an even smaller number of scientists who resent them for not knowing enough computer science to help shape Artificial General Intelligence into a constructive force? Like elections, if not enough brainpower is devoted to this task, the result could be "mass death", possibly even to the extinction of the human species.

Should technology ignorant libertarians (and everyone else) be fed to the "roving macrophages" because of their staggering ignorance? Or do the people who know what is at stake need to consider strategy to prevent the worst from happening, if only due to their own self-interest? Christine L. Peterson's (and founder Eric Drexler's) Foresight Institute posits that engineers who are on the cusp of building such powerful machines have a responsibility to themselves and the public to build with self-imposed caution. Scientists currently working on AI such as Hugo DeGaris have posited what might happen if there is no debate, or if the debate (about strong AI) is not constructive.

I would argue in favor of the latter. When the libertarians that currently comprise the LP finally get serious about strategy, they will reap the benefits of their philosophical consistency. Winning any battle requires pain, but it need not require undue sacrifice. Our enemy is willful ignorance, and there is a way to beat it: We have to interest the public in the defense of freedom -if we don't they will continue to let it slip away, undefended.

If Sam Adams could do it, without an internet, TV, or (largely sympathetic) radio, WE CAN DO IT.

Strategy requires a charismatic candidate who has "get up and go". Wayne Root has it, the others don't. Therefore, the others won't attract a following necessary to break 1,000,000 votes.

Vote for Wayne.

-Jake Witmer

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