Politically Homeless 5: Peggy Noonan

As I am writing my analysis of why I feel politically homeless, Peggy Noonan comes up with a great article on the basic problem in politics. Take a look!

Article: Third Time

Technorati Tags: Politics, Party Politics, Political Parties, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian

Politically Homeless 4: Libertarian Party

The Libertarian party claims to be the third largest political party in the U.S. today. They tend to lean toward small Constitutionally contained government. I have stated that I view myself as conservative leaning libertarian (notice the little L). I have read a lot about the Libertarian party and have a few issues with their ideals. Here is the breakdown:

Government Size
The Libertarian party has very strong beliefs in the model of limited government. They believe that the size of government should be very small and people should follow the rule of self-responsibility. They only the see the need for limited services such as foreign relations, fire, police, defense, etc.

State/Federal (Federalist)
The Libertarians appear to believe in the concept of states rights. They believe that ALL government should be limited in nature. It appears that they would tend to side with stronger state government instead of stronger federal if they had to choose.

Foreign Policy
It appears that Libertarians believe in a fairly isolationist viewpoint on foreign policy. They believe in free trade among countries. They believe that the United States should stop getting involved in so many international issues and focus on the homeland. They also believe that we could save billions (if not trillions) by not funding every international entity and scheme. For obvious reason, Libertarians tend to be against the United Nations as a government body. Libertarians want to limit federal government so creating a world government is not a good decision.

Taxes/Spending
As I stated earlier, Libertarians believe in low taxes, low spending, and small government. They believe that this will cause the government to have the least impact on the citizens of the country. They have a very conservative view of fiscal policy. Most Libertarians do not agree with the idea of a Federal Income Tax. They believe that the federal government should have more than enough money from fees and tarriffs as it did in the beginnings of our country.

Military Issues
As I stated in foreign policy, they believe that the U.S. should keep their focus at home and not abroad. They tend to keep a very isolationist viewpoint on this. Also, they do not believe in spending the money on fighting. Their basic opinion is have a strong national defense but only utilize it for defensive purposes. Many Libertarians were very against the war in Iraq.

Social Issues
Libertarians follow an approach of let people do what they want to as long as it doesn't affect other people. They take a very liberal approach to personal freedoms. Many believe in legalization of drugs and prostitution as victimless crimes. They do not support government social programs.

Business
Libertarians are very pro-Business. They believe in a laissez-faire style of government when it comes to business. They typically don't believe in the idea of taxing business because "businesses don't pay taxes, people do". They would push for the idea of removing regulation over businesses. They believe that the free market can control business using natural mechanisms.

I tend to side with many of the general principles of Libertarians. I love the idea of a small government and lower taxes. I think allowing business to flourish under decreased regulation would be a very positive economic change. I strongly agree that the government should not be allowed to set price caps/controls in the economy (such as minimum wage). It goes against the idea of capitalism.

I usually break with Libertarians with some of their more anarchic theories. I don't believe that legalizing ALL drugs is a good idea. I don't necessarily agree that all gun controls should be removed (convicted felons should lose that right and people don't need armor piercing rounds). Although I tend to agree that the government should get out of the business of marriage, I believe some controls should still exist (people shouldn't molest children even if that is their sexual preference). I don't completely agree with the isolationist ideals either. I do think that we shouldn't be so involved in the world's problems but that we must remain somewhat engaged.

All in all, I agree with libertarian (little l) concepts. I find that the Libertarian party is too anarchist for my tastes.

Your thoughts on my opinions?

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