Badnarik for President

The Libertarian candidate for President, Michael Badnarik, was campaigning in Colorado today. 9 News (Denver's NBC affiliate) posted a nice long interview with him here. (Follow the link and then find the video link in the right column.)

I'll probably end up voting for him, but listening to the interview got me to thinking that we'd probably be better served if we could get such a well spoken Libertarian into the Senate or even the House. There, he could build up some tenure and really work to be a voice of limited government. If he was successful enough, then I think we could start to see an increase in Libertarian party candidates across the country. Once there were ten to twenty of them in Congress, I think it would make a presidential bid a lot more realistic.

Instead of trying to make some grand statement now, the party needs to look further down the road. With a group of them in the House and Senate and representing multiple states and different regions of the country, Libertarians would appear much less like a fringe organization.

I also have some concerns about his foreign policy ideas. I can see the validity of some of the arguements against our current situation in Iraq, but to pursue a purely isolationist policy where we have no troops overseas and do not try to weild any influence at all in any part of the world no matter how corrupt or how in need of help, seems nearsighted to me. Our post-World War II policies of intervention have had varying degrees of success, but overall, our might - both military and economic - has done more good than harm. To bring everyone home and do nothing but defend our borders is too narrow-minded.

Isn't there another choice that allows our mighty nation to help where we can, to step in where we must, and still give its citizens the freedom to live their lives outside the shadow of the government's umbrella? There should be.

Jonathan 9/08/2004 07:29:00 PM