re: #56 Bagua

I’d always been fond of the beliefs of libertarians, though I’ve never studied the idea in any depth. I do favour personal freedom almost to the point of anarchy.

Then came Ron Paul, and Glenn Beck. It’s no longer cool to be a libertarian without disclamers.

Originally the LP was created by conservatives dissatisfied with a number of policies of the Nixon Administration they viewed as ‘big intrusive government’. They chose the name libertarian because they felt they were Classical Liberals, but the word “liberal” had been co-opted by the left.

Unfortunately at the same time as this group split from the Republicans, all the kooks and JBS people joined them since they had already been pushed out by Goldwater and Buckley. When Reagan came to prominence at the end of the 70s, most of the sane members of the LP left and rejoined the Republican party. The few sane left in the LP were turned off by Reagan playing lip-service to the Religious Right. They were far outnumbered by kooks though, and have been ever since.

It was a good idea that was corrupted and destroyed by conspiracy kooks, anarchocapitalists, and the JBS. Luap Nor and Glenn Beck are indicative of this.