I had to check out the pro-war “libertarian” Eric Dondero’s blogs http://libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com/ after reading some of his comments on Independent Country. I am convinced that this is a parody, and I find his postings comical. His schtick is to declare himself a true libertarian while espousing entirely statist viewpoints. This could be a swipe at Virginia Postrel and Tom Palmer and their ilk.
In a particularly hilarious post, he endorses Rudy Giuliani for President despite Giuliani’s fascist leanings because Eric thinks Rudy would be the greatest “warrior” ever in the White House. Even funnier are those who comment on his posts without seeming to realize that the site is not real.
Eric claims to have an impressive libertarian resume and to be the single most influential libertarian political consultant on the planet. He speaks “10-15 languages”, apparently so many that he has lost count. He says that Lew Rockwell is a lefty liberal and not a libertarian at all. He claims that Dana Rohrbacher was a founding father of the modern libertarian movement.
I laughed until I almost wet myself. Thanks, Eric, for your humorous take on libertarianism.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
So tell me then, what about my views below are not libertarian?
Pro-Legalization of Prostitution, Gambling, Marijuana, Repeal of Seat Belt Laws and 21 Drinking Age, Free Speech Rights including Adult Pornography, Tax Cuts, Severe Spending Cuts, End Foreign Aid, Privatization of Social Security, Abolish Medicare and Medicaid, and No to any Military Draft.
Where is it that I'm not a Libertarian?
Just because I'm not an Anarchist, and don't worship at Murray Rothbard's Grave site, and suck L. Neil Smith's dick, doesn't mean I'm not a Libertarian.
You're killing me, Eric.
Okay, now that you've had your laugh, how about answering the question.
How is it that someone who is Pro-Prostitution, Pro-Tax Cuts, Pro-Gambling, Anti-Draft, Pro-Gun and Anti-Seat Belt Laws, is not considered a "libertarian"?
My scored on the WSPQ?
Usually 100/100. On a bad day 90/100.
Just about every libertarian quiz ever invented I score in the upper Libertarian area.
Here's the best btw:
www.politicalquiz.us
OK, I'll bite. I concede that a libertarian would advocate for no laws in the areas you mention, although he might not himself care for any of the activities in question. The key for me is not the particular liberties that are espoused but a commitment to extremely limited government, if any, and recognition of all kinds of liberty, not just what we might approve of or tolerate personally. I want to be free from confiscatory taxes that feed a bloated national security apparatus. I do not want to be forced to pay for military adventures abroad and murderous acts that violate my religious scruples. I do not want to lose habeas corpus and all the rights of a free man in the name of some trumped up "war on terror".
I certainly don't want Rudy Giuliani to have any power. He is about as "libertarian" as Stalin. He crusaded against porn, adult entertainment, prostitution, drugs and lots of victimless crimes. He supported gun control. He never met an executive power he did not like.
Forgive me if I think that a "libertarian" supporting Giuliani is comical. If you support a massive warfare state and a dick like Giuliani, while being pro-gambling and such, I suppose you are more "libertarian" than someone who supports a massive warfare state, Giuliani, and restrictions on gambling.
Hmmn. I guess you're smarter than the NY Times who called Giuliani a "budget cutting, privatizing Ayn Randian."
Ever hear of the London Times-Herald? It's now one of the world's oldest newspaper; hundreds of years old.
Well, the Times-Herald recently called Giuliani a "libertarian conservative."
Other media who've called Giuliani a "libertarian" include the NY Sun, LA Times, Chicago Tribune and Washington Post.
Now before you start getting testy and shouting at your computer screen, "Yeah, Dumbdero, but those are all liberal media outlets... they wouldn't know a libertarian from a hole in the head."
Gotcha! I was hoping you'd say that.
There's two other places where Giuliani has been called a "libertarian conservative" recently: National Review and American Spectator.
Once again, I presume that you consider yourself smarter than all those editorial staffs and reporters combined, huh?
Vache,
You're right-- this guy is pure comedy gold!
You oughta figure out how to sell tickets to this circus act!
The important thing for me is not whether some media outlet thinks Giuliani is a "libertarian" but whether he really is one, based on my own judgment. It is not in my nature to defer blindly to "authority". Perhaps that is why I am drawn to libertarianism.
I suppose there could be "Giuliani libertarians" just as there could be "altrusitic Objectivists".
"Based on your own judgement" 'eh?
And so who the fuck are you? I've never run into you out on the petitioning trail for the Libertarian Party or the libertarian movement. Never heard of you before.
Who the fuck died and made you boss?
What makes you think you're suddenly King of the Libertarians, able to decide who is and who is not a "Real Libertarian."
Hey buster, I've got 22 years of hardcore libertarian activism under my belt. I've been called "America's Greatest Libertarian Political Activist." (See my site for just a tiny taste of some of the quotes praising me at www.libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com.)
Don' you fucking dare try to tell me who is and who is not a "real libertarian."
I'll compare libertarian resumes with you any day of the week.
Bring it on mother-fucker. Bring it on...
Looks like someone has leashitarianism confused with libertarianism. And has trouble with that "tolerance" thing, to boot ...
a legend in his own mind. does the label matter - are views a one size fits all on every issues. shall i wrap myself up in the flag. oh - and where does it say that if we're not libertarians, we have no right to define words. after all, alice learned quickly that words means exactly what i think they means. however long the resume - actions taken on the political front are simply posturing for position in a failed system that is so endemic that we have to wait for the strands to untangle - the verbage they use about the Japanese Yen carry trade - the current boogeyman of those literate half-beasts thatpresume to buy the world, on 5% margin. ponzi scheme is falling down, london brige is falling down, infrastructure is falling down - anybody remember humpty dumpty?
i better go back to my day job - warm-up comedian is a low humor and i'm more into high theatre.
Eric Dondero is my type of libertarian. He understnads that at least we should have some progressive values in common, like the effort to bring freedom abroad.
Thanks Eric! I am not voting Republican probably but if I did it would be for Giuliani. I wish more libertarians were more like you.
This Eric Dondero dude is what he says he is, a Libertarian- Republican. This is also known as a (more principled) Republican, or what was considered a mainstream Republican about 20-30 years ago. He's a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which means he's a Republican who leans toward libertarianism.
There's nothing wrong with that. I don't mind Republicans calling themselves Libertarians. There are many, varying degrees of Libertarianism. The Libertarian Party itself has pretty much become the Republican party of 20-30 years ago (without the popularity).
Maybe he'll be a 'gateway drug' for someone else to become the type of Libertarian who believes in absolute rights to life, liberty, and property.
Either way, he's good for Libertarianism because he has a public platform, and his political views are headed in the right direction, toward less government. He may want to get off that less government train a lot sooner than most of us other Libertarians would, but at least he's on that train, headed in the right direction.
Post a Comment