Meet the Libertarian Ticket -- The Issues

I checked the websites for Bob Barr and Wayne Root and those are links to their "Issues" pages.

From Bob Barr...

Big Government and Big Spending — The Root of all Problems.

Government spending at all levels is out of control. Most Americans understand the problem of “earmarks,” commonly used by pork-minded congressmen to buy votes.

Focusing on earmarks risks distracting attention from the broader problem of a government wildly wasting the money of hard-working Americans. Tens of billions of dollars in corporate welfare — essentially aid to dependent corporations — should be eliminated.

One of the best approaches would be to adopt some form of a consumption tax, like a national sales tax, replacing the Internal Revenue Service and all federal income taxes as well as payroll taxes.

It is not enough to eliminate the income tax. We also must repeal the 16th amendment, which authorizes Congress to levy an income tax.

From Wayne Root...

*I will sign pledge to NOT raise tax rates- PERIOD!
*I support drastically reduced & simplified federal taxes
*I support the elimination of death taxes.
*I support dramatically reduced government spending.
*I support cutting, shrinking and/or streamlining entire departments of the federal government- departments that based on the Constitution are not under federal jurisdiction.
*I support dramatically reduced government entitlement programs.
*I support dramatically reduced corporate welfare
*I support the hiring of fewer Government bureaucrats.
*I support ROOTING out government waste
*I also believe in CHOICE as it applies to Social Security
*I support Lawyer Abuse Reform- to reduce frivolous lawsuits that cost American consumers billions of dollars.
*I support an immediate end to Affirmative action in awarding government contracts. This is reverse racism- PERIOD.
[MUCH MORE...]

From Barr...

Maximize Individual Liberty & Restore the Constitution

Unfortunately, in recent years government at all levels has shown growing disrespect for the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment that protects citizens from unlawful searches and seizures.

The place to start is restoring the writ of Habeas Corpus, which protects against unlawful detention, and thus stands at the core of individual liberty. Article 1 of the Constitution provides that this right shall not be suspended without clear and necessary cause, such as during an invasion.

Finally, an increasingly intrusive Nanny State is watching over our nation, meddling in the lives of its citizens. New measures, often rushed through legislatures and regulatory agencies with little consideration or thought, seek to control ever more aspects of people's lives.

From Root...

*I support the rights of citizens to bear arms.
""Government should be of the people, by the people, for the people. What part of that do politicians and government bureaucrats not understand?"
Jury Rights - Such an amendment has often been referred to as a "Fully Informed Jury Amendment."
*No more secrecy or cover-ups, no more smoke-filled rooms or back-alley deals.

"I will end the Nanny State. I will give personal responsibility back to the American people. The decisions on how to live your lives are yours. The decision on vaccinations for your children is yours. The decision on what to eat is yours. The decision on what to watch on your computer or television is yours. The decision to own a gun is yours. The decision to smoke or drink or gamble is yours. The decision to wear a helmet on a motorcycle is yours- as long as you accept personal responsibility. The job of government is not to protect you from yourself. Or to prosecute victimless crimes. Big Brother will no longer be open for business under my watch."
--Wayne Allyn Root

*The war on drugs is a failure- this is one of the biggest wastes of taxpayer money. Let's start with legalization of medical marijuana- this is a states' rights issue. The federal government has no constitutional right to interfere in this issue versus states that have approved the use of medical marijuana by individuals.

*I oppose a National ID card for Americans.

From Barr...

Secure the Borders

Resolving this issue will be a challenge for America as it means that we must be aggressive in securing our borders while at the same time, vigilantly fighting the nanny state that seeks to coddle even those capable of providing for their own personal prosperity.

Until all governments are willing to take a unified front to confront this problem, it is the duty of the federal government to secure our borders from criminals, terrorists and those seeking to take advantage of the American taxpayer.

From Root...

*I support Voting ballots in English-only. My goal is to reduce the cost of government. Therefore we must stop wasting taxpayer money by printing ballots and administering elections in multiple languages.

*Illegal Immigration- I support securing our borders. We must first secure our borders to control the entry into our country of foreigners who pose a threat to the security, health, property or economic well-being of Americans. We must secure our bordersbefore we can deal with the issue of how to deal with illegal immigrants already in our country.
*I support making it easier for LEGAL immigrants with education & high tech skills to work legally in the USA.
*I oppose public funding and entitlements for illegal aliens.

"Government screws up everything. If government says black, you can bet it's white. If government says sit still for your safety, you'd better run for your life!"
--Wayne Allyn Root

From Barr...

Restoring National Defense

Our National Defense policy must renew a commitment to non-intervention. We are not the world's police force and our long, yet recently tarnished, tradition of respecting the sovereignty of other nations is necessary, not from only a moral standpoint, but to regain the respect of the world as a principled and peaceful nation.

We are better than the policy of pre-emptive warfare.

From Root...

*Admit the Iraq war is a disaster.
*Admit post-war planning was a disaster.
*Admit it's a civil war in Iraq- and our boys do not belong in the middle of a civil war. Our troops are not policeman.
*Use the success of the surge to declare victory and make plans to get out of Iraq as soon as reasonably possible.

*Learn the lesson that "Nation Building" is a failure of epic proportions- we are not the world's policeman.

*One more lesson: Government wastes money. Government by its nature is corrupt. The military-industrial complex wants to expand government to increase its power and influence. We need strict oversight over defense contractors and private companies like Haliburton and Blackwater.

*Let's keep our military and national defense strong. One way to ensure this is to dramatically reduce foreign aid (especially to our enemies) and foreign military bases across the globe.

*It is time for South Korea, Japan and Western Europe to take responsibility (and pay) for their own national defense.

*Let's use the savings from these cuts in defense spending to increase the pay of our courageous U.S. military personnel.

"The legacy I want to leave is simple and straight-forward. I want to be known as the man who took the power away from the government and gave it back to the people.

These two guys sound alot like the kind of people some of us at ATS are looking for. Just give them some consideration, folks. There is much more info at their websites.

Bonus Link! The "Kick Them All Out" Project

[edit on 5/26/2008 by RabbitChaser]

For those not aware, the Libertarian Party had their convention this past weekend and chose their ticket on Sunday...

Bob Barr for President and Wayne Root for VP

Here is a thread of mine with the run-down, which mrwupy called,

... the longest conversation I've ever seen anyone have with themselves on ATS.

Libertarian National Convention begins this week

Apparently, mrwupy has not seen my The Daily Mid-East Mess thread

There is also a short wrap-up of the events at this post

Enough with the Republicans and Democrats already. From top to bottom... time for a change.

[edit on 5/26/2008 by RabbitChaser]

Good morning, all you bums at work with time to kill If you missed it over the long weekend, the Libertarian Party nominated it's Presidential and VP nominees. All the links you need are in the above two posts. It really looks to me that this ticket is our only choice... and our only chance... to get things back on track in our Gov't. I think both these guys are 'with' Ron Paul, certainly Root is, and we all need to do our part, from President down to dog-catcher...

The "Kick Them All Out" Project, linked at the bottom of the OP.

I still cannot fathom why people are even still considering McCain, Obama or Hillary They've been ramming themselves down our throats for... what... 15-16+ months now? All anyone can do at this point is vote for the one they hate the least. And still, they are all just politicians and lawyers... nothing will change with any of them.

How much time and money has been wasted on all these campaigns of 'non-substance'? How many times would your mortgage have been paid with these totals, when all is said and done? And Hill-Bama is going to drag out into August? You've got to be kidding me And then to have to keep seeing McCain with his hot, rich wife, as he walks around all 'Mickey Rooney-like' in the shadow of Pres. Bush... or really anytime... he carries himself like a lost old man. Gee, I wonder why. [/rant]

SEE OP Peace