I?ve found that when I?m trying to sell someone on the libertarian philosophy I usually have around 10 seconds to make that first impression. If I say the wrong thing in those 10 seconds, I?ve lost them. If someone asks me ?what do you people believe in?? and I respond, ?Legalizing marijuana!? I?m written off as a kook. One convert lost.
But what if I respond to that initial query with something like; ?Well, Libertarians believe that if you make $1000 a week your paycheck every other Friday should be for $2000.? OK ? now you have their attention. That idea has universal appeal, and you have just been granted an extra few minutes to make the sale. Or you could respond; ?Libertarians believe that the government shouldn?t be allowed to condemn your home, seize it, and turn it over to a developer for a fancy new condo project.? Once again, you have their attention. People actually still believe that a man?s home is his castle, and you now have an audience that will listen to your libertarian pitch for at least a few more minutes.
This brings us to the Sunday of the Libertarian convention. It?s time for the candidates for the presidential nomination to make their pitch to the delegates, and for the delegates to then cast their votes. C-Span is carrying the entire thing on live national television for anyone interested in watching. After the nominating speeches are concluded, and after the delegations present their votes in writing, there?s a lull in the action while votes are tabulated. This is a prime opportunity for the Libertarian Party to sell itself to the C-Span viewers. So, what do we get? Do we see a well-produced feature on eminent domain abuse? Nope. How about a feature on the Fair Tax plan (http://www.fairtax.org/), a plan to eliminate all federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes and replace them with a simple national retail sales tax? Nope again. Predictably, some rocket scientist at the Libertarian Party decides to fill this void with a feature on ? what else! ? medical marijuana! Here comes that ?legalize drugs? thing again. This was a complete validation for those out there who think that, first and foremost, the Libertarian Party is about drug legalization.
The Libertarian Party is the party of individual responsibility, personal freedom and limited government. These ideas appeal to the vast majority of Americans, yet the Libertarians literally don?t seem to be able to draw flies to a dump. It is obscene that Ralph Nader can get more attention with his message of big government and economic fascism than Libertarians can get with their message of freedom. That?s how it goes, though, when you?re viewed as the marijuana party.
Well, folks. That should about do it. My string of addressing Libertarian Party conventions has, I think, come to an end. You folks keep dressing up in your nifty hemp jackets and preaching drug legalization, and I?ll keep doing my bit on the radio trying to convince Americans that there?s more to libertarianism than smoking weed. In the meantime, let me know when the next convention is so that I can make some alternative plans.
In the meantime, see if you can spend a bit of time trying to develop a message for people who are interested in things other than mind-altering drugs.