Go looking for an understanding of the tenets of the Libertarian Party and it takes mere seconds to conclude its foundation is individual freedom.
American government in its relatively brief history has a pretty good record of protecting individual freedom, at least compared to other forms of government. What is it Churchill quoted some unknown sage as having said? "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
What’s the point?
A candidate for the state House of Representatives demonstrated last week it’s not easy being a Libertarian.
Ain't that the truth? But it's still government, and as often as not, it can have a hand in creating limitations on freedom. And that's how we get Democrats and Republicans. Members of both major parties in the modern political era demonstrate time and time again less government isn't their goal. One can make the case they're both just battling for control of government as the tool they need to impose their particular visions of regulation.
An occasional Republican will claim the notion of smaller government, but come on, did you see the budget plan President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress just adopted?
Few people in Arkansas have drunk the Kool-Aid of unadulterated Libertarianism, the kind that frees people to pursue their own interests and eschews government intervention in most aspects of people's lives. The Libertarian Party of Arkansas says end the war on drugs and legalize marijuana, have a robust national defense, respect the right to bear arms, stop intervening in other nations, preserve personal freedom, lower taxes, embrace tolerance of others' "peaceful choices," protect civil liberties, don't be so strict on immigration policy, support free markets and make the pathway to citizenship easier.
Even some of the Libertarian candidates don't get it, apparently.
Northwest Arkansas residents learned last week of the latest social media controversy involving a political candidate. Justin Jones, the party's nominee for the District 87 seat in the state House of Representatives, hoped to unseat Republican stalwart Robin Lundstrum in November. But he let his fingers do some walking on his computer keyboard as he perused Facebook, and the result was an offensive commentary about gay people.
In a discussion about blood donations on an out-of-state resident's Facebook post, Jones had this observation: "The likelihood of a fag catching HIV is 1000% more likely then [sic] any straight person."
And there's more: "Fags are disgusting," Jones wrote.
Jones wasn't prepared for the reaction. His first communication after recognizing he'd gotten himself into a situation was to post these remarks on his campaign website: "In response to the backlash caused by the media, it has been brought to my attention that I should suspend my campaign. After a phone call with the chair of the Benton County Libertarian Party, Michael J. Kalagias, I informed him, that I will continue my candidacy for state representative. My candidacy is about the people of Elm Springs, Siloam Springs, Springdale, and Tontitown. My campaign will continue to fight on the behalf of District 87."
Oh, where to begin?
Perhaps it was not any fault of "the media." People tend to react to ludicrous statements by a man who wants to hold public office regardless of what "media" do. Jones tried the old trick of populism, too, declaring he was standing up for the people of four towns within his district. Well, all but the residents he despises, apparently.
We've met a lot of the folks living in those towns, and Jones' nasty remarks on social media don't sound at all like them.
Kalagias, a robust consumer of the Kool-Aid, did his party right with a strong defense of its tenets as he called for Jones to end his campaign: "The Benton County Libertarian Party absolutely condemns the statement and sentiment of his offensive and derogatory comments. His expressed opinion is entirely his own and is starkly in contradiction with the Libertarian belief in the rights of individuals to pursue life, liberty, and happiness however they see fit so long as they do not infringe on the rights of others."
Bigotry, Kalagias said, has no place in the party.
By late Tuesday, Jones announced he was "suspending" his campaign. Forget suspension. Just kill the danged thing.
It is tough being a Libertarian in Arkansas. It's not a big party and its resources are a tiny fraction of the two big parties. The party has a strong desire to field candidates but doesn't have much in the way of vetting them. That's how it ended up a couple of years ago with a candidate for Congress who had a felony conviction in his past.
In a statement to Little Rock's KARK television station, Jones attempted to cast his social media comments as "satire," then lamented that in the "new day of social media, we face backlash for every comment we make, which is putting 'free speech' at a price."
We hear that as a defense to ignorant comments all the time, but it's laughable. It is no infringement on an individual's right to free speech for other people to point out what he said is stupid or pathetic.
That's just another way Jones proved he's no Libertarian at all.
Commentary on 04/08/2018