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Definition of libertarian: 1) an advocate of the doctrine of free will. 2) A person who upholds the principles of individual liberty, especially of thought and action.

Ladies and gentleman there you have it, straight from Merriam-Webster. It is with a sad heart that I write this article, but I feel I must. Many of us liberty minded people need to be reminded of what and we stand for.

Libertarianism is non-aggressive. We dont steal, we dont bomb, and we dont forcefully impose our will on others. We are the only political group that can honestly say we support real liberty. I use the word group instead of party, because you dont need to support a party to support a principle. We can support a member of any party, or an independent. It is principle that matters. That same core principle, called non-aggression, is at the heart of every stance we take. While we make jokes about the N.A.P. and endlessly debate about how it applies to certain issues, on most issues it is quite clear.

So why is it, that some libertarians are so supportive of Trump? Sure, the TPP exit was a solid win for liberty, and the repeal of the ACA sounds great. Hell, Trump even supports an audit of the Federal Reserve. There is more too, like his Department of Education appointee. In fact, if you cherry pick certain issues he doesnt sound half bad. However, with that logic I can make any president or politician a libertarian. Small government is only a part of what libertarianism is about.

Some libertarian social media campaigns have even started using slogans like Are you tired of winning yet? when they post about these supposed victories that have come out of Trumps administration. But lets make something clear, we have not won anything at all.

By saying we have, you are further discrediting the libertarian movement and reinforcing the myth that we are pothead republicans. To be brutally honest, many of us are acting like that is true.

Authoritarian government, by nature, violates the core principle of libertarianism. Donald Trump is authoritarian, and there is no argument against that which holds any merit. That does not mean we cant give him some credit where it is due. Reducing regulations and government power is good. A handful of good things however is not winning.

By saying Trump is the most libertarian president ever, you are doing serious damage to the message that we are finally starting to get out.

Lets not lose sight of the core principles we stand for, or throw them away altogether. Dont sit back and talk about how you are happy with Trump. Not when he supports civil asset forfeiture, or appoints someone like Jeff Sessions. Dont talk up the same guy who already is dropping bombs, or the guy who appointed Mike Pompeo to head the CIA.

The conservative Trump wants to spend 20 billion dollars on a wall, rather than fix the issues that caused illegal immigration to be the problem it is. Isnt more government to fix government problems one of the things that Libertarians are against? How does this not qualify?

We should have the same outrage now that we had with Obama. You can make the argument that it is not as bad, but it really is no different. Authoritarian government is still authoritarian government. We are liberty minded, or at least we claim to be. Libertarianism and authoritarianism are polar opposites of each other.

It is almost scary how fast things went downhill. How can we lose sight of things so fast?

We complain about the inability for government to maintain roads, but expect them to maintain a wall? The Federal government cant even maintain the current fence that spans only a fraction of the border. Is eminent domain going to suddenly going to be acceptable when the construction of the wall begins, or will we still care about property rights?

How did we go from calling Edward Snowden a hero, to supporting someone who put an advocate of spying programs in charge of the CIA? How did we go from pointing out every flaw in the left, to ignoring flaws in the right? We are starting to ignore facts and issues that are hurting our cause, showing blind support to an authoritarian, and that makes us just as bad as the authoritarian regime.

To not stand up to injustice, is just as bad as causing injustice.

Maybe our memory is also a problem. We seem to have forgotten the support Trump has given to the progressive left, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars. In fact, from 1989-2010 he donated over $150,000 more to Democrats than he did to Republicans. Curiously that changed before he announced a potential run for the white house in 2011. Suddenly his donations went mainly to Republicans. Those Democrat donations included Hillary Clinton, who he swore would be in jail if he won, yet last I checked she is roaming free.

His other actions since the election have already proven to be contradictory to his campaign promises as well. I am still waiting for a big Ed McMahon style check for the price of the wall to be sent from Mexico. Instead, we will pay for it with a price increase in Mexicos products. Its okay though, because somehow we all decided that taxation isnt theft anymore and that taxes on companies arent passed onto the consumer, foreign or not. The laws of economics have been suspended so that the almighty Trump can be praised by libertarians for implementing a tax.

Perhaps it is time to reevaluate what being a libertarian actually means. Is it small authoritarian government or is it non-aggression and personal liberty. Are we suddenly a mix of left and right ideas, or are we really something different?

With all of the infighting and drama stirred up in Libertarian groups, we certainly are not acting like the logical and rational people we claim to be.

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Donald Trump Is No Libertarian - Being Libertarian

A famous political commentator once compared getting a consensus among libertarians to herding cats, he wasnt wrong.

Those who identify as libertarians range from the classical liberals (in the mold of our Founding Fathers) to those libertines who simply wish for marijuana and maybe a few other recreational drugs to be legalized (you know who you are).

However, there are some commonalities among libertarians. For instance, libertarians tend to fall within the isolationist range of the foreign policy spectrum. There really arent many who identify as libertarians, who believe that the United States should be the world police; the ones who need to solve every crisis or topple every corrupt regime out there. There is a big world outside of the United States and, while I am certainly not advocating policing the world, I would like to draw attention to our relationship with one country Israel and why that relationship is important.

1. Israel is our ally. Normally, a country like ours treats their allies well and their enemies very cautiously, but this policy flew out the window during the two terms of President Obama.

President Obama took office, returned a gift (a bust of Winston Churchill) from our closest ally, Great Britain, and gave Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu the cold shoulder; going so far as to allow (by our silence) the United Nations to pass a sanction against Israel something no previous president would have ever allowed.

All this happened while he was touring the world and apologizing for Americas sins while giving the red carpet treatment to those who hate us (like the Iranian mullahs).

Granted, the UN Security Council has a closer resemblance to the Star Wars bar scene than a serious, powerful organization; but it is still something that would never have been allowed before.

Israel is a valuable ally in the middle east and has supplied us with valuable intelligence in our fight to protect our country from more terrorist attacks.

2. Israel is a stable democracy. Israel is the only stable democracy in a region ruled by tyrants or militants.

While I dont think it is Americas place to dictate policy to other countries, it is smart to support like-minded countries. Yes, Israel is a bit too socialist for me, but its an absolute paradise compared to the rest of the region.

Judaism is obviously the majority religion of that country, but unlike the other countries in the region, Israel allows those of minority religions (like Christians) to worship freely, without fear of punishment or death. Im sure the Coptic Christians in Egypt would have appreciated that freedom, or the Yazidis in Iraq after ISIS took over.

Israel is also not ruled by a dictator, but by a deliberative body of a multi-housed government. Its stability is welcoming to investors and businesses, all to the enrichment of its people.

3. Israel is hated by our enemies, both foreign and domestic. We have common enemies whether we like it or not. Islamic terrorists hate us because of who we are infidels!

To them, Israel is the little Satan and the United States is the great Satan.

Unfortunately for Israel, they are surrounded by those who use the catch phrase Jews to the sea more often than Americans say bless you to someone who sneezes and their enemies mean it!

The threat isnt going away on its own either, no matter how much we try to ignore or appease those who would do us harm.

As for domestic enemies, those in the United States who wish for the demise of our country for ideological reasons (that it was founded by racists, guilty of sexism, and rich by stealing the resources of the world, etc.) also dislike Israel for the same reasons. To them, Israelis are the oppressors; stealing the land and resources of the poor, downtrodden Arabs. And theyre probably guilty of bigotry and homophobia as well.

While there is plenty of room for discussion about how much support we should give to Israel (financial support, weapons, intelligence, or simply having their back with the UN), the relationship between our countries is definitely something that we should be watching. This alliance is in the best interest of the United States.

* Christine Luc is a chiropractor, small business owner, and mother who loves to rant about the size and scope of government. She loves this website as it has given her a chance to put her ranting tendencies to constructive use.

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Why Israel Matters - Being Libertarian

According to VPAP, it looks like theres going to be a Libertarian candidate (named Jason Carrier) for governor of Virginia, assuming of course that hes able to make the ballot (not an easy matter in Virginia). Heres some of what he has to say on his Facebook page. To put it mildly, hes not a fan of liberals, progressives, Democratsall of whom he seems to think are socialists, which he also believes are identical to National Socialists, whichyeah, dont ask.

If we are tired of how the government taxes us, spies on us, restricts our liberty, it is up to regular Americans (Farmer, Truck Drivers, Veterans, IT nerds) to run for office.

So for those of you who dont know, I am running for Governor of Virginia as the Libertarian candidate. The party asked and I said yes. I have never been a politician and I am going to need all the help I can get. This means volunteers and fund raising, etc. The first step is getting 10,000 names ballot petition. If you are interested in helping please let me know. I will be setting up website, and other items I hope this week. If you are interested in helping please PM me. If you have any questions about the LP party where we stand on issues ask them here, I will do my best to answer them.

As a Libertarian I support withholding all federal funds from all states they should stand on there own as much as possible and reject all federal mandates not in the constitution

I keep hearing people refer to Trump as Orange Hitler. I dont understand this label. Hitler was a socialist Trump is into Cronyism. Hitler build camps to keep people in Germany, Trump says he wants to throw people out. Although deportations are down. Hitler passed Universal Health Care, Trump says ObamaCare will be repelled, although he has not done it yet. Hitler passed 100% Gun registration and bans for people that were unstable, Trump says he supports the second amendment. Hitler believed in free education, Trumps says pay your own way. Hitler wanted to tax the rich to pay for social programs, Trumps say 15% flat tax. Hell based on the analysis of the Nazis party platform, Hitler would be head of the Democratic National Community. Just saying these are fact. Call Trump and asshole if you want, but Hitler is a bit of a stretch

I was talking today about the Federal land grabs out west, specifically Utah and Nevada. It is like the government is trying to round it citizen up put them into reservations where they have to buy water, food, shelter, and medical from them. It just seems wrong to me.

This meme is funny but historically inaccurate Nazis were socialists people rioting and burning books are socialists same shit different time

I going to post this and I am sure it is going to piss off my fellow Libertarians. I saw Trump signed an executive order that for every new regulation passed two had to be taken away. This is pretty awesome. So could he be the Libertarian president we were hoping for? Internet trolling done now to work

So ODU just released a study that shows Clinton got at least 800,000 votes from non citizen can we now get voter ID laws. I dont want Republicans to cheat either. Libertarians please feel free to cheat as much as we need to

Love me some Ron Paul

I am not a Trump supporter, but if you are attacking black performers for reaching across the aisle and calling them every racist slur in the book, you are an asshole. I heard what people called Steve Harvey, it is not acceptable.

If they lived in reality they would not advocate Socalism. It has failed for 100 years, and killed 200 million people, but lets give it one more try, with the most technically advanced military in the world, what could go wrong

Nazis were national Socalist party of Germany, same as USSR. I dont know why we dont teach this

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Meet Your (Possible) 2017 Virginia Libertarian Candidate for Governor - Blue Virginia (press release) (blog)

FreedomFestThe 10th year of FreedomFest, the world's largest annual gathering of libertarian and free-market thinkers, activists, and policymakers takes place in Las Vegas between July 19 to July 22 at Bally's Paris resort.

Confirmed speakers include Star Trek's William Shatner talking about space exploration and the cultural staying power of Star Trek. Newscasting legend John Stossel will be there and there will be a celebration of the life and ideas of Steve Forbes, longtime FreedomFest "co-ambassador." There will also be a slate of special "Reason Day" sessions that deliver cutting-edge views on "Free Minds and Free Markets." You want to "boldly go where no man, woman, or child has gone before?" Then come to Reason Day, where we will be talking about rockets, hyperloops, radical self-evolution, and the next stages of disruptiveand libertatingchange.

To add to the excitement, FreedomFest impresario Mark Skousen has teamed up with Newsmax magazine to produce a list of "the 50 Most Influential Libertarians" in each of eight different categories such as business and finance, entertainment and the news, freedom-movement organizations, media, politics, and academia.

Among the Reasoners in the hunt are Ronald Bailey, Brian Doherty, and Virginia Postrel (authors); John Stossel, Matt Welch, and myself (media); and Katherine Mangu-Ward, David Nott, and Robert W. Poole (think tanks and educational institutions).

You can vote for up to five candidates in each category and the survey is open until March 15.

Go here now to cast your ballot and get $100 off your FreedomFest registration fee.

Over the past years, Reason TV has interviewed dozens of libertarians ranging from P.J. O'Rourke to Penn Jillette to John Mackey to Crossfit creator Greg Glassman to LP presidential ticket Gary Johnson and Bill Weld. Go here for a complete list.

And click below to watch last year's raucous debate among Matt Welch, Jeffrey Tucker, Dan Magru, Wayne Allyn Root and me over whether libertarians should vote for Donald Trump. Called the most controversial and intense panel ever at FreedomFest, it's something to behold.

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Who Are the Most Influential Libertarians? FreedomFest Wants To Know! - Reason (blog)

Libertarian Party(Photo: Courtesy/Special to Poweshiek County CR)

The Iowa Secretary of State has announced that the Libertarian Party of Iowa has obtained official political party status in Iowa, effective March 1. The Libertarian Partys presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, received 59,186 votes, which was 3.8 percent of the vote in the November 2016 general election, surpassing the two percent threshold required by Iowa Code to obtain official political party status.

Johnsons 3.8 percent of the vote in Iowa was slightly more than the 3.3 percent he received nationally

I would like to congratulate the Libertarian Party of Iowa on being recognized as an official political party by the state, Secretary Paul D. Pate said. I encourage all Iowans to become and remain active in the political process.

Prior to the 2016 election, the Libertarian Party in Iowa was considered a non-party political organization (NPPO) and did not have some of the privileges granted to the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, two parties with political party status.

NPPOs must have their presidential or gubernatorial candidate receive more than 2 percent of the vote to be recognized as a full-status political party. If a partys nominee does not receive two percent of the total votes cast, the partys status is cancelled.

Political party status gives the Libertarian Party the ability to participate in primary elections in 2018. The Libertarian Party will be included as an option for Iowans on voter registration forms as well.

Libertarian Party state chair, Keith Laube, stated, Having our candidates be part of the Primary Election will allow voters to become familiar with our candidates earlier in the election season. Our candidates will know they are on the November ballot in early June rather than late August. This will help organize stronger campaigns and provide voters more opportunity to understand Libertarian views. Laube added, Having more candidates share their ideas by being involved in the entire election cycle is good for Iowa.

The last instance when a non-party political organization was successful at gaining political party status in Iowa was in the year 2000. Iowa Green Party nominee Ralph Nader received 29,374 votes, or 2.2 percent of the total votes cast for president.

The current number of voters registered as Libertarian in Iowa is 9,100.

Iowa voters could start registering as a Libertarian in. Since January 2016, voters are able to register to vote and change their political party affiliation on the Iowa Secretary of State website. Major party status will become effective 21 days from the filing.

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Iowa Libertarian Party official party - DesMoinesRegister.com