Tim K - Mr.Dondero, you are a self proclaimed Libertarian Republican, while I am a self avowed Conservative Republican, how can we work together to build a stronger Republican party?
Eric Dondero - We need to start by recognizing that we are ideological cousins and have far more in common than we have that separates us.
That said, Conservatives have to give a little. We we Libertarians mostly ask, is throw us some bones on some civil liberties issues. And no, I'm not talking tough issues like Abortion or Gay Marriage (actually we Libertarians ourselves are divided on these two issues.) I'm talking easy civil liberties issues that Conservatives can support like: Repeal of Seat Belt Laws!, Stopping Smoking Bans, Lowering the Drinking Age to 18, Gambling, Medical Marijuana and maybe even limited Decriminalization of Prostitution.
If Conservatives recognize that these issues are fundamentally important to us Libertarians, and stop pooh-poohing them as "extreme" or "out of the mainstream," than maybe we Libertarians will be much more motivated to assist Conservatives with their efforts.
Tim K - Mr.Dondero, your Libertarian Republican blog differs from many on the Internet, as according to your blog, you are heavily focused on National defense, why do you believe most Libertarians are ignorant to some degree on foreign policy?
Eric Dondero - I disagree with your premise. Libertarians aren't "ignorant" on foreign policy; what they're ignorant on is their own history and background on foreign policy issues. Look, the libertarian movement was originally very Pro-Defense/Pro-Military. We're Barry Goldwater babies. The modern Libertarian movement grew out of Goldwater's '64 Presidential Campaign. You don't get any more stridently Pro-Military/Anti-Commie than Barry. And Ayn Rand? A lot of Libertarian historical revisionists like to say that Rand "didn't care much for foreign policy issues." BS!! She was just as much a hardcore Anti-Commie as Goldwater. It was Ford and Reagan's strong stance against the Soviet Union that won endorsements from her for these two Republicans. Dana Rohrabacher - now a Hawk Republican Congressman - was an original founder of the Libertarian Movement in the late 1960s. And most people don't know this, but Dr. John Hospers was the very first Libertarian Presidential candidate in 1972. Hospers endorsed George W. Bush in 2004 over the Libertarian Michael Badnark, because Bush was fighting against Islamo-Fascism.
What we're trying to do at Libertarian Republican, is not necessarily to promote the Hawk Libertarian view. Rather, we're trying to re-establish the original Pro-Defense Libertarian view for the Libertarian Movement of 2009 and beyond.
You might say, we're the Originalist Libertarians fighting against the more recent Leftist-Libertarian usurpers (like Rockwell, AntiWar.com, Ron Paulists, et.al.)
Tim K - Mr.Dondero, how would you rate the Obama administration after eight months in power?
Eric Dondero - The most totalitarian administration in the history of the United States. It's getting real, real scary. He's worse than I could have ever imagined. And here I disagree with my friend Glenn Beck. I'd much rather have US Veteran and fmr. POW John McCain as my Commander in Chief, despite his flaws on domestic policy, than Obama.
Tim K - Mr.Dondero, Governor Sarah Palin is a rising star in the Republican party, is she someone whom all Republicans can be behind in the 2012 Presidential election?
Eric Dondero - Of course. She's our gal. And I think her speech in Hong Kong yesterday proved it. But I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if Mitt Romney was our standardearer, or my other favorite besides Sarah - Michele Bachmann.
Actually, Palin/Bachmann, or Romney/Palin or some combination of those three would be best to unite Libertarians and Conservatives.
Thank you Mr.Dondero, while we disagree on issues, Conservatives & Libertarians have to work together against liberalism, and for America. Please visit the Libertarian Republican, at http://www.libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com/
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1 comment:
As a Libertarian, I agree with Mr. Dondero that social conservatives have got to do a better job of recognizing and respecting the ideologies of Libertarians. The fact is, Libertarians do not want anyone- whether conservative/liberal/right or left- to dictate social policy to us. The whole point of Libertarianism is that I can make decisions that are best for me and others can make the decisions best for them. Live and let live. Unfortunately, just as liberals often sanctimoniously try to tell others how they should live by dictating it through government, social conservatives seem to want to do the same thing. This must stop, and conservatives must recognize that Libertarians will never accept government telling people how to make personal decisions in their life., and that government must accept and respect equally the decisions made by its citizens, so long as they do not intrude upon others' abilities ot do the same. If you don't like gay people, for example, that is your right, and as a Libertarian I will respect that and protect your right to believe what you want and express what you think, even when I disagree. But I draw the line when you try to use government as a way of denying equal rights. I may even agree with you on a personal level, but I do not want those policies dictated through the government, and certainly not a federal government. The best thing social conservatives could do, frankly is say "w don't think marriage should be between anything other than 1 man and 1 woman, but we recognize that is our personal opinion, and we will instill those values in our families and in our communities, but we recognize the rights of tother families and other communities to think and behave differently if they so choose."
Until you stop trying to force us to think the way you think through government, you will not bridge the divide between libertarians and social conservatives.
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