With a capital “B”. Yes, they’re coming out of the woodwork now, the presidential candidates for 2004.
I want to restore America to its former greatness … blah blah blah … I have a plan to fix Social Security … yadda yadda yadda … the American people have suffered long enough … hubba hubba hubba … I will be president of all the people … [cough] except atheists [cough] … and I will yackity yackity yackity… read my lips
Who believes this shit? What do they depend on, constant turnover of bright-eyed eighteen-year-olds replacing old people who know better but are dying?
If you dickheads want to do this, fix that, and make so-and-so affordable for all Americans, THEN WHY THE HELL HAVEN’T YOU?! You’ve been in the Senate for forty-eleven years. You say the same crap and break the same promises every four years.
I wish you had Liar-Liar hexes on you. Just for once, I’d like to hear you give a speech like this:
I want to use my power and influence to increase my wealth. I want to serve the needs of those who provide me the most financial assistance. I really can’t do anything any better than the people before me, but I just want to be called “Mr. President” and hold the power to interrupt prime-time TV. Your life won’t be measurably better when my term is finished, and if it is, it’s a coincidence. I think all of you are idiots. My smile is practiced. And my word is meaningless.
I can’t possibly keep all these promises, but I know they’re what you want to hear. I have all kinds of plans, but I know they won’t work. Right now, I’m very concerned about everything you’re complaining about, but when I become president, I’ll avoid you like the plague, pretend I don’t hear you, and answer your questions with jabberwocky.
that was a great fake speech there.
Trouble is, if anyone ever said that, they wouldn’t get elected.
You can’t expect the voters to reward truth-telling now…
so…youre voting Libertarian, eh?
One of my dream “after-I’ve-won-the-lottery” projects is to have a website that tracked such things. Campaign promises vs. results, for one thing. And honest analyses of congressional and senatorial bills and voting. As in, this bill started out being about X. Here are the issues that opponents and supporters weighed. Also, here are the attachments that got put on the bill, and by whom.
It drives me crazy when during campaigns, someone attacks an incumbent for “voting AGAINST the bill that increases school bus safety!” When for all we know, they voted against it because it included a seat belt requirement that a new study had proved unsafe. Or because Senator PorkBarrell attached a rider that funded a $500,000 petting zoo attraction in downtown Nowhere. I’d like to have a non-partisan site that helps illuminate those things.
That’s rather dishonest, essvee. The quote you highlighted is clearly within the Harry Browne, LP candidate, 2000 material that Lib quoted. He also gave a clear disclaimer, labeling the content he was quoting indicating that “At least their bullshit is more original.”
If the Libertarians actually want to become a power in the land (or at least a worthwhile minority) they’re going to have to moderate the message. Nothing more to it than that.
Don’t automatically alienate a majority of the electorate by saying they want to overturn EVERYTHING. The American electorate will simply not go for that. Even if the Libertarian candidate did elected he’d never be able to push 99% of that platform through. Let’s just face that.
But approach something like this…
Numbers pulled out of my ass.
If the Libertarian Party would just approach the issue in moderation there would be a chance of accomplishing something. The platform quoted by Lib up there represents nothing more than idealistic masturbation. It has no hope of ever electing a president.
Good luck with that. If you want to pay me to be your research assistant, I’ll gladly help.
As far as actual campaign promises kept, I believe there was a study done a few years back that found that major candidates (gov, state assembly, congress, etc) kept, on average, around 95% of their campaing promises when elected. I hesitate to bring this up, though, because I don’t have a cite for it - it was something we went over in college a few years ago, but I remember because it stuck in my mind.
Jst in case some folks are not well-acquainted with my buddy Libertarian know this:
He is a libertarian, not a Libertarian. While he might vote for a candidate from the Libertarian party, it’s because that particular candidate is closest to his views, not because of party affiliation.
