I have to admit that I had forgotten about it. I ran across it while channel surfing on Sunday. What was it I had forgotten? Oh, that this was the weekend for the 2008 Libertarian National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
C-Span was covering it live. I settled in to watch and was very impressed with what I saw. Having always thought of myself as a Republican, this year in Politics has caused me to rethink my loyalties. I took the “World’s Smallest Political Quiz,” and was somewhat surprised that it put me squarely in the Libertarian quadrangle. I say somewhat because the quiz is on a Libertarian site.
All that aside, the more I looked at what Libertarians stood for, the more I liked what I saw. This is not meant to be a commercial for Libertarians, but I did want to share my path and this pilgrim’s progress.
I tuned in just in time for the 3rd round of balloting and got to see the various candidates speak and interact with delegates at the convention. One thing that really impressed me about most of the candidates and speakers was their commitment to their overarching commonality and the goals of the Libertarian party in general. The one exception that I saw was that of candidate Mary Ruwart, who seemed very bitter towards Bob Barr. Since they were in a dead heat, it came out vividly, in my view, when she conceded the nomination.
In her concession, she never mentioned Bob Barr to whom she had just lost, she never mentioned the coming days till the November General Election. It was all about her, her staff and supporters, as she vowed to fight on. This viewer was left wondering a little bit whether she was going to break out of the Libertarian Party and start a new Party, maybe the Bitter Clinger Party, as she seemed bitter enough and certainly seemed to be clinging to her presidential bid.
I had to leave before the Vice Presidential candidate was selected, however, it was Wayne Allyn Root as expected as he was number three in the delegate vote count and threw his support to a Barr – Root ticket at the end of the fifth round of balloting. You can read more here.
Oh, back to what I was saying earlier; I was aligned with the Republican Party, however that party has made a sharp left turn and abandoned the principals of conservatism and small government that drew me to it in the first place. And this year, I am not voting for the candidate the polls say is the front runner, or the one popular opinion says has a chance to win. This year, I am voting my conscience and who I think will do the best job for this country that I love.
But, that’s just My Arrogant Opinion.
P.S. Barr-Root in ’08
Comments on this entry are closed.