21 ms·

I doubt many libertarians harbored illusions that things would get better after 2016, no matter who won. Too many negative things for libertarians going on, bot

I doubt many libertarians harbored illusions that things would get better after 2016, no matter who won. Too many negative things for libertarians going on, both politically and socially. But, I prefer to look at the bright side (feel free to whistle the tune.) So here goes - Trump's election in itself proved the shabbiness of the "(S)he'll never win" argument. Now, Trump broke a lot of political rules, and ran as a Republican, so it's not likely that a libertarian could achieve the same success acting like Trump. BUT, at least the "can't win" argument - more psychological manipulation than argument - can be shelved for the next 20 years. AG Sessions somewhat weasely stance on pot stores - given how Trump acts, the AG could have gone full stormtrooper on pot and probably succeeded at some political cost. The recent six-month budget that provided zero funds for prosecuting pot stores. So, admittedly three political crumbs washed down with a shot of wishful thinking, but we can at least say that the Trump administration does not have carte blanche to enforce a narrow political viewpoint.

drak0n1c 9y ago
President Trump is cutting regulations and despite all the hysteria to the contrary he is actually reducing the administrative powers of the executive branch and shrinking the size of many agencies. All of this makes libertarians happy - at least for those who care about bite over bark. In spoiling the veneration many people hold for the imperial office, and reminding them to be wary of its powers, you could interpret the bark as also good for libertarianism.
- Accipitriform 9y ago
  "President Trump is cutting regulations and despite all the hysteria to the contrary he is actually reducing the administrative powers of the executive branch and shrinking the size of many agencies." Indeed. President Trump's judicial appointments are also great compared to what we would have had with a HRC victory. Leftists are all about curtailing personal freedom and eroding the Bill of Rights. I have mostly libertarian positions on things, but I'm pro-military and want border enforcement. I'm generally happy with Trump's policies (note: not so much his behavior). If Republicans can gain seats in the midterms, and personally I think there's a high probability they will, there's a good chance some real reform will occur in Washington - which is of course the real reason for most of the hysteria regarding President Trump. By the way, did you happen to see that his overall approval rating hit 50% today...? ;-)
  - mullingitover 9y ago
    > If Republicans can gain seats in the midterms, and personally I think there's a high probability they will Bless your heart. Election history, with regard to the party holding the White House, strongly predicts the Republicans will have a bad time. > By the way, did you happen to see that his overall approval rating hit 50% today...? ;-) Yes, with the hilariously biased Rasmussen polls. Who the hell uses landlines in 2018? Not the average voter.
    - Accipitriform 9y ago
      "Bless your heart. Election history, with regard to the party holding the White House, strongly predicts the Republicans will have a bad time." 'Past performance doesn't guarantee future results...' Trump has confounded observers quite a few times now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy... ;-) "Yes, with the hilariously biased Rasmussen polls. Who the hell uses landlines in 2018? Not the average voter." Rasmussen also polls those without landlines. One difference from other polls is that Rasmussen polls "likely voters" instead of "adults" like Gallup...
  - ataturk 9y ago
    I think one of the greatest mistakes by libertarian thinkers was open borders. The very idea that you can have a political system without political boundaries is ludicrous. Someone has to enforce those boundaries somehow. My other thought lately is that a free and open society has a fatal flaw in that outsiders who wish to destroy it are allowed to enter and mess with it at will and there is very little opposition to doing so.
dragonwriter 9y ago
> I doubt many libertarians harbored illusions that things would get better after 2016, no matter who won. I know some big-L Libertarians were predicting Trump would produce or accelerate a collapse of the Republican Party which would leave the LP as its successor as a major party. > Trump's election in itself proved the shabbiness of the "(S)he'll never win" argument. Not really for libertarians; the LP, after all, did run a candidate, and despite the two weakest major party candidates by most measures in the post-WWII era, still didn't do much.

drak0n1c 9y ago

President Trump is cutting regulations and despite all the hysteria to the contrary he is actually reducing the administrative powers of the executive branch and shrinking the size of many agencies. All of this makes libertarians happy - at least for those who care about bite over bark. In spoiling the veneration many people hold for the imperial office, and reminding them to be wary of its powers, you could interpret the bark as also good for libertarianism.

Accipitriform 9y ago
"President Trump is cutting regulations and despite all the hysteria to the contrary he is actually reducing the administrative powers of the executive branch and shrinking the size of many agencies." Indeed. President Trump's judicial appointments are also great compared to what we would have had with a HRC victory. Leftists are all about curtailing personal freedom and eroding the Bill of Rights. I have mostly libertarian positions on things, but I'm pro-military and want border enforcement. I'm generally happy with Trump's policies (note: not so much his behavior). If Republicans can gain seats in the midterms, and personally I think there's a high probability they will, there's a good chance some real reform will occur in Washington - which is of course the real reason for most of the hysteria regarding President Trump. By the way, did you happen to see that his overall approval rating hit 50% today...? ;-)
- mullingitover 9y ago
  > If Republicans can gain seats in the midterms, and personally I think there's a high probability they will Bless your heart. Election history, with regard to the party holding the White House, strongly predicts the Republicans will have a bad time. > By the way, did you happen to see that his overall approval rating hit 50% today...? ;-) Yes, with the hilariously biased Rasmussen polls. Who the hell uses landlines in 2018? Not the average voter.
  - Accipitriform 9y ago
    "Bless your heart. Election history, with regard to the party holding the White House, strongly predicts the Republicans will have a bad time." 'Past performance doesn't guarantee future results...' Trump has confounded observers quite a few times now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy... ;-) "Yes, with the hilariously biased Rasmussen polls. Who the hell uses landlines in 2018? Not the average voter." Rasmussen also polls those without landlines. One difference from other polls is that Rasmussen polls "likely voters" instead of "adults" like Gallup...
- ataturk 9y ago
  I think one of the greatest mistakes by libertarian thinkers was open borders. The very idea that you can have a political system without political boundaries is ludicrous. Someone has to enforce those boundaries somehow. My other thought lately is that a free and open society has a fatal flaw in that outsiders who wish to destroy it are allowed to enter and mess with it at will and there is very little opposition to doing so.

dragonwriter 9y ago

> I doubt many libertarians harbored illusions that things would get better after 2016, no matter who won. I know some big-L Libertarians were predicting Trump would produce or accelerate a collapse of the Republican Party which would leave the LP as its successor as a major party. > Trump's election in itself proved the shabbiness of the "(S)he'll never win" argument. Not really for libertarians; the LP, after all, did run a candidate, and despite the two weakest major party candidates by most measures in the post-WWII era, still didn't do much.