Politico
by Manu Raju
February 17, 2013

Sen. Rand Paul says he'll wait until 2014 to decide whether to run for president, but he believes voters are ready for a Libertarian-minded Republican candidate.

"I would absolutely not run unless it were to win," the Kentucky Republican said on "Fox News Sunday." "Points have been made, and we we will continue to make points. But I think the country is really ready for the narrative coming — the Libertarian Republican narrative."

(excerpted)
http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-l...7214.html?hp=f1

I am a Conservative and generally dismiss Libertarians as closet Libs because all they worry about is legal drugs and forgetting about those "stupid" social issues because they are so Provincial. You never see them get exercised at Zero and his policies like you do drugs. Oddly enough though, Rand makes me want to give them another chance. He isn't a racists/bigoted dope like his dad. His arguments are solid for restoring the country. I might give in to free pot for all if we can get a candidate more focused on the Constitution and a strong America. I'm not rolling over for abortion though.

Right now, Paul seems like the best candidate for POTUS in '16. I would probably have an easier time voting for him than Rubio right now.

Quote: Cedric wrote in post #3

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True libertarians are for open borders.

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Zitat

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Libertarian perspectives on immigration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The current Libertarian Party (US) Platform states that Libertarians are prepared to welcome refugees, and the LP works against discriminatory policies. In addition it states that a free market requires the free movement of both capital and labor across borders. The platform does allow for control over the entry of people who pose a credible threat to security, health, or property. [1]

Older Libertarian Party (US) Platform stances were more pro-open borders. The 2004 Platform called for "the elimination of all restrictions on immigration, the abolition of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Border Patrol, and a declaration of full amnesty for all people who have entered the country illegally". [2] Due to fears from the 2001 Terrorist attack, this was changed to permit some immigration controls.
Opponents of mass immigration within the libertarian movement

Within recent times, some libertarians, especially paleolibertarians such as Lew Rockwell and Ron Paul, have voiced concerns pertaining to the traditional "open borders" policy held by most libertarians. Hans-Hermann Hoppe has argued much in his writings about open borders being against Anarcho-capitalist theory.

The British-based Libertarian Alliance are prominent advocates of a restricted immigration policy within a libertarian society.

On 12th January 2009 the Libertarian Party (UK) was criticized by No Border Network for having authoritarian and anti-libertarian policies on immigration, in particular the treatment of asylum seekers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian..._on_immigration[3]

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Removing the welfare magnet would have a profound impact on immigration, too.

Zitat

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Libertarian Philosophy

Libertarianism is best summed up in the Non-Aggression Principle, which states that government (or "private police agencies" in the anarcho-capitalist variant) should only exist to protect life, liberty, and property from force and fraud.

Libertarianism is closely related to liberalism, if this word is interpreted according to its original meaning of classical liberalism. Libertarians in America tend to be liberal on social issues but conservative on economic issues. Libertarians generally oppose government regulation of drugs, prostitution, and marriage (including bans of same-sex marriage. The Libertarian Party officially supports legalized abortion, however, libertarians themselves are divided on the issue, since government protection from force depends on the personhood of the unborn baby (or fetus). However, libertarians are uniformly opposed to government funding for abortions (such as through Planned Parenthood). Furthermore, they oppose restrictions on pornography. However, they also oppose universal health care, taxes and the welfare state. They are strong supporters of school choice, and oppose continuing the public school system. Some libertarians support school vouchers, while others are skeptical due to the issue of government influence over private education.

Libertarians support an expansive view of liberty as the proper basis for organizing civil society. They tend to define liberty as the freedom to do whatever one wishes up to the point that one's behavior begins to interfere with another's person or property through coercive means. At the point of interference, each party would become subject to certain principled rules for adjudicating disputes, generally accepting that one who has demonstrated a proven lack of respect for the rights of others should be subject to sanctions, including possible constraints on their freedom. They believe that liberty is the right of every individual.

Libertarians generally defend the ideal of freedom from the perspective of how little one is constrained by authority, i.e., how much one is allowed to do (also referred to as negative liberty). This ideal is distinguished from a view of freedom focused on how much one is able to do (also called positive liberty).

http://www.conservapedia.com/Libertarian

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Quote: Cedric wrote in post #3

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True libertarians are for open borders.

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I think a libertarian has the best chance. Libertarians are big with millennials, many of my friends like Ron Paul. They are in particular sick of the GOP adventurism in the world today, I can't say I blame them. As for open borders, I definitely don't agree, I think that's a sure fire ticket to a permanent Democrat majority, overwhelmed safety nets, etc. We need to learn from canada and let only the best immigrants into our country.

Quote: Heisenberg wrote in post #7

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How many libertarians are there in the house and senate.

A 3rd party president will have to buy votes from two parties.

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