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September 12, 2006

Why I am not a Libertarian

I am not a Libertarian, though I am a libertarian. The primary reason I am not a Libertarian is this mindset.

Consider just this one point: Mueller neglects to consider that one reason that there may not have been attacks in the US on the scale of 9/11 is that we responded in force to 9/11. Indeed, he even notes that "the number of Americans killed within the United States by international terrorists in the five years since 9/11 is the same as the number killed in the five years before: zero" and that "they do not seem to have become more capable generally since 9/11", but fails to attribute this to anything other than al Qaeda supposedly being over-hyped as a threat.

No, also consider a second point. Here is Mueller:

Even if [terrorists] were able to pull off "another 9/11" every three months for the next five years, the chance an individual American would be killed in one of them would still be two one-hundredths of one percent.

Not quite. The chances of someone in Andalusia, Alabama dying in a terrorist attack would be essentially zero, while the chances of someone in New York dying in a terrorist attack would be near certainty. Lying with statistics does not add to Mueller's credibility.

The problem with Libertarians as a party is that they are fanatical purists — mostly ivory-tower academics and drug-fiends who like the "we'll let you smoke anything" plank of the party — and over the long-run can only retain the loyalty of people too out of touch with reality to consider the implications of their proposals. And frankly, that's a shame, because the libertarian ideal could use a good party to champion it. In fact, it could use every party championing it.

Posted by jeff at September 12, 2006 10:20 PM

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Comments

Before the Sch**v* mess, I had thought there was some hope for the Republicans, as they'd seemingly become a big tent and not only generally more libertarian, but in power mainly because of the support of that "moderate" segment. Now I feel like we need a new party, and the one named Libertarian isn't it unless it seriously unbends.

Posted by: Jay at September 13, 2006 8:53 AM

Andalusia, eh?

Posted by: MamaLynx [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 14, 2006 11:14 PM

Andalusia, eh? You just did that to see if I was paying attention.

Posted by: MamaLynx [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 14, 2006 11:14 PM