Topic: Libertarianism
Chinooks of change The national Libertarian parties in Canada and the U.S. change leadership and strategy.by George Dance
(libertarian)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
In May, the winds of change blew through North America's two national Libertarian parties like mighty chinooks from the west.
On May 17, the Libertarian Party of Canada met at the Holiday Inn Express in Edmonton for its first convention in Alberta since 1974, and the next day elected its first leader from that province since Chuck Lyall 34 years ago.
Dennis Young, of Calgary, is the new Party Leader. Young is a former Canadian infantryman who saw active duty in the NATO intervention in Bosnia, which helped shape his non-interventionist foreign policy beliefs.
"I was a working soldier for 12 years -- and I care too much about our fighting men and women to be reckless about war. Harper has become a voice for a failed Washington foreign policy. I want to be a voice for Canadian soldiers and their families," he told the delegates in his victory speech.
Young's experience as a military police officer from 1991 to 1997 also led him to question the wisdom of the federal War on Drugs. "We have finite policing resources and the time we spend prosecuting people for using marijuana, is time taken away from protecting people from violent crimes," he told the applauding delegates.
Young also took aim at the Canadian Human Rights Commission's investigation of author Mark Steyn and former Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant for alleged hate speech against Moslems, calling the investigations an attempt at "media censorship."
"The Conservative government has abandoned Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn," he declared. "If you care about free speech and a free press, you should vote for the Libertarian Party. When we talk about freedom, we actually mean it."
One week later, at the Sheraton in Denver, Colorado, the U.S. Libertarian Party chose former CIA agent, federal prosecutor, and Georgia Congressman Bob Barr as its 2008 presidential candidate. Barr prevailed in a grueling six-ballot contest.
As a Congressman, Barr was called variously "one of the most conservative members" (Reason) and "one of the best friends libertarians have in Congress" (Liberty). A Ron Paul-style constitutionalist, he told the American Conservative Union this year: "If there was ever, ever any doubt in my mind ... about how to vote on a particular bill, the answer was easy ... you see where Ron Paul stands on an issue, and you know that's the right place to be."
Barr hopes to attract Ron Paul's fervent supporters, plus conservatives dissatisfied with the Republican nominee, John McCain. Already he is receiving more than 5% in polling done on a four-man race, leading many Republicans to worry that he will cost McCain the election. However, Barr rejects the spoiler label. "I'm a competitor and I'm in this to win," he told Associated Press. "I do not view the role of the Libertarian Party to be a spoiler and I certainly have no intention of being a spoiler."
The views expressed in this
article are those of George Dance only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. George Dance is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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