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Max Gladwell’s virtual 2008 election yard sign.
Libertarianism comes as close to our political belief system as any of the major “isms”, though we lean heavily toward the side of pragmatism as opposed to dogmatism. We’re similar to the Ron Paul supporters who quickly and naturally shifted their support to Obama. Which is why we’re putting out our virtual yard sign today.
We’re not the yard sign type. But if you are, these are available from CafePress. You won’t have much time, but it can be a good memento. We learned about it from an article in this week’s Economist: Conservatives for Obama aka the Obamacons.
[In addition to Colin Powell], the army includes other big names such as Susan Eisenhower, Dwight’s granddaughter, who introduced Mr Obama at the Democratic National Convention and Christopher Buckley, the son of the conservative icon William Buckley, who complains that he has not left the Republican Party: the Republican Party has left him. Chuck Hagel, a Republican senator from Nebraska and one-time bosom buddy of Mr McCain has also flirted heavily with the movement, though he has refrained from issuing an official endorsement.
The rise of the Obamacons is more than a reaction against Mr Bush’s remodelling of the Republican Party and Mr McCain’s desperation: there were plenty of disillusioned Republicans in 2004 who did not warm to John Kerry. It is also a positive verdict on Mr Obama. For many conservatives, Mr Obama embodies qualities that their party has abandoned: pragmatism, competence and respect for the head rather than the heart. Mr Obama’s calm and collected response to the turmoil on Wall Street contrasted sharply with Mr McCain’s grandstanding.
Much of Mr Obama’s rhetoric is strikingly conservative, even Reaganesque. He preaches the virtues of personal responsibility and family values, and practises them too. He talks in uplifting terms about the promise of American life. His story also appeals to conservatives: it holds the possibility of freeing America from its racial demons, proving that the country is a race-blind meritocracy and, in the process, bankrupting a race-grievance industry that has produced the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
1 response so far ↓
1 Mark (Libertarian for Obama) // Oct 27, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Shout out to my fellow libertarians for Obama!
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