Some residents of Walworth County, Wisconsin object to public health measures to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. So hysterical is their opposition that one reads Opponents say county’s coronavirus safeguards are ‘like Russia’: Confronted by a raucous crowd of opponents fearing government intrusion, Walworth County Board members have backed away from a measure…
Libertarians
Libertarians, Never Trump, Politics, Presidential race 2020
Repost: Only a Grand Coalition Will Prevail
by JOHN ADAMS •
Posted originally 4.14.20 — and still true. One reads that Justin Amash, a congressman from Michigan, is thinking about a third-party run for the presidency. Forget him; only a grand coalition will assure Trump’s defeat. Those of us who are Never Trump (mostly conservatives but some libertarians as I am), are part of a diverse…
America, Coronavirus, Freedom of Speech, Israel, Libertarians, Liberty
Israeli Discipline, American Disorder
by JOHN ADAMS •
Free expression is not a rejection of reason, including reason in public health. Libertarian politics – of free markets in capital, labor, and goods, of responsible government, of individual liberty, and of peaceful international relations – requires a mature discipline. I do not support recent protests against temporary public health measures during this pandemic. And…
America, Authoritarianism, Congress, Impeachment, Law, Libertarians, Liberty, Never Trump, Putin, Trump-Russia
Statement and Testimony of Dr. Fiona Hill
by JOHN ADAMS •
These many years, across generations, many (including libertarians) have wanted peaceful relations abroad, but have found instead a relentless, scheming dictatorship under the Soviets and, not longer after, under Putin. This question in foreign policy confronted us: what is to be said, what is to be done, about imperialistic dictatorships? Some (including sadly some isolationist…
Libertarians, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government
Why Transparency Matters in Local Politics
by JOHN ADAMS •
From 2015, Libertarianism.org offers a podcast (posted on YouTube) with Kevin Glass, then of the Franklin Center. (Now called the Franklin New Foundation, it’s a center-right organization; many of Glass’s comments – he now works elsewhere – on open government are, however, non-partisan.) There are similar projects with a center-left focus. In Wisconsin, for example,…
Libertarians, Liberty, Never Trump, Politics, Poll, Trump, Wisconsin
Trump-Busting Issues for Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Writing at Urban Milwaukee, Bruce Thompson looks at popular national issues to use against Trump, matches them against Wisconsin-specific polling, and offers How Democrats Can Beat Trump [in Wisconsin]. Many of the most popular poll issues are not libertarian ones, it’s almost unnecessary to say. They’re issues that have national and statewide support, and so…
America, Authoritarianism, City, Culture, Federal Government, Libertarians, Liberty, Local Government, Politics, State Government, That Which Paved the Way, Trump-Russia
The Biggest Story of Our Time
by JOHN ADAMS •
In life – at least life in a well-ordered, free society – the highest matters are not political. They are familial, cultural, social – involving greater pursuits than contending over the role of the state. Under this view, one contends over politics (as libertarians do) not because it is too important but because it must…
America, Elections, Freedom of Speech, Good Ideas, Law, Libertarians, Liberty, Never Trump, Politics, Trump
Jennifer Rubin on ‘Three big ideas to bolster democracy’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Jennifer Rubin writes of three ideas to bolster democracy (enhanced voting rights, independent and non-partisan justice, and robust speech rights): First, Republicans, in an effort to hang on to their declining electoral advantage based on white voters, have tried every trick in the book to limit voting by those they suspect will favor Democrats. Hence,…
Bigotry, Law, Libertarians, Liberty, Never Trump, Politics, Trump
Never Means Never
by JOHN ADAMS •
Among the vast numbers who oppose Trump, those who are libertarian or conservative have often – as I have – signaled that opposition as part of Never Trump. (On Twitter, this is often written with a hashtag, as #NeverTrump.) Funny, but even after years since Never Trump began (and many of us were opposed to…
Culture, Libertarians, Liberty, Politics, Trump
The Motivation of the Horde
by JOHN ADAMS •
Most people, in all times and places, are clever and intelligent. It’s simply false to contend that only a few people are sharp; society does – and only can – function through the capable participation of many. At times in our own history, however, large numbers of our people have slipped into malevolence, in opposition…
Libertarians, Trump, Trump-Russia
Appeasement Isn’t Peace
by JOHN ADAMS •
Sen. Rand Paul is a libertarian in the way that Gov. Walker is a free-market man: they prefer the titles, but act in ways contrary to the underlying principles. For Wisconsin, no man behind the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation & Foxconn project could genuinely support free markets in capital, labor, and goods; for Kentucky, no man…
Cato, Economy, Immigration, Libertarians, Liberty
Cato’s Policy Handbook, Chapter 13: Immigration
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cato’s Policy Handbook for Policymakers, 8th Edition, is now available. Chapter 13 offers excellent immigration suggestions to move toward a freer labor market. It’s a reasoned approach in the place of dodgy data and nativist biases. What private individuals believe about these matters is their own concern; policymakers and officials should meet a higher standard,…
Authoritarianism, Libertarians, Liberty, Trump
Wes Benedict Tries & Fails Again
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve been critical of Wes Benedict, executive director of the national Libertarian Party (1 and 2), but I’ll say this for him: he’s an unfailing failure. In an email he sent today, Benedict wrote to party members, in part, that We are all waiting to see what our new president does. No doubt he’ll do…
America, Authoritarianism, Libertarians, Liberty, Politics, Trump
Wes Benedict Has a Book to Sell
by JOHN ADAMS •
Last month, the Libertarian Party’s executive director (Wes Benedict) sent me a tone-deaf, form email. I posted Libertarianism is Enough: Goodbye to the LP in reply, in which I argued that the Libertarian Party was an unworthy vessel for a liberty-oriented politics: Imagine, then, after an election in which the LP did poorly, and in which…