While I believe that “how libertarian” a candidate is shouldn’t be the only deciding factor in determining whether to vote for them, I feel it’s important we discuss it more than “so-and-so’s position on this is not libertarian”, both with regard to their position on it and whether they address it at all. I recognize this thread will likely turn into a huge argument, and if people can provide me with information to alter my analysis, I will be happy to change it. (If I’m slow in doing so, I won’t be offended if other LFV writers do it, though I’d prefer it if those officially affiliated with certain campaigns didn’t do so, for obvious reasons.)

The three substantial candidates I consider remotely libertarian are Steve Kubby, Ron Paul, and George Phillies. (Despite others including Christine Smith as a substantial candidate, I have seen functionally no presence from her.) The standard I’ll use for “libertarian” will be the LP platform, which I recognize is by no means perfect, but it gives me a set of issues to work with. I’ll consider the candidates in alphabetical order. (more…)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJsVRxBPS7o]

Go Ron Paul! Go Kubby!

I’ve posted a lot on Ron Paul, but it is time that I give an LP hopeful some time.

About Steve Kubby
Steve Wynn Kubby (born December 28, 1946) is a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana which was approved by voters in 1996. Kubby himself is well-known as a cancer patient who relies on medical cannabis. He was a candidate for Governor of California in 1998 and has declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party’s 2008 presidential nomination. — Wikipedia

But enough dry biography!

Steve Kubby is the only 2008 presidential candidate who’s played a key role in passing pro-freedom legislation, then gone to court — and to jail — defending that legislation. Since the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, twelve states have adopted “compassionate use” laws to protect patients whose ailments require them to use medical marijuana.

As a founder and director of the American Medical Marijuana Association, Steve Kubby has continued to fight for Americans’ right to protect their health without facing political persecution. In that role, he has negotiated with federal regulators, including the Attorney General of the United States, on behalf of patient rights.

Like some other former, current or likely presidential candidates, Steve Kubby is a cancer patient. As a matter of fact, he is the longest-surviving known victim of malignant phenochromocytoma, a rare form of adrenal cancer with a 100% fatality rate within five years. Steve has lived with malignant phenochromocytoma for more than 30 years, and his condition remains under control … thanks to medical marijuana.

Right now, I have a friend in CA that this might be important to.

On the issues, Kubby stands here:

Policy Positions: In Brief
Civil Liberties

Repeal the Patriot Act
Repeal the Military Commissions Act
Enforce the Bill of Rights
End government discrimination based on sexual orientation

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Energy & Environment

Require government and military fleets to go non-petroleum
End taxpayer subsidies to the petroleum and agriculture industries

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Foreign Policy & Iraq

Immediate, unconditional withdrawal from Iraq
Return to America’s traditional non-interventionist foreign policy

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Guns

No new “gun control” legislation
Repeal of all existing “gun control” legislation
Forbid and prosecute violations of gun rights by government

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Immigration

Open immigration for all peaceful people

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Taxes & Spending

Veto any and all tax increases, new taxes, and unbalanced budgets — period.
Work to cut spending, splitting resulting surpluses between tax cuts and debt service.
Work to eliminate the federal income tax.
Until the income tax is eliminated, seek annual across-the-board tax cuts through increases to the personal exemption.

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The War on Drugs

End it!

There is much time before we nominate the Libertarian Party candidate for president, and barring the entry of any new, more qualified candidate, I support Steve Kubby. He has, quite literally, “done time” for freedom and liberty.

He has, in his fight to use medical marijuana, taken the War on Drugs to its proper place: Freedom. From his position paper on the WOD:

Let me preface my position by pointing out one thing: This is no more about drugs than the Boston Tea Party was about tea. It’s about freedom:

Freedom to look after your own health without a bureaucrat snooping around in your medicine cabinet.

Freedom to choose the substances that you’re going to eat, drink, smoke or otherwise ingest without having to fear that midnight knock at the door and the shout of “police!”

And, yes, freedom to “get high” without risking arrest and imprisonment.

Some people call Kubby a “single issue” candidate, but I think his issue is the most important. Either you are free, or you’re not. There is no freedom greater than that which allows a person to RUN or RUIN his life as he sees fit. Steve Kubby gets it. Ron Paul gets it. And, Mike Gravel gets it (@ 5:37 anyway).

Round pegs in square holes? Yep, brilliant cut. Shine on you crazy diamonds!

Audio of referenced song here.

You know the saying, “the best nuts come from California”, right? The Terminator aka Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks he can ship his state’s criminals to another state to relieve the overcrowding in California’s prisons. Well, Mr. Terminator didn’t get his way because a judge stopped him from doing so. California should NOT be shipping its problems on to other states; they have problems of their own to solve!

The problem is not the criminal; it’s how the state determines who is a criminal and who isn’t and the ridiculous sentences they serve for these crimes. There is a proposal to release non-violent early to relieve the problem.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday he would consider releasing some inmates before they complete their sentences to alleviate prison overcrowding, marking a significant shift in position by the governor as he faces mounting pressure from federal judges to address the state’s jam-packed prisons. Schwarzenegger said at a news conference that he was open to discussing early release for some inmates without violent histories as a way to create space in prisons and to head off potential federal court intervention.

Release non-violent criminals early? Now there’s a concept. Why doesn’t Arnold pardon all the non-violent drug offenders first!

The state houses more than 86,000 inmates for nonviolent crimes, including more than 36,000 for drug crimes, although it is unclear how many of those inmates have past violent crimes on their records.

By doing this alone it would free up about a third of the prison space. The first pardon should go to Steve Kubby

Here’s another concept-stop punishing people who participate in victimless crimes like drug use and prostitution.