Former President Donald Trump extended an olive branch to the Libertarian Party (LP) at their convention on Saturday. Trump boldly sought to be the LP's nominee and offered the LP opportunities including a cabinet position, senior appointments, pardons and commutations for Ross Ulbricht and others, policies against central bank digital currency and crypto protections, and maybe even an "end the Fed" deal.
These ideas were received with mixed reviews because the LP is diverse in ideology (some of them are true anarchists), and although the crowd was passionate and a bit rowdy, at least they were engaged. It shows that the LP isn't apathetic to what occurs in our nation, but in my opinion, it's more of a book club than a vessel for enacting policy.
But that could change... and it should.
I also believe the LP has a "no true Scotsman" fallacy and allows perfect to be the enemy of good. Meanwhile, we see coalitions and third parties being effective in Europe and Canada.
I also believe that the party and its members truly want Ross Ulbricht to receive clemency and that these proposals are the most achievable. Trump is already going to be making a lot of controversial pardons on day one with the January 6 defendants, should he win the election. Plus, I'm not sure how appealing a Libertarian in a cabinet position is... because what Libertarian hopes to become a bureaucrat?
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How much does the LP want to accomplish any agenda item, including helping Ulbricht as his life and freedom hang in the balance? Does the party desire it enough to cooperate and work with people who do not mirror their ideas? See, having Trump say on stage he will grant clemency during a campaign speech isn't enough, especially without the LP putting any skin in the game. That just isn't quite how the sausage is made, especially because, as we saw with the proposed pardons of Julian Assange and Edward Snowden at the end of 2020, there will be opposition voices in D.C.
Policies don't happen because someone pinky promises to do it. The LP needs serious negotiators. But I'm not certain the LP is serious. Will they let Ulbricht die in prison to virtue signal about their "principled" ideals? Maybe.
In a discussion with a colleague about the LP's opportunity to get this long-proposed agenda item accomplished, I was told that it would help Ulbricht more than it would help the LP. I was stunned... I thought the LP wanted to help Ulbricht. I was then informed that the LP had promoted the invitation of Trump to their convention to get more press coverage. In terms of earned media, then, the third party was largely successful.
But is that all they want? Attention? In other words: to virtue signal?
I don't pity their faux dilemma. I'll vote for Trump because I want the J6ers to come home as a top priority. I don't need a philosophical debate about whether every aspect of Trump's being aligns with every belief I hold. Um, let's save some families because I think that's tangible and non-reliant on Congress.
It certainly seems like the party doesn't know what to do with the spotlight on it. It should become a factor, achieve some of its priorities, and usher in an era where third parties can wield political capital in America. The other choice is to do as Trump pointed out in his speech and "get their three percent every four years," while continuing to debate each other on how to govern a society hypothetically.
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