By Horace Assar, Courier Staff Editor
Most Logan students follow only two major parties, Democratic and Republican, while paying little attention to third parties. But the largest third party at the moment, Libertarian, will soon be popular among the rising Generation Z population, as Alameda’s Libertarian party explains.
The Libertarian party was founded in 1971, due to concerns about the Nixon administration’s handling of the Vietnam War. In contrast to Democrats’ modern liberalism through government implementation, the Libertarians promote liberalism with an emphasis on less government intervention.
Common Libertarian policies include lowering taxes, decreasing debt, ending drug prohibition, and supporting same-sex marriage. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential nominee, drew large numbers of supporters in the recent 2012 and 2016 elections.
Read more to see some of the questions we asked the Libertarian Party of Alameda, and their answers:
What do you think about Trump’s presidency so far?
Ever since he’s been running this country, it’s been pretty impressive. Stock markets have been doing great and businesses have been coming back from other countries. Manufacturing was not worth your while when Obama was president due to the regulations. In India and other countries you get more in quantity for cheap but no quality. For Americans products and service always have to be cheap but Trump wants businesses to come back. During the recession a lot of people got laid off from their jobs and the value of houses crashed.
What are your views on the mainstream media?
“It’s a bunch of hype and they are angry that they lost during the election. Democrats scream at you and their voice goes off the roof. They don’t want to hear your opinions and it is horrible. Democrats are fastest to get angry over the smallest things. We are paying for their things by massive amounts of taxation.”
What are your thoughts on the Democratic party and the Republican party?
“Democrats are pretty hardcore and 60 to 80 percent of them are already ticked off as well as the Republicans. People don’t realize that they are not part of them and I don’t know how to approach them. They just want more money and that’s it for the Democrats. They rob us of our money and are socialists. Republicans are capitalist. Socialism is good to a point but so is Capitalism. There are many foreigners in Socialist countries and free college. A lot of the Foreigners do well in those schools and the best thing is that it is free. Lots of vacations there but you take a week off here and you are in trouble. Lack of education […] that needs to stop.”
What do you feel about challenging the main two parties?
They think we are a threat and they use the top two voters system so they can drive us out. They just want power and are copying the communist party. There is only one party in communist countries.
Is government inherently evil?
“They are only about the money. Congressmen just want money in their pockets. Dems want to tax your income and give it to people who don’t have it. In the year of 2001, Argentina’s massive taxation resulted in a default on their debt and a financial collapse in only 4 days. It was complete chaos and 50 percent of money value was lost. People got ticked off and they were overturning peoples’ cars outside and the government didn’t do anything about it.”
What are you doing to get the youth on your side?
“We are giving speeches and writing books. People don’t believe in it because they think it is way too criminal and they try to censor us anyway they possibly can. They do not allow for these kind of things and this makes it hard for us to spread our ideology.”
During the Libertarian party meeting I was treated very well. Being of Afghan descent, surprisingly I was not treated any differently. They paid for my meal, signed me up for a membership which they had paid for, and gave me a copy of the Declaration of Independence. They informed me of the Libertarian emphasis on freedom, which they prioritize above all else. Their slogan: “if you want to do something, make sure it does not hurt anyone.”