David Hobbs

Up until 1995 I had always been a registered Republican. I agreed with the Republicans mainly on economic issues, but I was always bothered by their propensity to get involved in my personal business. The Republicans' constant attempt to pass legislation governing my personal behavior caused me to start voting Democratic around 1984.

The Democrats, at that time, appeared to support the concept of allowing citizens to make their own personal decisions on controversial issues. What really began to bother me was their desire to take from the working and give to the non-working. The Democrats felt everyone in this country had the right to a certain standard of living regardless of the amount of effort a person put forth to obtain that standard.

Throughout this period I considered myself to be politically homeless. I was practicing à la carte politics. While selecting issues I supported here and there, I disregarded the rest of the nasty meal my party was serving. Democrat or Republican--I was supporting candidates and disagreeing with half of what they were saying. That was not a very uplifting experience.

At work in 1994, while discussing the platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties, I made a few comments on how I could not agree with either one. Somebody suggested I find out what the Libertarian Party supported on the major issues. I called the National Party, received a copy of their platform, and other general information on the Libertarians.

Discovering there were thousands of people with beliefs just like mine, already organized within the Libertarian Party, was like having a religious experience. I found a party which, like me, wanted a less intrusive government both economically and socially.

For the first time in my life I can fully support a political party along with an entire new political direction. I love the consistency of the Party. Unlike the older parties, I always know where the Libertarian Party will stand on an issue: less government intrusion and more personal responsibility. I have finally found a political home.

Personal Views:

Turn-offs:

	Civil Forfeiture Laws
	Laws protecting individuals from themselves
	A government that wants to know more and more private details about myself and my family
	A bureaucratic government with no real incentive to save money.
	A government that ignores the politically difficult ways to really reduce the size of government, but endures and promotes endless cost saving policy discussion, TQM, and other incentive programs hopelessly trying to save money on smaller more manageable programs of little overall significance.
	A bureaucracy that ensures that any cost savings that do occur will be reinvested elsewhere.
	Politicians legislating moral direction.
	Citizens believing the country needs moral direction from the government, but the same citizens admitting their moral direction stems from elsewhere.
	A jury system where jurists are coerced into disregarding their own common sense and personal beliefs when interpreting the fairness of a law.
	A jury system where jurists with brains are weeded out as unacceptable.

Turn-ons:

	Helping other people discover they agree with the Libertarians more than they do with their own party.
	Real hard-core high level elimination of worthless federal government programs.
	Hearing others agree that America will survive just fine even if we remove the nanny role the federal government currently assumes.
	The dream that one day Americans will be allowed to make their own social and moral decisions based solely on their own personal beliefs and religious convictions--not on government legislation.

This page was last updated 07/02/00 01:51 PM