Hello to new readers, seeing this Political Party for the first time. My name is Kenneth Wayne Parker, of Seattle, Washington. I represent the Green Libertarian Party, which has the motto, "Neutrality -- With Attitude".
This Political Party was created several years ago (around 2002), and put online, via this BLOG in August, 2008. I got the idea for it, when I attended the Great, Year 2000 (Y2K) edition of the California State Fair, in Sacramento, California. In the area with "miscellaneous tents", there was one, medium sized, "Political Tent" with two people, sitting right next to each other, sharing a single table, and with lots of materials you could take with you. One of them was a representative for the California Green Party, and the other was a representative for the California Libertarian Party. When I came to the table, they were having a spirited, and VERY friendly conversation with each other, such that neither of them saw me for a couple of minutes (and I didn't interrupt them, as I was fascinated with their conversation). To make a long story short, I talked to both of them equally, and received handouts from both the Green and Libertarian parties, with COMPLETE cooperation between both people, who were not competing AT ALL with each other, at that time.
I revisited these two Political Parties at the end of 2000, when Ralph Nader ran for the Green Party, against both George W. Bush and Al Gore, saying, quite clearly, that it would MAKE NO DIFFERENCE which one we voted for -- life would be equally bad with EITHER Bush OR Gore. Needless to say, life was VERY different, under George W. Bush, than it was under Bill Clinton. The DETAILS of that difference depends on who you talk to, and whether they are a Democrat or a Republican. The election was EXTREMELY close, with LOTS of "hanging chads", and was finally decided via the Supreme Court "Bush v. Gore" decision. The Democrats still say the election was "stolen", and the Republicans still say the Democrats were "sore losers". Both sides generally agree that having Ralph Nader on the ticket swung the election towards Bush. The rest is history.
Since the Green Libertarian Party is a synthesis between what I consider the best of Liberal (the Green Party) and the best of Conservative (the Libertarian Party), I feel free to pick and choose which parts of the two parties to include in the combined version. So I look for the "Highest Essence" of each. For the Green Party, it is a general position that we MUST take care of Planet Earth and the People who live on it. It takes a hard line on how Corporations behave, especially on Environmental issues (Planet Earth) and how Managers treat their "Rank and File" employees (the People on the Planet). However, it takes a moderate view on how Individuals behave (encouraging individual behavior, such as recycling, but not instituting huge fines for, say, putting recyclables in the garbage, such as happens in many cities. In other words, setting a good example, but avoiding using force).
Now, it's trickier when I approach the Libertarian Party. The "best of" part I use is the "Social" part of the Libertarian philosophy, which shows up mainly in eliminating "victimless crimes", such as consensual prostitution and simple drug possession (which I would prefer to treat medically, when drug use creates erratic behavior. I find it a travesty how many people are in our jail and prison systems, simply because of drug possession and use). The biggest objection I hear is how Drug Use goes with other crimes like, for example, a person holds up a Convenience Store to pay for Crack Cocaine. In this case, I would suggest throwing the book at the person for the Armed Robbery! That crime has clear victims (the store, and its employees), and deserves vigorous prosecution. However, at the same time the person "pays" for the robbery, he/she can be medically treated for the drug use. In addition, if drugs are decriminalized (though not encouraged, with the possible exception of Marijuana), sales can include HUGE taxes, paying for the medical treatment these people require. Now, the existing Libertarian Party (and the current Republican Party) includes "Corporate Libertarianism" (where corporations can behave as they please, with as few regulations as possible). That is the part of Libertarianism that I COMPLETELY leave out of the Green Libertarian Party.
My position on the Democratic Party is that I have an easier time having a polite and respectful conversation with Democrats, than I do with Republicans (who often do not trust me). So, if I were to find myself in Congress, I would likely caucus with the Democrats, even though I absolutely DO NOT consider myself a Democrat. There is one exception, on the Republican front, as I work well with the Log Cabin Republicans, even temporarily representing myself as such, including on the big day of debate in the Senate, at the end of 2010, on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in the US Military.
So there you have it, a Fully Operational Political Party with only one person (myself, Kenneth Wayne Parker, of Seattle, Washington) that currently could run under it. Remember its URL (stated here as greenlibertarianparty dot blogspot dot com, without any "W's" needed), because it's hard to find under Google. There's one "counterfeit web site", which preaches Corporate Libertarianism, with a page or so about the Green party, that's presented by Google to confuse the issue. I consider this party fiscally conservative, by the way, as I would question ANY funding for wars, since they are destructive to Planet Earth, as well as hostile to the people who live on it. On the question of Guns verses Butter, I take the Butter ANY DAY!
Thank you and Best Regards,
Kenneth Wayne Parker, Seattle, WA
This Political Party was created several years ago (around 2002), and put online, via this BLOG in August, 2008. I got the idea for it, when I attended the Great, Year 2000 (Y2K) edition of the California State Fair, in Sacramento, California. In the area with "miscellaneous tents", there was one, medium sized, "Political Tent" with two people, sitting right next to each other, sharing a single table, and with lots of materials you could take with you. One of them was a representative for the California Green Party, and the other was a representative for the California Libertarian Party. When I came to the table, they were having a spirited, and VERY friendly conversation with each other, such that neither of them saw me for a couple of minutes (and I didn't interrupt them, as I was fascinated with their conversation). To make a long story short, I talked to both of them equally, and received handouts from both the Green and Libertarian parties, with COMPLETE cooperation between both people, who were not competing AT ALL with each other, at that time.
I revisited these two Political Parties at the end of 2000, when Ralph Nader ran for the Green Party, against both George W. Bush and Al Gore, saying, quite clearly, that it would MAKE NO DIFFERENCE which one we voted for -- life would be equally bad with EITHER Bush OR Gore. Needless to say, life was VERY different, under George W. Bush, than it was under Bill Clinton. The DETAILS of that difference depends on who you talk to, and whether they are a Democrat or a Republican. The election was EXTREMELY close, with LOTS of "hanging chads", and was finally decided via the Supreme Court "Bush v. Gore" decision. The Democrats still say the election was "stolen", and the Republicans still say the Democrats were "sore losers". Both sides generally agree that having Ralph Nader on the ticket swung the election towards Bush. The rest is history.
Since the Green Libertarian Party is a synthesis between what I consider the best of Liberal (the Green Party) and the best of Conservative (the Libertarian Party), I feel free to pick and choose which parts of the two parties to include in the combined version. So I look for the "Highest Essence" of each. For the Green Party, it is a general position that we MUST take care of Planet Earth and the People who live on it. It takes a hard line on how Corporations behave, especially on Environmental issues (Planet Earth) and how Managers treat their "Rank and File" employees (the People on the Planet). However, it takes a moderate view on how Individuals behave (encouraging individual behavior, such as recycling, but not instituting huge fines for, say, putting recyclables in the garbage, such as happens in many cities. In other words, setting a good example, but avoiding using force).
Now, it's trickier when I approach the Libertarian Party. The "best of" part I use is the "Social" part of the Libertarian philosophy, which shows up mainly in eliminating "victimless crimes", such as consensual prostitution and simple drug possession (which I would prefer to treat medically, when drug use creates erratic behavior. I find it a travesty how many people are in our jail and prison systems, simply because of drug possession and use). The biggest objection I hear is how Drug Use goes with other crimes like, for example, a person holds up a Convenience Store to pay for Crack Cocaine. In this case, I would suggest throwing the book at the person for the Armed Robbery! That crime has clear victims (the store, and its employees), and deserves vigorous prosecution. However, at the same time the person "pays" for the robbery, he/she can be medically treated for the drug use. In addition, if drugs are decriminalized (though not encouraged, with the possible exception of Marijuana), sales can include HUGE taxes, paying for the medical treatment these people require. Now, the existing Libertarian Party (and the current Republican Party) includes "Corporate Libertarianism" (where corporations can behave as they please, with as few regulations as possible). That is the part of Libertarianism that I COMPLETELY leave out of the Green Libertarian Party.
My position on the Democratic Party is that I have an easier time having a polite and respectful conversation with Democrats, than I do with Republicans (who often do not trust me). So, if I were to find myself in Congress, I would likely caucus with the Democrats, even though I absolutely DO NOT consider myself a Democrat. There is one exception, on the Republican front, as I work well with the Log Cabin Republicans, even temporarily representing myself as such, including on the big day of debate in the Senate, at the end of 2010, on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in the US Military.
So there you have it, a Fully Operational Political Party with only one person (myself, Kenneth Wayne Parker, of Seattle, Washington) that currently could run under it. Remember its URL (stated here as greenlibertarianparty dot blogspot dot com, without any "W's" needed), because it's hard to find under Google. There's one "counterfeit web site", which preaches Corporate Libertarianism, with a page or so about the Green party, that's presented by Google to confuse the issue. I consider this party fiscally conservative, by the way, as I would question ANY funding for wars, since they are destructive to Planet Earth, as well as hostile to the people who live on it. On the question of Guns verses Butter, I take the Butter ANY DAY!
Thank you and Best Regards,
Kenneth Wayne Parker, Seattle, WA
