A lot of people, seeing this
Political Party want to know why we need another one. Like, for example, don't we have enough Political Parties, already? If I can't handle the Republican Party, the one I "sound" closest to, why not the Democratic Party? Well, if I "seem" close to the Republican Party, it's actually because I'm the "polar opposite" of them. If you look closely at our current Republican Party, you will see that their "Social Side" is actually a pretty mean spirited, repressive part. A "Green" part of the Republican Party? Well yes, if you consider fining homeowners, for putting Garbage in their Recycle, or Recyclable items in their garbage! But then, their "Libertarian" portion? Only if you're a Corporation! If you're a Corporation, there's this talk about "Overwhelming Regulations". How about the "overwhelming regulations" you want to put on the body of a woman? Anyway, back on track, when I state that I'm a "Fiscal Conservative", that means, in my case, that I scrutinize Corporate Welfare first (which includes subsidies to corporations that don't actually -- pay -- Corporate Income Taxes anyway. This includes corporations like GE, BP, and Exxon/Mobile). The next part I'd scrutinize, is waste in our Defense department. (I'm sure you've seen stories about $400 wrenches, and $1200 toilet seats). But then, I have NO trouble subsidizing corporations that help Planet Earth, like renewable energy companies (i.e. Solar and Wind). Also, agencies that help provide food to the poor (i.e. Meals on Wheels). So, to recap, my Green part, is in service to Planet Earth, and the people who have the "joy" and/or "misfortune" to live on it. And my Libertarian part has to do with eliminating
Victimless Crimes. For example, I'm in favor of handling Drug Abuse, through our Medical infrastructure. "What?", a rhetorical person retorts. "What about if a person robs a Convenience Store, for their drug money?" My answer, "Robbing a Convenience Store is Armed Robbery, a felony, in every state I've checked. Lock the person up, for that crime. But then, provide them medical care, to heal them of their Drug Addiction". Enough of an "Executive Summary".
Let me introduce myself. My name is Kenneth Wayne Parker, of Carrboro, North Carolina. 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, Carrboro, NC
