Libertarian Response To The State Of The Union Address

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    Good evening. I’m Arvin Vohra, vice chair of the Libertarian National Committee.

    Mr. President, in your State of the Union address, you propose to make Big Government even bigger.

    You propose pouring more taxpayer dollars into another federal education program, this time for community colleges. But federal intervention has driven up the price of higher education.

    What if we could make college affordable right now by simply getting government out of higher ed? Without subsidies and costly mandates, competition will force colleges to decrease their tuition or go out of business. Massive student debt would be a thing of the past.

    Mr. President, we can have world-class education. The first step is defunding and eliminating the federal Department of Education, abolishing Common Core, and allowing parents to take full control over their children’s education. Free-market competition will raise educational standards, lower costs, and prepare students to compete in a global economy.

    Mr. President, your attempts to raise the minimum wage will destroy one of the most important forms of education in this country. Many young people develop responsibility and marketable skills in entry-level, minimum-wage jobs. Those skills make workers more attractive to future employers.

    The Republican answer, to leave the issue to the states, is a cop-out. All minimum wages kill jobs and hurt the poor. Libertarian candidates have pledged to sponsor legislation to eliminate the minimum wage in every state. That makes it easier for young people to gain experience, for the poorest workers to gain a foothold in the job market, and for small businesses to grow.

    Here’s how we really grow the economy and create jobs: dramatically cut taxes and government spending. Libertarian candidates have pledged to sponsor legislation to cut federal spending to 1998 levels and eliminate the income tax. That means that you keep the money you earn, and spend it how you see fit: on charities and the arts, science research, education, and the health care of your choice.

    Eliminating the income tax also defunds government’s ability to infringe on our privacy, to create enemies through needless wars, and to imprison our fellow citizens for victimless crimes.

    Mr. President, so many of your supporters have begged you to defund and end the War on Drugs, but you have refused their pleas. Drug prohibition separates families, fosters violence, and destroys communities. You can end the war on drugs today, by doing what so many Libertarian gubernatorial and presidential candidates have pledged to do: pardon all nonviolent drug offenders.

    Libertarian candidates have pledged to completely end the war on drugs, and thereby eliminate the black market profits that fund violent cartels. Ending the Drug War will make our streets safer, and people will no longer have to fear incarceration if they seek help overcoming an addiction.

    Mr. President, over the last weeks you have repeatedly argued that Americans should be able to go online without risking their privacy. On that, we completely agree. Americans should be able to use their computers and phones without fear of anyone listening in or recording their communications through mass surveillance.

    But your words, Mr. President, don’t match your actions. You have funded and enabled the surveillance state. To protect privacy, Libertarian candidates have pledged to defund the NSA’s mass surveillance program, repeal the Patriot Act, and massively downsize and consolidate redundant spy agencies.

    Mr. President, your party and the Republican Party are damaging lives here and abroad through misuse and overuse of the military.

    Libertarian candidates have pledged to sponsor legislation to end all foreign military operations, shut down needless foreign bases, cut military spending by at least 60 percent, and bring our troops home.

    Even after those spending cuts, we will still outspend both Russia and China combined. We will also be safer, because our military will be focused on defense. We will stop creating enemies through unwarranted military intrusions.

    Republicans have talked about repealing and replacing Obamacare. With what? Romneycare? That will continue to damage businesses and make health care worse.

    When Republicans controlled the House, they had the chance to defund Obamacare. They refused.

    Libertarian candidates have pledged to completely repeal Obamacare along with the many laws that stand in the way of low-cost, high-quality health care. Providers will compete for customers by lowering costs and increasing quality.

    To help people in need, Libertarian candidates will make charitable hospitals legal. Doctors should not have to leave our borders to be able to offer free care.

    We need to massively downsize and defund the federal government. But Republican and Democratic politicians only want to make it bigger. Get involved with the Libertarian Party in your state by going to LP.org, and by voting Libertarian.

    Politicians can do one thing well: count votes. When you vote for a Democrat or Republican, it tells them, “Keep doing what you’re doing.” But when you vote for a Libertarian, it tells them, in no uncertain terms, “You have neither my approval nor my permission to grow or sustain Big Government. Shrink it now.”

    Thank you for listening. Let’s bring liberty back to our communities and to the United States of America.

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    24 COMMENTS

    1. I like the libertarian message. It’s what real conservative Republicans believe. Unfortunately, not enough real conservative Republicans seem to be elected.

      • Disagree with the part about the Military, and I’m as conservative as they come. Having said that there are several ideas i really like and think we should use.

    2. Joni Ernst. Just another republican hypocrite. Talks about ra ra ‘murica rhetoric hours after voting against requiring the keystone pipeline be built with American steel not chinese and against keeping the oil here. This pipeline grants eminent domain powers to foreign corporations. Where’s the outrage from private property right patriots? Guess you’re only in favor of those if it fits the Koch’s agenda. Flip flop flip flop.

      • Fascists like taking orders or handing them out. The clowns on this board love handing their money over to the rich. They think they’re going to win the GOP lotto.

          • You prefer the Obama redistribution of wealth plan, which is based on the “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” Karl Marx plan?

            Spell it out Ghost. What is your plan?

        • They’ll never learn that’s not the new yellow money trickling down on their little haids.

        • Just to get the facts straight: I never, and no GOP member, or Tea Party member I know of, ever wants a tax raised. Raising Taxes is the eminent domain of the Democrats. Look at all the ways Obama has raised taxes on us. Have you actually been paying any attention to this??????

      • I want American Companies to be competitive with the rest of world. They should be able to build and/or to manufacture products (Steel) in such a way as to have a product that meets the standard set forth, and at a competitive price. For the health of American business and the continued success of our country they absolutely must be able to compete world wide. For obvious reasons unions will be against this, and are one of the biggest reasons for the lack American manufacturing to be able to compete. The other is the Government. I’m talking Government at all levels here. For a long time the government has looked at any business as a cash cow for them to satisfy their unreasonable requirement for more and more money from American Business and the American worker part of the population, in order to give assets to one segment of the population, like Free Housing, Obamacare, Phones, Food stamps, educational loans that are not paid back, literally thousands of Socialist programs, – all of them aimed at keeping a race of people in the bondage of poverty, and servitude to the party who provides the said poverty. This in turn allows the domination of the democrat party in American politics, and the mad cycle of the recent Socialism to self perpetuate itself. I personally do not believe we can turn this trend around. All Government at every level needs to be the friend of all business. Just think of it even the Chamber of Commerce is against business today.

        • JOHN,

          The business of the Chamber of Commerce IS business…you idiot. It is fascinating to read paranoid people decide everyone outside of their house is a liberal. Put back in your VCR tape of “Red Dawn” JOHN.

          • Riverfront Spin,

            You know, insulting people is not a very good way to get them to understand your point of view. It would behoove you to present your counter point in a tactful respectful manner.
            Unless of course you can’t then by all means pervert and invoke rule #5 of the evil dirtbag handbook.

          • Interesting you would confuse present day Liberals with the Socialists onslaught that happened in Red Dawn, But maybe not, LOL !!

    3. I will compliment CCO for publishing this, just because of the First Amendment. It does seem kind of unfair that four TPer’s got national air time and this man didn’t. His message is no worse than Joni Ernst’s. Sadly, it isn’t any better, either. It’s just another ideologue spouting extremist ideologies.

        • I agree with that. He’s not extremist. Some great points…pro-business, free and competitive marketplaces, respect for the individual to live free and make his/her own choices unfettered.

    5. Something in Vohra’s column for everyone. Nothing for anyone.
      Libertarians, you don’t sound bad but irrelevance be thy name.

    6. This would be a good time for a Libertarian to run for mayor of Evansville. I would vote for a Libertarian over the two running. I’ll probably end up voting for Winnecke because the democrat CC will keep him from building a hotel we don’t need. I have little doubt that if Gail wins the CC will give her up to 50 million for a new hotel. So based on that Winnecke is the current choice for mayor.

      • POV
        Sadly. your comment makes too much sense. If no attractive candidate emerges .. I too will vote for Winnecke
        … solely for his ineptitude. …

      • I too! Would love to have better choices than these two. If either one of these is elected it will just be more of same. Resulting in the continued poverty, and crime in this city.

      • Winnecke is the choice of all die hard unthinking republicans, so you and a few others who post here would vote for whomever or whatever the GOP runs.

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