Which one issue matters most to you when judging someone to be a Liberty candidate?

[compromise]

I voted foreign policy. No more war means we likely have obtained energy independence, an end to the petrodollar, and fewer tax dollars on the military.

I doubt an end to the wars would just result in energy independence. More like the other way round.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

"Size and scope of government" would encompass most of those issues...

 

[LibertyEagle]

It's hard to choose just one, because it takes more than just one of these, in my opinion, to make a liberty candidate. But, I ended up choosing economics, but civil liberties are just as important to me. In the end, I would have to agree with Brian.

 

[ClydeCoulter]

Economics doesn't explicitly include "Audit/End the Fed" ?

I can't decide on just one.

 

[Cleaner44]

Civil liberties (e.g. freedom of speech, assembly, privacy, legalization of drugs, bill of rights).

Focusing on this is important. Everything will follow.

Exactly. It all goes back to following the Constitution. If that is done, then all other categories fall into line from there.

I have to agree. I find the poll difficult because all are important, but if our "representative government" would simply follow the Constitution then most other things would follow suit.

 

[eduardo89]

Economics

I agree. Everything comes down to economics.

If you don't have a central banking system that can create an unlimited supply of fiat currency and monetise debt, you can't have a warfare state abroad or a welfare state at home.

 

[Occam's Banana]

I did not answer the question with regard to what I think is most important philosophically or ideologically.
In that respect, they are ALL equally important - in fact, they are so intertwined as to be inseperable.

I answered the question in the sense of which area I personally regard as being the most important "litmus test" for alleged "liberty" candidates.
An interventionist foreign policy will inevitably result in serious degradations of liberty with respect to all three of the other policy areas listed in the poll.

IOW: "War is the health of the State." That is why "foreign policy" is the reddest of my "red lines."

So is "ending the (war-enabling) Fed" - but I consider that particular issue to be "of a piece" as much with foreign policy as with economic policy.

 

[fisharmor]

I agree. Everything comes down to economics.

If you don't have a central banking system that can create an unlimited supply of fiat currency and monetise debt, you can't have a warfare state abroad or a welfare state at home.

I cannot go hang a shingle on my front porch declaring myself a full reserve bank dealing only in physical gold currency.
Not without a long stint in the anus-stretcher.

So that boils down to civil liberties.

 

[Henry Rogue]

They're all important, but if I had to choose, I would have to pick economic issues, because the state's power, control, intervention and ability to wage war comes from its ability to tax and incur debt.

 

[TheTyke]

I dislike the categorizing of protecting the right to life under "Social Issues," but I voted it anyway. Without life, you can have no liberty. A nation that destroys tens of millions of its young can't honestly claim to have any other kind of liberty.

 

[cajuncocoa]

//

 

[Cap]

CC, I'm pretty much hardcore on purity with regards to civil liberties and foreign policy . If a candidate fails either of those, they will not get my vote. I view civil liberties as most important because without them, you can't effect any change in regards to the issues brought up in the other selections on your poll.

 

[ClydeCoulter]

CC, I'm pretty much hardcore on purity with regards to civil liberties and foreign policy . If a candidate fails either of those, they will not get my vote. I view civil liberties as most important because without them, you can't effect any change in regards to the issues brought up in the other selections on your poll.

I could agree with that if "sound money" was included, which would help with foreign policy as well.

 

[Cap]

I could agree with that if "sound money" was included, which would help with foreign policy as well.

I could not agree with you more Clyde, my only point is that without civil liberties, we would not have a vehicle to bring about gutting the evil out of this country that is the FED. As I've said before, getting rid of the FED is the solution to ALL our problems. Get rid of the FED and everything bad, pretty much goes away. But without civil liberties, we would not be able to shine the necessary light on them, to show Joe Ignorant how evil they are.

 

[mtr1979]

I voted foreign policy because it is so rare to see someone come onto the scene and say no to nation building and policing the world.
Most candidates just say something cliche like: "they hate us because we're free."

 

[mosquitobite]

I voted foreign policy because it is so rare to see someone come onto the scene and say no to nation building and policing the world.
Most candidates just say something cliche like: "they hate us because we're free."

Agree.

If I am looking at candidates, their foreign policy tells me all I need to know about the rest.

For instance, you can't be fiscally conservative and be pro-war/interventionist. It's a money pit.
You can't be pro-civil liberties and be pro-war. The never ending war gives them cause to take away our Constitutional rights.
You can't be sound economically (audit the fed) if you are pro-war. They must have deficits to run a continuous war.
And quite honestly, imo it is hypocritical to claim to be pro-life, yet have no problem droning a 5yo Pakistani child.

The interventionist mentality is everything that is wrong. Or more simply, as someone else put it: the non-aggression principle.

 

[surf]

voted civil liberties

but I am of the opinion that there is no more important position right now, federally, than peace.

edit: good poll

 

[2young2vote]

No "issue" as somebody running for office can say whatever they want. aka: lie.

I prefer to base it on their past history and examples of them participating in liberty related activities and public support for other proven liberty candidates.

This is my line of thought.

Integrity is #1 beyond everything else. I believe it was Bentivolio who was being hyped as a great liberty minded candidate, even by people on this forum, then got into office and wasn't so great. I remember the very first time I saw a video of him speaking. He was saying all the right things, but I could just TELL his words weren't from the heart.

 

[dillo]

Foreign policy

"Even if it were desirable, America is not strong enough to police the world by military force. If that attempt is made, the blessings of liberty will be replaced by coercion and tyranny at home. Our Christian ideals cannot be exported to other lands by dollars and guns. Persuasion and example are the methods taught by the Carpenter of Nazareth, and if we believe in Christianity we should try to advance our ideals by his methods. We cannot practice might and force abroad and retain freedom at home. We cannot talk world cooperation and practice power politics."

Howard Buffet

Someone who believes in a strong interventionalist foreign policy has to eventually adopt the same attitude at home. I think Republican candidates should shut up about gay marriage, abortion is a different story. Personally I could give a shit about either because I don't believe in marriage sanctity and don't think all abortion is murder.

Economics is probably the 2nd most important to me, but how many of these jack offs just sprout off "free market" every sentence and then sign a 100 billion dollar farm subsidy bill. How many voted to go to Iraq and Afghanistan with borrowed money? The Republican party might never return to the classic liberalism it had in the first part of the 1900's, and until it does I am staying 3rd party.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney are the same thing as Obama

 

[Root]

I went with civil liberties because there wasn't a "just leave me the fuck alone" option.