Libertarian leader responds to calls for Bernier alliance - The Post Millennial - Dean Tea:
August 25, 2018 - "In a video posted to his personal Facebook page late Thursday night, Libertarian Party [of Canada] leader Tim Moen addressed queries as to whether he would consider joining and running for Maxime Bernier’s newly announced political party, or whether a merger of the Libertarian Party and that of Maxime Bernier's is possible....
"Earlier this year, following Bernier’s narrow loss to Andrew Scheer in the Conservative leadership race, Moen and the Libertarians ... adopt[ed] Mad Max’s leadership platform wholesale, and Moen promis[ed] to step aside and hand the reins to Bernier if he would join the Libertarian Party. According to Moen, the two had a handful of polite conversations, but Bernier remained noncommittal.
"In his video statement, Moen expressed his misgivings regarding the possibility of a Conservative party offshoot achieving lasting reform and adopting libertarian values in a meaningful way.... 'Conservatives tend to be rudderless. They’re driven by panic and fear of the Liberals...They abandon principles for votes ... [to] avoid the Liberals getting power, and in doing so become the very thing they fear the most.'
"In a clear reference to the Reform and Alliance experiments ... he predicted that another political experiment of the sort is likely to end the same way.... 'They break down and split into competing factions, only to have fear of the Liberals reunite them again under some banner of reform so they can go ahead and lose their soul again.'
"Moen doesn’t seem to think that anything will be different for the new party of Maxime Bernier, who unabashedly spouts libertarian talking points, regularly quoting revered libertarian theorists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman .'I suspect it would be a watered-down version of our party principles and platform..... Are we going to see any discussion on meaningful restrictions on government? An end to Health Canada, a restriction on military interventionism?... Is he going to get on stage like Ron Paul and say, "End the Bank of Canada, end the income tax, legalize all the drugs."? I have my doubts.'
"Furthermore, he questions the staying power of a new party beyond the personal popularity of Bernier himself.... 'My guess is that this party is going to be a flash in the pan and fizzle as soon as Max looses his seat or retires.... I’m not going to merge the Libertarian Party with Max’s new party. Max’s party is likely to burn bright and then flame out and I’m not going to let our party die by hitching it to his.'
"He emphasized his party’s long track record of sticking to principled libertarian messaging, in an effort to steer conservative and other mainstream parties in their direction.
"'Western civilization is built on ideas; primarily the idea of individual liberty. Our party has been standing on those principles ... for over 45 years. We have been unflinching.... As far as I can tell, we’re making a difference. Libertarianism is on the rise. I don’t think [Mad Max] would have got 49% in the leadership election had it not been for the work our party has been doing for the last 45 years.'"
Read more: https://www.thepostmillennial.com/libertarian-leader-responds-to-calls-for-bernier-alliance/
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August 25, 2018 - "In a video posted to his personal Facebook page late Thursday night, Libertarian Party [of Canada] leader Tim Moen addressed queries as to whether he would consider joining and running for Maxime Bernier’s newly announced political party, or whether a merger of the Libertarian Party and that of Maxime Bernier's is possible....
"Earlier this year, following Bernier’s narrow loss to Andrew Scheer in the Conservative leadership race, Moen and the Libertarians ... adopt[ed] Mad Max’s leadership platform wholesale, and Moen promis[ed] to step aside and hand the reins to Bernier if he would join the Libertarian Party. According to Moen, the two had a handful of polite conversations, but Bernier remained noncommittal.
"In his video statement, Moen expressed his misgivings regarding the possibility of a Conservative party offshoot achieving lasting reform and adopting libertarian values in a meaningful way.... 'Conservatives tend to be rudderless. They’re driven by panic and fear of the Liberals...They abandon principles for votes ... [to] avoid the Liberals getting power, and in doing so become the very thing they fear the most.'
"In a clear reference to the Reform and Alliance experiments ... he predicted that another political experiment of the sort is likely to end the same way.... 'They break down and split into competing factions, only to have fear of the Liberals reunite them again under some banner of reform so they can go ahead and lose their soul again.'
"Moen doesn’t seem to think that anything will be different for the new party of Maxime Bernier, who unabashedly spouts libertarian talking points, regularly quoting revered libertarian theorists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman .'I suspect it would be a watered-down version of our party principles and platform..... Are we going to see any discussion on meaningful restrictions on government? An end to Health Canada, a restriction on military interventionism?... Is he going to get on stage like Ron Paul and say, "End the Bank of Canada, end the income tax, legalize all the drugs."? I have my doubts.'
"Furthermore, he questions the staying power of a new party beyond the personal popularity of Bernier himself.... 'My guess is that this party is going to be a flash in the pan and fizzle as soon as Max looses his seat or retires.... I’m not going to merge the Libertarian Party with Max’s new party. Max’s party is likely to burn bright and then flame out and I’m not going to let our party die by hitching it to his.'
"He emphasized his party’s long track record of sticking to principled libertarian messaging, in an effort to steer conservative and other mainstream parties in their direction.
"'Western civilization is built on ideas; primarily the idea of individual liberty. Our party has been standing on those principles ... for over 45 years. We have been unflinching.... As far as I can tell, we’re making a difference. Libertarianism is on the rise. I don’t think [Mad Max] would have got 49% in the leadership election had it not been for the work our party has been doing for the last 45 years.'"
Read more: https://www.thepostmillennial.com/libertarian-leader-responds-to-calls-for-bernier-alliance/
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