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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Jim DeMint - Libertarians and Conservatives need to debate


Libertarian-Federalist small government views are making an impact in politics.  GOP Senator Jim DeMint feels the party debate should be between Conservatives and Libertarians.

“I’d like to see a Republican Party that embraces a lot of the libertarian ideas.”  - - - Senator Jim DeMint


Conservative Senator Jim DeMint (R-S. Carolina) is not hoping that libertarian Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) drops out of the GOP race for the presidential nomination…at least not for the time being. In fact, he’s hoping that the other GOP candidates will learn something from him.

Sen. DeMint told The Daily Caller, “I really don’t want Ron Paul to drop out until whoever our front-runner is is collecting some of the ideas that he’s talking about.”

Though the senator has predicted that Mitt Romney will win the South Carolina primary, he himself has not endorsed any of the “not-Romney” candidates. Yet, Senator DeMint has a suggestion for his party:

"The debate in the Republican Party needs to be between libertarians and conservatives. … There’s no longer room for moderates and liberals because we don’t have any money to spend, so I don’t want to be debating with anyone who wants to grow government."

Sen. DeMint, who has spent much of his political career fighting against big government, went on to say, “I’d like to see a Republican Party that embraces a lot of the libertarian ideas.”



Hunting for GOP Convention delegates

“The more delegates I have, the more leverage I have,” Paul said in the interview here. “We’ll go after delegates, and we have staying power.”

One person close to the Paul campaign said this could include support for greater transparency at the Federal Reserve, a commitment to address what Paul views as the Patriot Act’s infringement on civil liberties and a curb on the powers of any president to wage war without Congressional approval. And the campaign wants Paul’s supporters to have a voice and a role in the national party machinery — just like they do in many state Republican parties — no matter who becomes the nominee.

Some Republicans say Paul could win second place in delegate counts, more than rivals who would no longer be able to raise money.

“There are four big caucuses coming up, with twice as many delegates as Florida, that will cost a third as much money, and we are focused on those,” one Paul official said.

With 28 delegates at stake, North Dakota also illustrates the strategy: the Paul campaign estimates that it will cost just $500,000 to run an effective campaign there, and delegates are awarded proportionately, so even if they do not finish first they could walk away with a decent allotment.   (New York Times)

Paul says he is not thinking about a role at the convention outside of winning the nomination, and he plays down his interest in securing a prominent speaking slot, a potential role that worries many establishment Republicans.

“I’ve seen others give speeches up there that I never thought amounted to being very much,” he said.
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(Big Government)

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