The Libertarian Party sounds great. It always has. And every year around election time I have the same discussion with my other libertarian conservative friends as to if this is the year to actually vote for the Libertarian candidates. Usually though we continue to discard the Libertarian Party candidates as not viable because of things like this:

As the American people grow increasingly frustrated with the occupation of Iraq, President Bush still refuses to articulate any type of vision for withdrawal, stated Shane Cory, Chief of Staff for the Libertarian Party. While the President evades reality, American troops remain in harms way. The Libertarian Party is still the only political party that has formulated a viable, complete, and practical exit strategy for American soldiers in Iraq.

Quick Facts:

* Number of American deaths since the invasion of Iraq: 2,080

* Total Number of Americans wounded: 15,468

* Number of proposed strategies for exiting Iraq: 1 (source)

Spin worthy of some of the other political parties I dare say. Ignoring for a moment that there has always been an "exit strategy" for Iraq (called WIN the war) this is what the Libertarian Party Proposes:

The first step is immediately to begin the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq. Currently American troop levels are at about 140,00011. Troops would leave gradually, in increments of approximately 11,600 per month, resulting in a complete withdrawal in one years time. This will bring the troops out of harms way quickly, preventing more unnecessary loss of life. Allowing a year for the withdrawal will give the Iraqi government time to train and deploy a sufficient security force in trouble areas. (source)

Yep, you read right. Phased troops withdrawal ... committing to leave before we know if we should leave. Running away essentially.

Then there is the mischaracterization of who the "insurgency is actually fighting:

By removing our troops from Iraq and relocating them to various bases in the Middle East, we remove the insurgencys common enemy.

Implying that the insurgents are fighting against us, the United States.

They are not. They are fighting against freedom for the Iraqi people. That is why they are blowing up more Iraqi citizens each day than they are killing US Soldiers. It is why they are blowing up police barracks and sending car bombs into crowded market places to blow up women and children shopping for necessities. They want power. And they want it for themselves. To Hell with liberty and justice for the Iraqi people they would then control.

And this is why, the Libertarian Party cannot gain enough votes to be a major player in American Politics. It is also why those of us that are Libertarian get lumped in with the left wing even though we are more to the right wing than almost any "conservative" you will talk to.

Leaving before the job is done is not an exit strategy. Ok it is, but it is a poor one at best and committing to a time table DOES (no matter what the Libertarian Party thinks) tell the enemy how long they have to hold on. Think of it in simple terms we can all understand. If tomorrow the government announced that on January 1st 2006 there would no longer be any taxes paid on capital gains would you even consider liquidating assets before that? Not unless you absolutely needed to you wouldnt!

See, you can easily prove to yourself why committing to timetables is bad.

Determining what number of troops to bring home each month after the job is done and the war is won ... now that is an exit strategy and it has been proposed by President George Bush and libertarians like myself time and again.

If the Libertarian Party really thinks that what they say is true about the declining support for the war and that their plan is a good idea run on it. Go ahead. Run on that platform. See how many votes you get.

And those of us Libertarians out here will continue to vote for the Republican Party because they are the lesser of two evils. I wish there was a true Libertarian Party in America to vote for. I really do. Because if there was, it would win. I wish there was a true Libertarian Party that we could count on to reduce government spending, uphold the constitution and defend this country with a firm hand. There are so many of us just hanging around the Republican party because there isnt a better place to be.