Nevada Libertarian Head: ‘I Have Conceded Defeat: We Are Infested With Idiots’

[big_dog]

Source: The Raw Story/Mediaite.com

Despite the strong presence of libertarians in the United States, the official Libertarian Party doesn’t have particularly strong membership, and earlier this month the former chairman of the Libertarian Party of Nevada shared his thoughts about the viability of the party and the kind of “knuckleheads” he’s had to put up with, encouraging more people to get involved in state party politics so the Nevada Libertarians don’t get dragged down by “idiots.”

Joseph Silvestri said at the outset in a blog post that he is “looking forward to not being Chairman anymore,” and admitted, “I have conceded defeat.” He blogged just days ahead of the Libertarian Party of Nevada’s 2013 state convention to get people to show up, because as far as he’s concerned, most of the party members just don’t care and the rest “are mostly useless.”

Unable to build a large enough coalition of support to justify further efforts, I accept reality. I yield the field to the knuckleheads. I am exhausted from the endless stupid drama that prevents our party from achieving critical mass. While I attempt to explain some of the stupid drama…, you should understand I don’t really blame the knuckleheads. I blame the good decent folks who really want to see a viable third choice on Election Day, but do nothing to further that end.

Silvestri points out there are 9,300 registered libertarians in the state of Nevada, but the state party has less than 200 members. He says, “Most people, even libertarians, are apathetic and kinda lazy. And too few people are really professional when they’re not being paid


Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/nevada-libertarian-head-%e2%80%98i-have-conceded-defeat%e2%80%99-%e2%80%98we-are-infested-with-idiots%e2%80%99/

[Turbineguy]

1. Well, yes.

That would make sense since those who actually believe it works have to be reminded to breathe from time to time..

[Iliyah]

2. DUH

[olddad56]

3. how can the state be invested with idiots if they had the good sense to not elect this turd?

[big_dog]

5. so does this mean he's changing his party or just going underground?

Last edited Tue Nov 26, 2013, 04:27 PM - Edit history (1)

n/t

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

4. Must be like herding cats.

Not to seem down on cats (big fan of felines, me), but trying to get people to take an active role in a party based around the idea of "Leave me alone!"... it just seems like the herding cats thing. Even if they can get the sympathizers to join up, it must be a struggle to get much more from them than a vote on election day. Anything more would set off that "Leave me alone" response.

[christx30]

10. I'm picturing that right now:

"Vote for me! I'll restore sanity to Nevada and Washington with the small government ideals that our founding fathers dreamed of!"
"Leave me alone! You can't tell me what to do!"

[riqster]

25. From that great libertarian Hermie the Elf,

"Let's go off and be independent TOGETHER!"

[madeline_con]

17. "Individualists, unite!" n/t

[workinclasszero]

19. Lolz :) /nt

[JNelson6563]

21. Thread winner!

[CanonRay]

6. "are mostly useless"

That would include my Nevada Libertarian brother-in-law.

[Blue_Tires]

7. LP made a deal with the devil years ago...

and now the legions of republican posers, crazies and conspiracy fruitcakes have come to define their party completely...

[workinclasszero]

20. Yes the LP and the thug party made a deal with the devil (teatailiban,Limpballs, koch bros etc)

Now they can't exorcise the hateful racist beast they created and its going to destroy both of their filthy parties!

[FSogol]

8. Don't forget that their ideology mainly appeals to sophomoric gumps who usually grow out of it.

Last edited Tue Nov 26, 2013, 09:09 AM - Edit history (1)

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

30. The late Iain Banks defined libertarianism as

"A simple-minded right-wing ideology ideally suited to those unable or unwilling to see past their own sociopathic self-regard."

I once had a libertarian tell me, with a straight face, that one of the signs of the true libertarian was that he or she did not join political parties. I responded that he was saying that members of the Libertarian Party were not true libertarians, and he was straying into No True Scotsman territory. (I must say that this man did not use logical fallacies in his arguments, he depended on fallacious arguments.)

Another quote, "I had a hard time with Ayn Rand because I found myself enthusiastically agreeing with the first 90% of every sentence, but getting lost at 'therefore, be a huge asshole to everyone.'"

And yet another quote

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

[hunter]

9. Don't like taxes, enjoy smoking pot and kinky sex (possibly paid for), claim to be "colorblind..."

...with rampant misogyny.

"Mostly useless."

"Most people barely have a good grasp on their own lives."

From my own socialist perspective the Libertarians are slightly less noxious than Republican making-sure-your-penis-and-vagina-are-only-used-in-Christian-twisted-male-dominant-approved-submit-to-authority-punishing-facist-ways.

But only slightly less noxious.

[madeline_con]

18. LOL! can't stop laughing... n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

11. Well, their ethos is to be fucking lazy and not give a fuck about anyone

What do you expect?

[blackspade]

12. IS that the Whaaaambulance that I hear?

[SoapBox]

13. Idiots?

WELL, it takes one to know one!

[JoeyT]

14. Y'all built a religion around being selfish

and now he's going to whine about people not volunteering any useful abilities? His buddies might be lazy, but he's just plain stupid.

It's a shame, libertarianism could've jerked the reigns away from mainstream conservatives which would've meant we didn't have to keep fighting non-stop social battles on several issues and could've focused on the other social issues and economic ones.

[DeSwiss]

15. K&R

"All around one the True Believers trudge by, mouths grim, brows furrowed, ulcers and worse eating at their innards. This desperate company of oddfellows (Thoreau) live in what psychologists call 'cognitive dissonance.' Because their reality-maps are, one and all, too small to cover the vast, eerie, amusing world in which we live, they are perpetually frustrated: the world does not live up to their fixed beliefs. They are all convinced that there is something radically wrong with the universe itself, or with the rest of humanity, and they never suspect that the real trouble is in their own rigid and robotic nervous systems." ~Robert Anton Wilson

[valerief]

16. Only knuckleheads would want to be libertarians. You get what you preach. nt

[Dopers_Greed]

22. The problem with libertarians...

Is that a lot of them are hardcore ideologues. I've heard people argue that if even the entire economy were to collapse, the government still shouldn't intervene in "the market" at all. Points of view like that don't make for good governing.

[big_dog]

24. excellent point

look at the house GOP right now

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

31. On a now-defunct message board,

One libertarian was damning FDR for telling American companies what to produce during World War II. The minor fact that there was a war on meant nothing to him. Apparently, he would rather that the country lose the war than deviate from what he deemed ideologically pure.

[PATRICK]

23. Unfortunately

this forced conclusion doesn't make him look any smarter. People basically wanting to be left alone and rejoice in negations finds that satisfaction of that credo begins at home. it is a fundamental flaw of ideology and psychology. I hope more destructive potential rightist parties have such mordant flaws.

Right now it is pretty obvious they only exist by virtue of large infusions of corrupt cash and Corporate Pravda access. Spoiled and stupid and incapable(a double blunted sword for their corporate sponsors).

[24601]

26. While supposedly encouraging people to think for themselves, they enforce a rigid doctrine and

to join, you must "sign on" as follows:

"The Libertarian pledge, a statement individuals must sign in order to join the Libertarian Party of the United States, declares, 'I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals.' Libertarian Party founder David Nolan created the pledge in 1971. His goal was to convince government authorities that the LP was inherently not a violent organization, during a time when many political groups were using terroristic tactics."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_pledge

[Wolf Frankula]

27. Could it have possibly been due to infection by the bacillus Randii

An ideology originally dedicated to leaving people alone and non intervention morphing into worship of free market capitalism as exemplified by the novels of Ayn Rand?

I work with a Libertoonian. I no longer discuss politics with her because she begins every point with "Ayn Rand said", and everything she doesn't like is 'collectivist'.

Wolf

[alfredo]

28. A party built on selfishness? What could possibly go wrong?

[MADem]

29. Unfortunately, some of them sign up and post here.

Knuckleheads and idiots....and disruptors, shit-stirrers and chaos-makers.

I wish they'd follow this guy's lead.

[HoosierCowboy]

32. The Problem with the Libertarians is that they're not...

The Libertarian Train is powered by the same ideological fuel as GOP.

[politicat]

33. I think this is what is called "burning all your bridges."

I don't disagree with him, but clearly, he wants out of politics.