Libertarian Party Chairman William Redpath Tells All

At July's FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Reason magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch sat down with the chairman of the Libertarian Party William Redpath to discuss what went right (and wrong) in the LP's 2008 electoral season, how the government's response to economic tumult is shaping policy, and the hopes for a freer, more individualistic society.

"Some people say, 'Don't you get kind of depressed sometimes,'" jokes Redpath, "and I say, "We'll have a libertarian society someday, when it's imposed on us by the Chinese government....Ultimately, if our politicians don't have the cojones to step up and make the tough decisions they need to make, our foreign creditors are going to make them for us."

Approximately 10 minutes. Shot and edited by Dan Hayes.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• reasontv
• reason.tv
• William Redpath
• Libertarian Party
• libertarian
• Reason Magazine
• Matt Welch
• Freedom Fest
• Bob Barr
• 2008
• Election 08

[JMcKenrick]

The Democrats want to bankrupt the country with their high spending and high taxes. The Republicans want to send all of our young men and women into pointless wars while legislating religious morality which hinders our freedoms. The Libertarian Party is what the Republican party once was before it was hijacked by the right-wing religious nuts: small government, low taxes, maximum individual freedom. We may not win the votes, but at least we stand for true AMERICAN values.

[latewire]

bob barr was a mistake. he voted for the patriot act. seriously, wtf.

[TheDemetrius05]

@RendezvousDestiny My thoughts exactly.

[awsomeshot]

@JMcKenrick lol kinda reminds me of the boy scouts. They used to be good but then got hijacked by religious wackos. 

[dinamo4889]

I am joining the party my first time vote will be for a Libertarian candidate.

[plalelal]

Not true!

[JonnieDarko69]

Reagan was far from a Libertarian.

[JonnieDarko69]

Because they don't have a clue about trends in political thought. Many people come out of liberal circles into Libertarian circles. Ex. John Stossel, and Greg Gutfeild. The Republicans are almost exclusively neo-cons. That is the farthest from Libertarian values you can get. Why should a party that stands for freedom try and infiltrate and take over another organization? That sounds communist and devoid of free political thought....that is not a Libertarian value.

[Madfoot713]

Why did people thumbs down this? He's right. Just look at the last administration. I tend to side with the Republicans, but that's just because they're the opposition party, not because they're any more compatible with libertarian values than Democrats are.

[libertariancrusader]

At the national level, the Libertarian Party has stood behind and condoned high-ranking national staff members who openly solicited crimes, such as in the case of Nat'l Political Director Sean Haugh, who on 6/27/09 attempted solicitation of grand larceny on myself, political consultant, who at the time was contracting with a state affiliate of the LP. No party can claim to be the "Party of Principle" while condoning larceny and the bilking of donors Haugh also engaged in, see commentary at 4:51

[RendezvousDestiny]

Although I am Catholic, I do agree with your "right wing relgious nuts" comment. I dont need my govt to push my religion or our values. I want freedom of all sorts, and if ppl wanna be gay than so be it, I dont care. Im just sick of able bodied freeloaders getting 1/3 of my paycheck and the govt reducing the value of my hard-earned value by printing and borrowing money like an 18 year kid with his/her first credit card....

[zeitgeisthero]

Bob Barr sucks. He was a drug war hawk and fought against medical cannabis in DC., tjem he is thinks he can lead the lib party  ? And libs trusted this guy why ? smells like phony baloney