Why is there so much anger towards Obama?

They are there - they are in the 2% of the “other/ independent”.

Having strong libertarian tendencies myself, while also being a realist and recognizing that in a couple days either Obama or McCain (and nobody else) will be elected president, I can tell you this:

About taxes: Under Obama’s plan, you will keep more of your money than under McCain’s plan.

There will always be taxation of some form. No government has ever existed without some form of taxation. And given this fact, we have two viable alternatives: tax the rich more and the rest of us less, or the other way around. Obama offers the former. He’s the best choice from a libertarian perspective.

Your tax burden will be higher under McCain, and it will be squandered on continued warfare in Iraq.

About social freedoms: the Democrats’ values are far more libertarian than the Republicans’ values.

Having strong libertarian tendencies myself, while also being a realist and recognizing that in a couple days either Obama or McCain (and nobody else) will be elected president, I can tell you this:

About taxes: Under Obama’s plan, you will keep more of your money than under McCain’s plan.

There will always be taxation of some form. No government has ever existed without some form of taxation. And given this fact, we have two viable alternatives: tax the rich more and the rest of us less, or the other way around. Obama offers the former. He’s the best choice from a libertarian perspective.

Your tax burden will be higher under McCain, and it will be squandered on continued warfare in Iraq.

About social freedoms: the Democrats’ values are far more libertarian than the Republicans’ values.[/quote]

I’m not really a libertarian myself. I’m far too motivated by self-interest, in the main (and so am willing to suspend certain ideals as a result). I also think libertarians, at least those who talk about politics a lot, are never willing to put their money where their mouth is. Furthermore, I’m not American, so any commentary from this corner about American politics is fairly irrelevant. Anyway, I think most libertarians would not be impressed with the lesser of two evils argument as they perceive that to be the whole problem with politics to begin with. They have fairly strong principles and they don’t believe in taxing the richer guy just because he can afford it. Indeed, they’re pretty opposed to the Iraq War, for instance, but they’re also opposed to the idea of welfare, socialised medicine, government involvement in education, etc.

As for paying tax, not everyone does that, you know. :laughing: There are those who have found ways (and continue to find ways) around that (at least for income tax), and that’s why Taiwan is more attractive to some people than other places because there’s a huge black economy here.

That’s because they tend to be idealists to the extreme. My libertarian streak is tempered by realism.

I believe the two-party system can only be overcome once the greatest threat to American liberty–the Religious Right (which holds huge sway over the Republican Party)–has been rendered impotent, whether through attrition (i.e., fundamentalists choosing to abandon their extremist views or withdrawing from politics altogether) or through rejection by or departure from the GOP. In fact, I would love it if the Religious Right abandoned the GOP and formed their own party. I might even vote Republican then.

I only believe in this because it is the fairest option that is realistically achievable. Better to tax the guy who can afford it than the guy who can’t.

I believe in universal healthcare and free k-12 education because I believe it increases liberty. For example, ask the guy suffering from a disease so costly that it’s draining all his family’s assets. I would not consider him or his family as being free.

Universal healthcare will mean that people are not going to wait until a condition becomes too advanced before going to the hospital. More diseases will be caught early, before they become overly expensive. This leads to a healthier, more productive populace, thereby boosting economic activity.

On Political Compass, I’m “left-libertarian”. My strong libertarian streak is tempered by pragmatism, rather than the unthinking idealism that many Randbots seem to have.