By Joshua Sotomayor-Einstein
_
Libertarians can make a huge difference in this November’s U.S. Senate race. The opposition against entrenched machine politician Bob Menendez consists of Bob Hugin, former Marine and business leader, and the NJ GOP. They’re battling against an institutionally corrupt Democratic party establishment that looks the other way when its members abuse the civic trust and engage in rampant corruption.
Republicans – conservatives and libertarians, want smaller and more honest government and should work together to eliminate the stain that is Menendez’s record and political power in the U.S. Senate and the State of New Jersey.
A Menendez victory means an emboldened sense of immunity and impunity from immoral politicians and the doubling down of the disgusting behavior Menendez has pursued – limiting freedom and expanding boldfaced corruption. Libertarians, both those inside and outside the GOP tent, have a unique opportunity to help spread the message of accountable government arm-in-arm and alongside those who share the vast majority of their views and values.
Too many times, Republican politicians have engaged in support for paternalistic nanny state programs that are inefficient, bureaucratic, grow government, and limit individual freedom. Republicans are far from perfect and the Republican Party is not 100% in sync with the libertarian agenda, but in the grand venn diagram of politics, there is greater overlap between conservatives and libertarians than between libertarians and any other group.
Indeed, conservatism and libertarianism are so similar that it was President Ronald Reagan who in a 1975 interview with Reason Magazine stated that “if you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.” President Reagan continued “the basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.”
Both during election seasons and between them, libertarians and smaller government conservatives are needed within the 2018 GOP coalition to bolster the case for fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, and maximizing individual freedom and liberty.
The GOP needs libertarians, all year round, because they are the best ambassadors of our common values and because they make the party stay the course.
Libertarians and conservatives share not only common cause but also need each other to amplify their shared message.
Now more than ever, libertarians and conservatives must work together to give Bob Menendez his well-earned pink slip. Standing united to elect Bob Hugin, who would be Senator of morals and ethics, who understands free markets, and who knows the purpose of public service isn’t lining one’s own pockets, is the only effective way to reject Bob Menendez’s long history of bribery, fraud, corruption, and anti-liberty policies.
Divided, libertarians and conservatives fail; together, they can move New Jersey forward.
_
