Cato president rips LP for Trump engagement: 'Hardly libertarian anymore'

23 May 2024

Many libertarians and Never Trump conservatives have been highly critical of the Libertarian Party for featuring former President Donald Trump as a speaker at its annual convention, which will be held this Saturday, May 25 in Washington, D.C.

These critics have been arguing that Trump's MAGA agenda is diametrically opposed to libertarianism in a variety of ways. Libertarians, for example, often describe themselves as fiscally conservative but socially liberal — whereas Trump is a close ally of the religious right and far-right evangelical Christian nationalists who favor outlawing abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage.

One of the critics who is speaking out is Peter Goettler, president of the Cato Institute — a libertarian think tank founded in 1977.

In a biting op-ed published by the Washington Post on May 23, Goettler argues that featuring Trump as a speaker shows that the Libertarian Party has abandoned libertarian principles.

"It will be the first time in U.S. history that a presidential candidate of a rival party will address the convention of a party that is presumably gathering to nominate its own candidate," Goettler observes. "And this strange turn of events has many libertarians scratching their heads. "

The Cato Institute president continues, "With a razor-thin Electoral College contest in the offing this November, it's clear that any play for incremental support is worth Trump's effort and could make the difference. But what's in it for the National Libertarian Party? The answer, unfortunately, reveals the truth about today's party: It's hardly libertarian anymore."

Goettler goes on emphasize that a "long list" of Trump policies are opposed by libertarians.

"He allowed government spending and debt to continue to spiral upward, increasing the national debt by $8.4 trillion," the Cato president notes. "Federal outlays soared from $4 trillion his first year (2017) to $6.8 trillion in his last year. He persists in railing against immigration and free trade, supports further expansion of presidential power and seeks to crack down on political enemies."

The Libertarian Party's leadership, according to Goettler, has "been taken over by a faction that places it well outside the bounds of libertarianism altogether and appears comfortable with right-wing authoritarianism."

"Some tweets issued from state Libertarian parties and other Libertarian operators can only be described as shockingly racist or antisemitic — the Libertarian Party of Michigan, for instance, posted a cartoon portraying Jews as puppet masters of the Democratic and Republican parties — and would be more welcome on the alt-right than among true libertarians," Goettler warns. "This is not what traditional libertarians represent, and it isn't aligned with the position of most Americans."

Cato Institute President Peter Goettler's full Washington Post op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).

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