Pat Buchanan: Libertarian Friend or Foe?

Recently political circles were buzzing about Pat Buchanan's announcement that he was abandoning the Republican Party and seeking the presidential nomination of the Reform Party. First, this makes clear just how formidable a candidate George W. Bush is shaping up to be in the Republican camp. Buchanan's views may be extreme to say the least, but he is a shrewd and seasoned political player and as soon as he sensed that Bush was a shoo-in for the Republican presidential nomination, he took his views to a third party where they would be given maximum exposure. So what does all of this mean for the Libertarian Party?

According to the national director of the Libertarian Party, Stephen Dasbach, it could be a virtual death sentence for the Reform Party, catapulting the Libertarians to the forefront of third party visibility, something that the Reform Party has claimed due to its eccentric memebrs since its inception in 1992. Dasbach predicts that much media attention will be focused upon the high profile candidates Pat Buchanan and Donald Trump in their battle to gain the presidential nomination of the Reform Party. This makes sense, for it appears now that the 2000 presidential election will be one of the most boring and predictable in years, as George W. Bush is certain to win. But of course, it is still very early on, and only time will tell what will happen next November at the polling booths.

The Reform Party, created by Texas billionaire and eccentric Ross Perot after the 1992 election seems an unlikely arena for arch fiscal and social conservative Pat Buchanan to throw his hat into. To the general public, the two parties may appear to be interchangeable, but with the Reform Party embracing Pat Buchanan, any blurred lines between the Libertarian Party and the Reform Party will be put sharply into focus. The Reform Party has definitely taken a sharp socially conservative turn over the past year. Around the same time the Reform Party was welcoming Buchanan, they also called on Jesse Ventura to resign from the Party, stating that his views expressed in the November 1999 issue of Playboy magazine were in opposition to the party's platform. On a recent check of The Reform Party's website however, they were advertising an on-line town meeting with Governor Ventura, indicating they perhaps have patched things up.

It is almost unthinkable to imagine Jesse Ventura and Pat Buchanan in the same political party. It is difficult also to imagine how Buchanan will reconcile his "Christianity is the one and only true religion," and his virulant hatred of homosexuality with the sixth statement of the Reform Party platform, which indicates that its members will "foster tolerance of the customs, beliefs, and private actions of persons which don't infringe upon the rights of others." That sounds like it's straight from a libertarian philosophy handbook. Buchanan shocked everyone again by hiring a female African-American former socialist, Lenora Fulani, as his campaign co-chairwoman. Buchanan's race for the White House should prove at least as entertaining as Ross Perot's attempts.

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