LP Monday Message: Edwards, Weiner & Schwarzene​gger

Dear Friend of Liberty,

John Edwards was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004, and he was a leading contender for the presidential nomination in 2008. We all now know he cheated on his wife and lied to America about it throughout much of that time. Now he's facing potential jail time if convicted of using campaign funds for a cover-up.

Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner has put on quite a show lately.

The soap operas aren't confined to Democrats. Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently confessed to cheating for decades and had a child he hid from the public for years.

Not that long ago, Newt Gingrich was cheating on one of his ex-wives while haranguing Bill Clinton over Monica Lewinsky.

A few other names come to mind: Al Gore, Mark Foley, Jesse Jackson Sr., Jesse Jackson Jr., and Mark Sanford.

Some people argue that these people's private lives should not be of concern to the public.

A counter-argument is that people who lie about their private lives are also likely to lie about official business as well. Could they also lie about weapons of mass destruction, or global warming, or the necessity of a trillion-dollar bailout?

So what's my point? That Libertarians are more honest than Republicans and Democrats?

Actually, no. My point is, human beings are fallible, and many of us are dishonest and easily corrupted.

That's one of the reasons why government should have as little power as possible. When human beings have the power to control others' lives, our natural fallibility makes us very dangerous.

What's worse, power tends to corrupt us and make us even more dishonest, conniving, and cruel.

We Libertarians understand that humans are fundamentally imperfect, and we will always be imperfect.

Libertarians aren't simply looking for honest politicians. We are looking for politicians who understand this problem, and who will stand on principle to take power away from government, and return it to the individual.

Sincerely,

Wes Benedict

Executive Director

Libertarian National Committee

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

Regarding the Congressman’s Twitter Scandle

By Zach Foster

Uproar continues to ensue as leftists and rightists point fingers and draw conspiracy theories regarding the lewd photo sent from Congressman Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) twitter account.  What the political party puppets have to say is irrelevant.  The only way to come to a logical conclusion is to look at all the facts with an open mind.

FACT:  A lewd picture was sent to someone via the Congressman’s twitter account

FACT:  The Congressman adamantly denies ever sending any lewd pictures via twitter.  He speculates that he might have been hacked.

FACT:  The Congressman has notified his attorney and hired internet techs to “get to the bottom” of this, and is refusing to comment any further

FACT:  Hacking is a felony, yet the Congressman has yet to notify police in order for an investigation to be carried out.  He adamantly denies sending lewd pictures on twitter, but he will neither confirm nor deny questions as to whether there are any lewd pictures of him on his computer

Now it is time to speculate and try to form a conclusion based on what is known.  Given that many politicians, beyond their base of opposition party antagonists, have a few individuals that feel a person mission or quest to destroy them, it is very likely that the Congressman’s twitter account was hacked, and possibly his computer and files as well.  It is reasonable to believe that he did not send that lewd photo, and is not guilty of that accusation.

However, two details are hovering heavily over his head.  One is that he has called his lawyer for legal advice and hired a web team to try to solve the alleged hack, but has not called the police even though he is allegedly the victim of an obvious felony.  The other is that he will neither confirm nor deny the question of him having lewd pictures of himself on his computer.

Silence in the face of a direct question, especially one that will either vindicate or condemn a reputation in question, almost always leads to incrimination.  Though he has neither confirmed nor denied it, his silence leads the public to believe that he does have lewd pictures of himself on his computer, and possibly of other people as well.  These are the stepping stone to yet another sex scandal on Capitol Hill.  Whether it will simply be a matter of the Congressman having porn on his computer (which isn’t a big deal in the long run), or whether the Congressman has been exchanging his own lewd pictures for those of others and using the internet to meet people for anonymous sex, the public has yet to find out.

The reasons so much energy is being devoted to scrutinizing someone’s private life (beyond partisan bickering) are that Congressman Weiner is a public figure, his past is rife with financial scandals, as well as the conclusion of a sex scandal would be highly morally incriminating given that he is married.  This won’t be the first or the last time married members of Congress are caught screwing around.

The facts have been analyzed, conclusions have been drawn, and this author will write no more on the matter.