Trump being booed at Libertarian Party convention is what Patriotism sounds likeHope this wakes some up!
Donald Trump's rallies are like emotional support meetings for him. His adoring fans—some who travel hundreds of miles to attend repeated rallies-are only too eager to laugh at his stale jokes and cheer his tired lines. That's why Trump being "loudly and consistently booed" –as well as heckled--throughout his speech Saturday at the Libertarian Party's national convention in Washington, D.C. had to be so jarring for him. Trump had lobbied for an invite to the event hoping to attract some of the attendees to support him. But instead, Trump was interrupted numerous times with passionate booing and angry hecklers yelling everything from "Lock him up" to "F**k you!" As the NY Times reported, "Trump appeared irked by the chaotic atmosphere," causing him to rush through his speech. And while Trump did attract some cheers when he nakedly pandered to the crowd, such as promising to appoint a Libertarian to his cabinet if he wins, the headlines across the nation told the story of Trump getting repeatedly booed and jeered unlike anything we've ever seen before in this campaign. Just a few include The Washington Post's front page article, "Trump loudly heckled at Libertarian National Convention," NBC News's "Trump booed and jeered at Libertarian National Convention" and Reuters' "Trump booed and heckled by raucous crowd at Libertarian convention." In fact, things got so rough for Trump that after he received a large salvo of boos when he urged the attendees to make him their 2024 presidential nominee—like a comedian bombing who lashes out at the audience--he mocked the Libertarian party saying either nominate him or, "Keep getting your three percent every four years." (It could have been worse for Trump if the Secret Service didn't confiscate "noisy" rubber chickens --provided to attendees by a PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.--that apparently squawked when squeezed. Of course, this raises the question why was the taxpayer funded Secret Service being used to silence people who wanted to show their disapproval for Trump's political speech by squeezing a rubber chicken?!) To put it bluntly, the loud booing of Trump is what patriotism sounds like. Those people were warning Americans about who Trump is and the danger he poses to our Republic. There were various reasons cited by those attending the Libertarian Party convention for why they adamantly opposed Trump, such as his running up huge federal deficits when he was in office. But what jumped out was that so many people cited Trump's threat to our democracy. One delegate to the Convention told the NY Times about why she opposed Trump, saying, "He's going to make himself sound Libertarian," adding, "But he's the ultimate authoritarian." Other attendees yelled during Trump's speech, "Donald Trump is a threat to democracy!" While another person held up a sign that read, "No wannabe dictators!" (The person holding up the sign below was dragged away by security.)
And days before the speech, Peter Goettler, president and chief executive of the libertarian Cato Institute, penned an op-ed for The Washington Post about why so many libertarians opposed Trump. Goettler noted that libertarian's core believes include "individual freedom, equality under the law, pluralism, toleration, free speech, freedom of religion, government by consent of the governed, the rule of law" and "limited constitutional government." He noted Trump does not adhere to those views. Goettler went on to list a litany of issues that that Trump embraced as President that are an anathema to libertarians, such as his "increasing the national debt by $8.4 trillion." But then he turned to threat Trump poses to our freedoms, noting that Trump has vowed if he wins in 2024 "to crack down on political enemies," meaning expanding government power to silence critics and opponents. Goettler then powerfully explained that while both Democratic and Republican presidents were not "above using extralegal means to accomplish policy objectives," Trump was more dangerous with "the supreme example being the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021, a tragic event that celebrated a total disregard for the peaceful transfer of power and constitutional order." He added, "Libertarians know that the Constitution and the rule of law are essential elements in keeping government power constrained." You don't need to be a member of the Libertarian Party to agree that if Trump was successful in his efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election, our democratic Republic as we know it would have ended. Elections would no longer matter if Trump or any candidate could—without credible evidence and after losing all judicial appeals—declare that he or she could remain in office simply by alleging there was widespread fraud. That is exactly what Trump attempted to do after the 2020 election—which is why he has been charged with numerous felonies in both federal court and in Fulton County, Georgia. In December, former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney—a fierce Trump critic—made a comment that has stayed with me since. Speaking of the threat posed a by a second Trump term, she warned, "One of the things that we see happening today is a sort of a sleepwalking into dictatorship in the United States." I hope Americans across the nation read about what took place Saturday night at the Libertarian convention. Maybe, just maybe, the loud jeers and boos by those patriotic Americans directed against Trump will wake people up to the threat Trump poses to our Republic. |
― The Lincoln Project
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