I'm curious why libertarians around here and Tea Party followers elsewhere do not make more noise over this issue. It's an honest question; my hypothesis: It's because the intrusion is from the right and not from the left.
Although I don't typically use the word "libertarian" to describe myself, I do run in libertarian circles and I think this is arguably the single biggest issue of concern (other candidates include foreign policy and the prison system).
Go to Liberty Forum or Porcupine Festival and you'll see not just one but multiple studied experts discussing both the particulars of these policies and also strategies for achieving change.
Rand Paul (whom isn't nearly radical enough for my palate but carries the "Tea Party" label arguably more than anyone else) is by far the loudest member of either house of congress on this issue.
As far as I know, Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party candidate in 2012 and former New Mexico Governor) was the only viable candidate for President (defined here as being on the ballot in enough states to have a mathematical possibility of victory) who talked about this issue in his stump speech.
I'm not sure what more you want?
As an aside: Gary Johnson is a truly wonderful human being and an incredible elite athlete. I've been fortunate to get to hang out with him on about half a dozen occasions and, dare I say, become a personal friend, albeit not a close one (yet :-)). He's a really warm person who radiates amazingly positive energy (something you don't necessarily expect from a Libertarian) and is full of really intense entrepreneurial drive. He's planning a run again for 2016; be sure to at least give his material a chance.
We do. When we make noise over this and other issues, people either accuse us of tinfoil hattery, or they tell us we should move to Somalia if we don't want to surrender ever-increasing amounts of sovereignty over our lives to the state. The conversation usually goes downhill from there.
That is because people tend to make noise only when "one of our own" has been unjustly treated. I am left of centre politically, and this is not limited to the right or left but everyone. I am pretty sure Aaron Swartz was not the first reasonably well-known person forced to take his own life, but no one cares unless they feel threatened. For example, there is so much "outrage" here based on discussions about Silk Road, but no one discussed the countless families destroyed everyday due to the war on drugs.
Go to Liberty Forum or Porcupine Festival and you'll see not just one but multiple studied experts discussing both the particulars of these policies and also strategies for achieving change.
Rand Paul (whom isn't nearly radical enough for my palate but carries the "Tea Party" label arguably more than anyone else) is by far the loudest member of either house of congress on this issue.
As far as I know, Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party candidate in 2012 and former New Mexico Governor) was the only viable candidate for President (defined here as being on the ballot in enough states to have a mathematical possibility of victory) who talked about this issue in his stump speech.
I'm not sure what more you want?
As an aside: Gary Johnson is a truly wonderful human being and an incredible elite athlete. I've been fortunate to get to hang out with him on about half a dozen occasions and, dare I say, become a personal friend, albeit not a close one (yet :-)). He's a really warm person who radiates amazingly positive energy (something you don't necessarily expect from a Libertarian) and is full of really intense entrepreneurial drive. He's planning a run again for 2016; be sure to at least give his material a chance.