A Conversation With 2020 LIbertarian VP Nominee Spike Cohen

The Libertarian Party of Florida is holding its annual convention in Daytona Beach this weekend. Most of the events are happening at the Marriott Bonvoy hotel, The Daytona.

For longstanding members of the party, it is an opportunity to catch up with friends.

For those who have heard the word Libertarian but aren't quite sure the policies behind it, it's an opportunity to get informed. Even if you walk away thinking, I don't agree at all with what those guys and gals are saying, at least you heard it from the source.

"I'm excited to be here," Spike Cohen commented regarding his attendance at the Libertarian Party of Florida annual convention.

Spiced throughout the three-day event is the 2020 vice presidential nominee of the party, Spike Cohen.  

Since the 2020 campaign, Mr. Cohen has founded You Are the Power, a not-for-profit that pushes back on government and others when they abuse their authority, he has become deeply religious, and continues to support libertarian causes.

Mr. Cohen is making a stop at the Libertarian Party of Florida's convention before heading to Freedom Fest in California. But before any of that happens, he sat down with yours truly at The Daytona to discuss libertarianism.

"I can tell you overall why I'm here," Mr. Cohen said as we kibbitzed in the hotel lobby. "It is necessary for there to be a political party whose principle is based on the underlying principles of libertarianism."

He said the name of such a principal comes in many forms. "I call it the principle of human respect," Mr. Cohen continued. "Respecting each other as individual human beings, you know. But you could also call it the non-Aggression Principle. You could call it, non-interventionism when it comes to foreign policy, fiscal restraint, when it comes to fiscal policy, small government, libertarianism, and whatever term you want to use for it, there needs to be a party that's based on those underlying libertarian principles, even if It never actually becomes the party that wins. It needs to exist. And if it's going to exist, it needs to try to be the party that wins."

Well, then, what is holding the party back? "We often get caught up in one of two things. We have these sort of two equally wrong, but in different ways, forces that happen, or impulses that happen at these conventions."

One is a group that believes in watering down the message to get more votes. "The problem with that is the only way you can do that is by watering down yourself so much that you're no different or possibly worse than what you replace."

The other group camps out in a "hyper purity spiral," Mr. Cohen explained. This group gatekeeps, an act that results in stopping interested folk from joining the party.

He also noted that some within the party can be "downright brutal in our messaging, especially on social media, (with) people that disagree with us," even on small matters.

What's the solution to move forward? "I think maybe we can find a happy medium where we try to be relatable to people and seem like someone that you'd actually want to invite to dinner. But also be bold and stick to our principles and present them in a way that actually connects with everyday people."

His message to the party this weekend is  to "not to fight each other more than you absolutely have to, because you guys agree way more than you disagree."

I proposed that, as any third party will, Libertarians see the ills of both major parties and can lean towards negative messaging. Mr. Cohen did not disagree with the notion, offering "instead of saying no," the party should say, "Here's what we would do instead. And we do do some of that."

He offered the National Libertarian Party working with President Trump to free Ross Ulbricht as an example of that. Though he believes that the party could have gotten more from President Trump in that arrangement. 

It is my contention that we the people get rolled by major media corporations in the United States. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are the culprits I have in mind. They make it seem as if we have to vote for either a Democrat or a Republican; otherwise, it is a wasted vote.

The parties love this because they don't lose. They maintain an elitist status, making money, gaining or maintaining power, even when they lose an election. However, the people have the means to change that by simply not voting for them.

What I hear in the libertarian message is they wouldn't have forced Covid vaccinations on the citizenry because your health is your health, not the government's.

They wouldn't get involved in wars that don't have a direct bearing on our safety, such as the Russo-Ukrainian War.

A political party that leans towards a peaceful nation, one that clears a path for its citizens to make their own choices in life.  Sign me up.

Head over to One Daytona this weekend. Register, speak with Spike Cohen and others. Get the message firsthand. Begin the process of deciding for yourself what party should get your vote. Voting based on your conscience, not the lesser of two evils, is never a wasted vote.

Convention registration is available online or in person from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

I will be attending a few of the events and will update this accordingly.

The Convention Schedule

You Are the Power

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Photo Credit: Libertarian Party of Florida, Wikipedia

See ya soon!

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