Quoth Brian Holtz: ----- TK) I have never required that a candidate I support agree with me on everything. Rumors to the contrary notwithstanding, Kubby and I are not the same person (TK I didn't claim you were; I'm just trying to understand the limits (if any) of your tolerance for the endorsement of "homophobic bigots" by candidates you actively support. I don't suppose you have any incentive to characterize these limits, but you strike me as generally quite intellectually honest so I figure it can't hurt to ask. -----
It's certainly a subjective thing, but: 1) Kubby made it clear that he was endorsing Paul in spite of, not because of, those areas in which Paul's policy stances are anti-libertarian (specifically mentioning their differences of opinion on, if I recall correctly, both gay rights and immigration). 2) Kubby did not change -- and made it quite clear he had no intention of changing -- his own policy positions to match Paul's in areas where Paul's policy positions are anti-libertarian. 3) Even if I treat Kubby's endorsement of Paul as a debit on his political capital account, he retains his position in my estimation as not only the most worthy, but BY FAR the most worthy, of the declared candidates for the LP's 2008 presidential nomination. 4) I'm stubborn. I determined early in this cycle that I wouldn't switch horses in midstream. As of this time, the options I've left available to myself are a) to continue support the candidate I've declared my support for, or b) to drop out of LP politics for the remainder of the cycle, at least at the presidential level. Kubby's endorsement of Paul, whether I approve of it or not, is insufficient to move me from (a) to (b). Regards, Tom Knapp
