The drug war. We often here about how this or that Republican politician is a “libertarian” or “libertarian-leaning” or a “friend of liberty.” In the vast majority of the cases (if not all of them) said Republican politician supports the war on drugs. Oh, some of them may say that the states should decide if marijuana should be legal, but they themselves favor its prohibition and, of course, all stronger drugs as well. The drug war is a great litmus test for Republicans who want to get libertarian votes on election day. I propose that any Republican politician who is not in favor of ending the drug war is not a libertarian, libertarian-leaning, or a friend of liberty. He is an enemy of these things and not worthy of libertarian votes no matter how “good” he appears to be on other issues.

The Best of Laurence M. Vance