Originally published at: GOP witness at Biden impeachment inquiry advocated on behalf of a polygamist who raped a 13-year-old, said "I'm pretty libertarian." | Boing Boing
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He is pretty Libertarian in the capital-L American Ayncap sense of the term. They’re ultimately neo-feudalists who’d be perfectly comfortable with voluntary slavery and harems and chattels so long as the “right people” (i.e. those like themselves) benefit.
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The bottom of the barrel live on CSPAN.
Brought to you by the gQp.
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Those are just free-market solutions to problems, man.
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What’s funny is that when you start questioning so-called libertarians about their beliefs, everything crumbles and you realize how un-serious they really are.
So you think airline safety should be based on the ones that have the fewest planes dropping out of the sky?
Should we judge car manufacturers on who doesn’t construct gas tanks out of matchsticks?
Will homes and commercial building construction outfits be solely known for the guys that don’t put up structures that crumble at the first strong wind or earthquake.
MOST of the time, they will be like, “no, that’s not how I think”, which means that they are NOT libertarians, they just think that taxation is theft and we should all pay a toll to leave our house.
Now, there are others who are perfectly fine with all the above, which means they are insane.
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Sounds like what he was defending was the idea of polygamy (which is reasonable enough), but the specific group he defended included child-rapists. The question is how much he was defending the group itself, and how much he was taking issue with the criminalization of polyamory. Feels like this is a significant distinction.
Republicans have been taking all sorts of things out of context to disingenuously claim various people are supporting pedophilia, but I’m not entirely sure turnabout is fair play in this context, even if it is rather pleasing to see them being given a dose of their own medicine…
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I’ve always said: Livertarians are just Republicans who want to smoke weed and sleep with underaged girls.
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Polyamory is on the fascist hit list as well. The polygamist in question is also a child rapist. Consenting adults and all, but the “adult” part of that was lacking. And that sect of Mormonism seems to have no comprehension of “age of consent” ( at least for girls, of course.)
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In his 2006 op-ed he used the term “plural marriage”, which AFAIK is specific to Mormonism.
The fact is that many consenting adults believe in plural marriage as an article of faith, and do not marry underage children.
The LDS church does not allow plural marriage, while the fundamentalist Mormon groups that do practise it have a well-earned reputation for harbouring (and being led by) paedophiles.
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I had the same thought. This argument lumps polygamy with the same abomination as child-rape. Yes, there are certain polygamist sects where minors are subjected to abhorrent abuse, but there are many people who practice ethical polyamory. Throw this guy under the bus for defending a rapist, period!
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In his case, the state first used the common law to classify Green and four women as constructively married — even though they never sought a license. Green was then convicted of polygamy.
he is a pedophile and was properly prosecuted for a child sex crime — just as a person in a monogamous marriage would be prosecuted.
If Mr. Turley’s argument was truly only against the anti-polygamy laws, he should have picked an example where the person being hurt by the law wasn’t a monster.
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Turley is a moron so it doesn’t surprise me the MAGAts would invite him into this sham impeachment spectacle. Every Saturday he vomits out another inane op-ed on The Hill and I can immediately recognize it as the weekly ‘Turley Turd’.
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but was he? didnt read his op-eds, but all I see is this one sentence “he shouldnt be charged with polygamy”. and in my mind, the sentence goes actually on; “…he should be charged with pedophilia and rape.” as shuck said:
The question is how much he was defending the group itself, and how much he was taking issue with the criminalization of polyamory. Feels like this is a significant distinction
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If, as a libertarian attorney, you wanted to pick a test case to argue that laws against polygamy are unconstitutional, I can’t think of a single good reason to pick a case that involves “marriage” to children under the age of consent. I have zero sympathy for Turley here. He’s an idiot, and his legal arguments are often suspect. In general, I would agree that polygamy shouldn’t be criminalized, but you can’t separate the polygamy from the pedophilia with these religious sects. The two often go hand in hand and are both part of their systemic subjugation of women.
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This is the part that never seems to get enough attention. Keep them helpless, pregnant and totally dependent. To do so, you have to start before they can figure things out for themselves. Preferably before puberty.
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got it.
edit/
(goddamit)
(I couldnt help it. I just couldnt. fucking best movie ever.)
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Polyamory is not polygamy and vice-versa. The former needs to be protected while the latter is just a way for powerful men to accumulate a harem.
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The must frustrating thing about too many “Libertarians” is their inability to see past their own noses.
They are so focused on personal freedoms, they never start to think if something might be restricting other peoples’ personal freedoms.
That and too many of them are “Don’t tread on me” for the government, and “Tread harder, daddy” for businesses.
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Quite honestly, I think a fair number of them are just fascists pretending to hold what they think is a more acceptable political position.
Either way, they’re assholes.
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For every right or privilege, there is an obligation or responsibility. We don’t get one without the other. These guys are like toddlers who want the candy without eating their dinner. And about as reasonable.
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