If you like spectacular performances followed by tearful apologies, the Olympics are for you.

Historically I have not been a big fan of the Summer Olympics — the one with synchronized swimming, badminton and archery.

The Olympic Games combine two things that I never particularly liked: Phys Ed class and foreigners; however, I do like a good whodunit crime story, so the 12-time Olympic swimming medalist Ryan Lochte story was captivating.

In short, Lochte and three swim teammates took drunk after their medal-winning performance, tore a poster off a gas station bathroom wall, got a gun pointed at them and, depending on how you view it, either were robbed, shaken down or made to pay $400 by a guy who purportedly worked for the gas station — the same guy who pointed the gun at them.

Not exactly due process, but swift justice.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama was watching the Olympics from vacation — he decided not to watch Louisiana’s rowing events in person.

The real problem came for the swimmers, as it always does, when they gave differing versions of the story.

These were the regular manly-men swimmers, aggrandizing a story to make themselves look good.

On the bright side, Lochte gave so many self-serving versions of the story that he was offered a job as Clinton press spokesman. He just swam in the foul rancid waters of Rio, so he should be prepared to be around Clinton staffers.

●●●

The Olympics’ opening ceremonies are a parade of countries in tacky warm-up suits. Iran and Russia’s outfits were the most atrociously ugly; again proving the price a country pays for having no gays.

As expected, Michael Phelps was the American hero in these games. He represented us Americans well by eating a pound of pasta after one win.

Polls indicate that other countries hate America most because of such gluttony (Ryan Seacrest and Bob Costas came in second and third on the list), so Phelps eating a pound of pasta really didn’t help — and it does nothing to dispel those pot smoking rumors either.

Then there was the troubling men’s synchronized diving, which is like spooning in the air. Experts say to pay attention to who wins this, because it’s the best indicator of who will win the most Tony Awards in the spring.

I did like the women’s beach volleyball. I can’t put my finger on it, but I found that compelling.

Men’s water polo, somehow, does not have the same appeal; I’d suggest putting a shark in the pool, and then you’d maybe have something.

The Olympics is a test of which country had the best pharmacists and geneticists. This year they got the testing right, and caught Russia, which depleted its nation’s strategic reserve of clean urine.

They even had tests for testosterone levels to make sure some of the women were not actually men.

Kids don’t remember, but a man who surgically became a woman, Dr. Renee Richards, was a pioneer in this area.

Her tennis career was cut short when she could not pass the Olympic chromosome test.

She was a pioneering hero.

Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HART: U.S. Olympians swim upstream

CRESTVIEW — Here are the latest top comments that our readers shared on www.crestviewbulletin.com and our Facebook page.

CITATIONS MAY BE DETERRENTS

I realize there are many violations among other problems you deal with (as a police officer or sheriff’s deputy), but perhaps one or two 12-hour shifts would help this issue and maybe less accidents would occur.

Another major problem in Crestview is that drivers do not stop, much less pull over, for ambulance drivers, which infuriates me.

If your loved one were in that emergency vehicle, you'd want traffic to clear away.

JANE EVANCHO RUMES

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LAWMEN SHOULD SET AN EXAMPLE

I don't expect law enforcement to write a citation every time someone breaks the law when it is small things, but I do expect law enforcement to set an example.

I've almost had accidents because of the way some law enforcement officers drive.

We all need to do our part to be better drivers as we are given a license to drive a vehicle that could potentially hurt or kill someone.

JEREMY HENRY

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MORE DRIVER EDUCATION NEEDED

Crestview drivers are the worst. No one likes to drive 45 mph in 45 mph zones. Everyone, left or right lane, drives 30-35 mph. There needs to be a mass mailer of driving basics. Good grief.

SARAH MADDEN KINCAID

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LAW ENFORCEMENT COULD USE THE REVENUE

Out of the five reasons they list to use your turn signal, two of those use the phrase "required by law.”

So if you don't do what's "required by law" shouldn't you be punished?

Also, the use of headlights is "required by law,” but drive through this town on a rainy day and you'll find many drivers breaking this law as well.

Maybe if citations were given to these "annoying" offenses the department would create extra revenue to repair/update equipment, or maybe even utilize the money to improve community relations.

MATT DOUGLAS

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HUBBUB: Readers' thoughts on Crestview traffic citations, drivers

Last Sunday I made light of how some fast food chains are blaming poor earnings on the 2016 presidential race, and the sense of impending doom Americans feel because of it.

After church, I took my family to our local Wendy’s for lunch because I wanted to do my part to help restore that part of the local economy.

As I prepared to teach a fine group of young men about the book of Job this week at church, I couldn’t help thinking about how many of these same lessons apply to all of us when we face hard times.

I know Americans are truly worried about our next few years.

Republicans are not excited that a woman whom they have had problems with for 25 years seems destined for the White House, according to recent polls. Clinton was on the naughty list for most GOP voters long before emails disappeared, national secrets were accidentally shared, and embassies were overrun in Libya.

Democrats are scared to death of what a Donald Trump comeback would mean. Building walls, banning immigrants due to religion, and fear of accidentally starting World War III by being “sarcastic” during a press conference are all equally logical reasons to be concerned.

Do you remember the fear people on the right side of the political spectrum had when Barack Obama was first elected in 2008? Our society was going to crash down around us. The economy will never come back from this recession. They thought the country was in big trouble.

Yet, here we are eight years later. Like most eight-year periods, regardless of who the president has been, there have been ups and downs. Unemployment is low, the stock market is high — life goes on.

It turns out that who the president is doesn’t really affect most of our lives that much on a daily basis.

I’m not saying it is unimportant, but in my adult life, I have lived through Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

There have been good times and bad, but they haven’t killed me yet.

One thing that reading the Book of Job will do for you is restore perspective. When you think you are having bad times, Job shows what bad times really are.

Have Chaldeans stolen all 6,000 of your camels?

Did a lightning storm kill your sheep herd and employees?

Have all of your children been killed in a violent windstorm?

Have horrible chronic diseases made every minute of your existence miserable?

Don’t even get me started about how his wife and friends treated him through all of this.

Even in times I would call bad, nothing that bad happened to me. Reading about Job makes your bad days seem good.

Job responded in such a good way despite all of these horrible things happening to him. He was a better man than I am.

One thing that stands out in the book is that Job never really worries about who the king is. The king wasn’t causing his problems, and the king wasn’t going to be able to help him solve them.

It matters who becomes president, and every person should vote his or her conscience in November. However, even if the other side wins, you don’t have to panic or become depressed.

Carter won, then Reagan, then the first Bush, then the first Clinton, then the second Bush, then Obama — all the while the world kept turning, and truly important things in your life mattered a lot more than anything these men did.

I guess my point is that as long as you are okay, everything will be okay.

But don’t just take my word for it. In my study about bad things happening that are outside of our control, I found a quote from St. Augustine. He had some thoughts on what our perspective should be regardless of what circumstances are currently having the biggest effect on our lives.

“Bad times, hard times — this is what people keep saying,” Augustine said. “But let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.”

Therefore, no matter what happens over the next few months and who wins the right to sign the nation’s checks, live well and your times will be better for it.

Contact Kent Bush, publisher of the Shawnee (Oklahoma) News-Star, at kent.bush@news-star.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BUSH: A little perspective for unsettled times

I love the Olympics: the excitement of competition, the cheering crowd — the winning. Every four years I immerse myself into a world in which young people from all over the globe compete at very high levels in their sport.

Some of these athletes go on to win gold, silver or bronze medals; others don't win, but all who participate will have the lifelong remembrance of having competed in the Olympics. What an achievement!

Watching these athletes compete is inspiring. They are competing for themselves, their team, and also for us, the citizens of the USA. There is a feeling of patriotic pride when they win and our flag is raised, and "The Star Spangled Banner" is played; my heart bursts with joy.

It is invigorating to watch the sheer determination of athletes like Michael Phelps, who has a strong desire to win his swimming competitions. Watching Katie Ledecky swim has been exciting; she is so fast.

Our gymnastics team this year was unbeatable. Their artistry and athleticism were breathtaking. What is refreshing is how many of our athletes have given glory to God for their success.

One of the things I admire about all the athletes participating in the Olympics is their dedication and hard work. The amount of time and effort they put into their sport is enormous.

I hope that our Olympic athletes will inspire confidence, determination and self-discipline, beginning with the knowledge that there are costs, personal as well as financial, to prepare to compete in a world event. There are years of training required, getting up at 4 a.m. to practice, continuing to make good grades, and still more training in order to qualify. Their parents deserve respect for the sacrifices they have made for their child to train to an Olympic level of skill.

The Olympics teach a difficult life lesson in that, no matter how hard athletes train and work toward a goal, they may or may not get the gold medal, but good sportsmanship is still expected.

This is a life lesson we all need to learn: we are not always going to excel at everything we attempt.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if we had an Olympic athlete from Crestview?

Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: Athleticism, the Olympics and life lessons

Over the past couple of weeks, you may have heard all you ever wanted to know about the Olympics.

But in case you missed something, here are 10 things you always wanted to know about the Olympics but were afraid to ask.

1. The first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. as a religious festival. They were banned in 393 A.D. for being too “pagan”.

2. The Olympics were revived in 1896. Would you believe that the Greeks won the most medals that year?

3. The five interlocking rings that symbolize the Olympics represent the five continents of the world. I’ll bet they were arguing over whether or not Australia is a continent even then.

4. So far, Canada is the only country that did not win a gold medal while hosting the Olympics.

5. Perhaps the most unusual event in the history of the Olympics was simply called “Shin Kicking.” I won’t describe it to you. You can imagine for yourself. It ran for a few years before it was phased out.

6. Among the discontinued sports is Dueling Pistols. Presumably the silver medal was awarded posthumously.

7. Women’s boxing is a new sport this year. Would you believe that it was a demonstration sport as early as 1904?

8. The word “gymnastics” comes from the word “gymnos” meaning nude. All competitors at the ancient Olympic Games took part in the nude – no clothes. Noting that London seems to be a bastion of “streaking” the London Organizing Committee decreed that anyone planning to duplicate the ancient tradition of running in the buff this year would be fined up to $20,000.

9. Pierre de Coubertin of France is given credit for reviving the games in 1896. He was a stickler for authenticity. When he circulated the rules of the early games, the British team was astounded that they were to compete in the nude. Never the less, orders were orders. When they took the field for their first demonstration before the public, they created quiet a sensation in stogy old London. Yes, saner heads prevailed and the first Olympic uniforms were created.

10. In case you were wondering, women were not invited to watch the ancient games. In fact, if a woman was caught peeking she was sentenced to death.

Perhaps there is no spectacle in modern sport to compete with the summer Olympics held every four years.

The theme of each Olympics is the same: peace. It’s something we have too little of in this troubled world of ours.

Dr. Mark L. Hopkins writes for More Content Now and Scripps Newspapers. Contact him at presnet@presnet.net.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HOPKINS: Quick quips on the Olympics

The Trump campaign is exploiting crime and fear.

Trump’s campaign is not the first presidential campaign to do so, but to understand what’s different about the Trump campaign requires understanding the history of crime and politics.

In 1964, Barry Goldwater, the GOP nominee for president, introduced campaign operatives to the concept of crime as a divisive, hot-button issue.

At the time, violent crime rates were beginning to rise. When Richard Nixon was making his second bid for president in 1968, the Civil Rights Act had passed, riots had erupted in cities across the country after the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., and murder rates had increased 50 percent since 1950.

Race relations were tenuous, at best, and Nixon knew it. Crime control became a surrogate for race control.

The conservative mantra of “tough on crime” worked for Ronald Reagan, and helped push another Republican to victory. In 1988, when crime rates were soaring, George H.W. Bush clobbered Michael Dukakis with Willie Horton.

During Bill Clinton’s tenure, violent crime was at its peak and easily exploited. During Clinton’s presidency, Loic Wacquant, as quoted by Michelle Alexander in “The New Jim Crow,” pointed out that “(Clinton) slashed funding for public housing 61 percent and boosted corrections 171 percent, ‘effectively making the construction of prisons the nation’s main housing program for the urban poor.’”

Today, according to The National Review, the national violent crime rate is about half of what it was at its height in 1991. Violent crime has fallen by 51 percent since 1991, and property crime by 43 percent.

In 2013, the violent crime rate was the lowest since 1970. Even though violent crime rates are at near record lows, Donald Trump and his surrogates are still exploiting crime and fear.

Nobody has done it better than former Speaker and short-lister for vice-president, Newt Gingrich. During a July 22 interview with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota — highlighted in a recent segment of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” — Gingrich had this amazing exchange:

GINGRICH: The average American, I will bet you this morning, does not think crime is down, does not think they are safer.

CAMEROTA: But we are safer, and it is down.

GINGRICH: No, that’s your view.

CAMEROTA: It’s a fact … but hold on, Mr. Speaker, because you’re saying liberals use these numbers, they use this sort of magic math. This is the FBI statistics. They’re not a liberal organization.

GINGRICH: No, but what I said is equally true. People feel it.

CAMEROTA: They feel it, yes, but the facts don’t support it.

GINGRICH: As a political candidate, I’ll go with how people feel…

Apparently, for the Trump campaign, facts don’t matter, and that is the concern.

Regardless of what one might think about Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Clinton, their rhetoric was grounded in truth to some extent; crime rates were rising and some action was justified.

Now some will quarrel, justifiably, that Nixon’s efforts were more fixated on race than crime and that crime was code for African-American. However, crime was genuinely on the rise in 1968.

Today, it is not about the facts. The Trump campaign is not only exploiting fear; they are creating it. The campaign is pledging to protect all Americans from what are essentially the safest streets in more than 45 years.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” In today’s political environment, feeling afraid is more important than actually having something to fear.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C.

You can reach him at mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter, at MatthewTMangino.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MANGINO: Feeling afraid trumps something to fear

Every time I hear a politician claiming their problems are due to the liberal, dishonest or sensationalistic media, it sounds like “Scooby Doo” villains bemoaning the fact that they didn’t get away with their silly scheme because of “those meddling kids.”

There are more liberals in the media than in other parts of your life because most media jobs require college degrees.

Even though only about a third of the American populace identifies as liberal or mostly liberal, the number for college graduates increases that figure to 44 percent. If you include people with post-graduate degrees, the number of liberals increases another 10 percent.

However, just because a larger percentage of journalists are liberal minded, that doesn’t make them unfair. And when these liberals are seen as being unfair because they use quotes and video clips of actual things candidates or elected officials do and say, it is hard to feel too bad for these public figures.

That is especially true for Donald Trump. He vanquished 16 Republican challengers primarily because every crazy thing he said was received by the media like Moses coming down the mountain with stone tablets.

Did Trump say he was going to build a huge wall across the border of Mexico?

Did he mock a reporter’s disability?

Did Trump say he was going to ban Muslims and end Muslim immigration?

Did Trump say how much he admires Vladimir Putin and say he is a better leader than Barack Obama?

Did Trump refuse to endorse Paul Ryan and John McCain for almost a week?

All of these things, and skirmishes with the Khan family, misstatements on foreign affairs and several other obvious gaffes in the post-convention period have been reported and tweeted repeatedly.

The same media that helped him flay his opponents is now turning the knife on Trump. Jeb Bush was repeatedly bashed as low energy by Trump during free media appearances. It vanquished Bush. Cruz faced the same attacks. Remember “Lyin Ted”? Trump did that to him during appearances on dishonest media outlets.

In his big economic policy speech in Detroit Monday, he showed the hypocrisy causing his house of cards to fall. Trump quoted work from the Washington Post.

You remember the Washington Post — one of the newspapers the candidate banned from his events for being dishonest, but you can fully rely on their analysis during this speech.

Trump said he was going to do away with executive orders if he is elected. He said that just after saying he was going to use an executive order to stop new regulations.

You won’t convince me that “the media” is biased against Trump. The media isn’t an amorphous blob that shares talking points each morning. FOX News is the media. The Wall Street Journal is the media. TMZ is the media. Thousands of people make up the Fourth Estate, and only about half of them would even identify as liberal.

The problem is that people in the media tend to have a pretty high standard for right and wrong, and when someone says something that is offensive or incorrect, they are more likely to point it out.

This doesn’t apply to Sean Hannity, but most other media members will. Trump is far from the first person to put his troubles off on the media being against him. Trump is facing double-digit deficits in polls three months before an election. Others have had a lot more on the line.

Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned 43 years ago this week after the press turned the heat up on him and his role in the Vietnam War. Agnew swore he would never resign, and blamed his issues on the media who he said were “out to get him.”

They got him.

He resigned a few months later.

His former boss, President Richard Nixon, met a similar fate thanks to those “meddling kids,” Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Journalists don’t get a scoop if there is nothing in it. These media reports have to be true if the media outlets are going to remain credible. That is the difference between politicians and reporters.

If a reporter is wrong, they have to correct it.

Contact Kent Bush, publisher of the Shawnee (Oklahoma) News-Star, at kent.bush@news-star.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BUSH: Politicians and the media — 'those meddling kids'

Donald Trump, who can easily get distracted by picking Twitter fights with Rosie O’Donnell, got back on course Monday and gave a speech on his economic plan before the Detroit Economic Club.

After all that current economics has done to Detroit, he might want to continue his ''irony"' theme by giving his next speech on protecting the environment at the Flint Water Company.

Trump’s speech can be summed up this way: more for America, less for China and Mexico. He says, “We are going to be great again, the wall is going to be great, the best, the best; a beautiful wall and it's going to be fantastic. And did I mention great?”

It’s the type of detail economists can really sink their teeth into.

He drew contrasts between his economic vision and Hillary’s. He wants to make America great. She wants to make America Greece.

Trump’s instincts on the economy are mostly right. He wants to reduce regulations and cut taxes that drive companies overseas. Obama is the only president to fail to preside over even one year of 3 percent economic growth.

In short, when you concentrate money and power in the inefficient DC bureaucracy, wages and businesses cannot grow — thus our slow-growth "recovery."

There is plenty to be cut in government. Just in the fatty folds of the hundreds of agencies in Washington, there is probably 20 percent worth of cost reductions to be made.

Remember when the government shut down? Did anyone miss anything it did?

Hillary has the historic chance to ascend to the highest position of power for a person in a dress in Washington, but I’m not sure what her plan for the economy is. Maybe we can follow her lead and become a government official married to an ex-president.

We can then go on the lecture circuit, visiting companies we regulate and countries the U.S. government gives money to, and shake them down for $500,000 speeches.

Democrats run an envy-based economy. They rail against business owners who are “billionaires and millionaires” who pay taxes and hire workers. They want us to be more like Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela, countries which have no such billionaires who are not in government.

In fact, everyone in those countries checks the Democrat utopian economic goal of everyone making the same amount of money: $20 a week. That’s “fairness.”

In truth, Democrats are terrible with the economy. Instead of soldiers, Obama needs to send his economic advisers to destroy ISIS with pestering regulations and taxes. Democrat policies decimated Detroit; maybe we should try them on our enemies.

He does best for himself when he divides us into various aggrieved classes. The Democrats' plan for America’s economy would work great if only they could make resentment, envy and being offended pay more.

Obama and the Democrats' economic plan, which Hillary has to espouse, doubled the nation’s debt to $20 trillion in eight years. What Hillary promised in her DNC speech — including free stuff for folks if they will vote for her — will add another $1 trillion to our deficit. Dems talk about their concern for our kids while strapping them with trillions in debt. 

Under the Democrats’ plan, this country has as much chance getting back in the black as Spokane's NAACP ex-leader, Rachel Dolezal.

Hillary says when she is president she will turn the economy over to Bill Clinton. Nothing says you are an iconic feminist leader like turning the checkbook over to your husband the first chance you get.

And the self-sacrificing, "great American" Bill Clinton will fight for us on the economy — as hard as he fought the draft board for himself during Vietnam.

Trump is smart to get back to talking about the economy and moving past the media-hyped gaffes of the last couple of weeks.

A libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, Ron’s a frequent guest on CNN. He can be contacted at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HART: Analyzing Trump-onomics

Featured comments from discussions on www.crestviewbulletin.com and our Facebook page:

Readers shared their thoughts on the death of Crestview’s Bob Lynn, and bars on Main Street. 

TOP COMMENT

LET’S MAKE MAIN STREET THRIVE

Allowing a bar to open downtown does not mean that Main Street will turn into a "beer garden.” It simply means that it will bring more people downtown and allow the area to thrive.

Do the people who "don't want it to become a beer garden" even participate in anything downtown? Prior to Pokemon Go becoming all the rage, Main Street was dead after 5 p.m.!

Look at Palafox in Pensacola. It has numerous restaurants, bars, art galleries and stores, and it is thriving!

Is it too much to ask to be able to provide an area like that here in Crestview?

I'm not asking for strip clubs and casinos; I'm simply asking for a classy bar for people to be able to socialize and listen to music.

I think when people hear the word bar they automatically think drunk fools and bar fights, but that doesn’t have to be the case.

… Let's make Main Street thrive, and bring a new vibe to the area!

LINDSEY SEXTON BLANCO    

BOB LYNN: A GREAT MAN

Mr. Lynn was a mentor to many people and (an) ambassador to the city of Crestview, and didn't ask for a dime.

When I was president of the Crestview Quarterback Club I've seen him donate more than most of the business in town and turn around and make sure we had enough to cover what we needed to get the kids, and would try and donate more.

He had the biggest heart for the kids in the community and the military.

Great man — surely going to miss him around town with that smile and laugh.

WADE HUTTO

SAD TO SEE BOB GO

Our community lost one of the last true homegrown members of Crestview that loved and worked hard to make our little metropolis better!

I'll never forget him, as he was one of my favorite teachers, and how he dressed as Santa Claus every year just for the kids; for being the voice on Friday nights at football games, working on countless projects for the community, and always being a good friend to my family!

My heart is sad to see you go, but I know you’re in a much better place! I love you, Bob, and will miss your smile and your sense of humor!

NIKKI STEPHENS SWEATT

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HUBBUB: Readers' thoughts on Main St. drinking, Bob Lynn's death

This is an odd election year, one where voters fear Hillary Clinton is lying about what she will do, and are afraid Donald Trump is not.

The only third party on the ballot in all 50 states this year will be the Libertarian ticket of former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. Libertarians are polling at about 10 percent; if they can get to 15 percent, they can get into the debates with Hillary and The Donald.

That would be a game changer.

The #NeverTrump-eteers and the #NeverHillary folks now have a legitimate third-party choice: an appealing Libertarian option occupying the middle of the huge gulf between these two flawed candidates' ideologies. You can now #FeelTheJohnson.

In a year when 40 percent of voters say they are independent, and both Republican and Democrat candidates are at historically unfavorable numbers, it might be time to consider Libertarians.

MAKING THE CASE

Why must you choose between a left nut and a right nut, when you can have the Johnson?

Johnson is a proven leader who was called “America’s boldest governor” by The Economist because he actually tried to do something about school choice. He vetoed more than 700 spending and regulatory bills and left New Mexico with a $1 billion budget surplus.

The policies of minimal government, individual responsibility and fiscal responsibility of the Libertarians appealed to me. We have historically been housed uncomfortably within the GOP, but Libertarians have about as much power in the GOP as the Log Cabin Republicans.

With his anti-immigration and protectionist populist leanings, Trump isn’t very Libertarian. Actually, the Libertarian Party should appeal more to disenfranchised Bernie Sanders supporters.

Libertarians have long been pro-gay marriage (they do not care what consenting folks do as long as they don’t try to do it to us), pro-choice, against the wars of choice in Iraq and Afghanistan, against Gitmo, and against the failed federal “War on Drugs,” which means pro-prison reform.

They also did not want to bail out the big banks, another leftist chant.

EXPLAINING LIBERTARIANISM

If you think about it, Libertarians have been correct on pretty much everything, but being right in politics gets you nowhere.

If disaffected Democrats are true to their main ideals, they should vote Libertarian. But Democrats today seldom vote with intellectual honesty. Most are party operatives who are takers, not makers; they want others to pay their way, and a leftist, nanny-state government is their means to do so.

We differ from Democrats in other areas: We like lower taxes, balanced budgets and the Second Amendment. We know that government is not the answer to every problem.

To explain Libertarianism, I always say, “Smoke all the crack you want, but don’t expect us to pay for your rehab or not shoot you if you try to steal our lawnmowers.”

The closest thing Democrats had to authenticity was Bernie Sanders, the “revolutionary” who, like every great revolutionary when defeated, immediately endorsed his opponent and told his followers to be quiet and do what Hillary says.

Democrats destroy their opponents personally; they do not win on workable or better ideas. They ascribe evil to those who disagree, all under the pretense of being "tolerant."

‘FAMILY VALUES’?

The place where Republicans get it wrong is that they espouse minimal government and maximal personal freedoms, except in the areas of your personal life, where they like to legislate what you can do.

Libertarians believe: Be as socially conservative as you want to be, just don’t force it on me. Let’s agree that you do not know what is right for me and I don’t know what is right for you. Freedom to choose is the key.

The GOP’s hypocrisy astounds me. At the “family values” RNC, you had Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and Rudi Giuliani, all of whom I like, but they had about a baker’s dozen of ex-wives among them.

The RNC must be a great place to meet your fourth wife.

Libertarians should appeal to #FeelTheBern liberals who were cheated by the DNC, or to anyone else wronged by Democrats.

Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or tweet@RonaldHart.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HART: Which candidate will Libertarians help – or hurt?