Well, sure. But mostly because we've allowed them to be through ignorance of nuanced issues. I feel it's more important to recognize the few that aren't.

By now, you should know what a libertarian is. Nearly every person I talk to about politics, even complete strangers, identify themselves as socially liberal and fiscally conservative. They want the government out of their bedrooms and their wallets. Out of their bodies and their purses. They know that they can make better decisions about their path than any bureaucrat could or ever has.

Most people understand why liberty is better than despotism, and that Statism is the enemy of freedom.

But I continue to receive defeatist attitudes about how to combat the Leviathan state. Many feel that we have a lawless political class and that there is absolutely no way to reign it in outside of complete revolution or bankruptcy. And admittedly neither are very good options, both would cause much pain to many people.

This is a dangerous meme that reflects exactly what the ruling class wants, complete disengagement from the political system by the most informed among us. And to a large extent, the powers that be have gone unchecked for decades, so I completely understand the thought process.

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean that politics doesn't take an interest in you. ~Pericles 429 B.C. 

However, recent events (TARP, auto-bailouts, Obamacare, etc.) have starkly pointed to the fact that the games going on in D.C. will affect every single American on a deeply personal basis. More and more people understand that the Federal Reserve banking cartel is literally robbing us, as evidenced by a recent poll that showed us more than half of Americans want to dramatically alter or all together abolish the Fed.

This is a good thing, people are "waking up."

But the answer parroted by many of the talking heads, even so-called "conservatives," is predictably more government intervention into both markets and foreign affairs.

Thus the prevailing wisdom is that all politicians are crooks so why even bother.

This assumes that because you don't care about them, they will stop trying to control you. And that "normal people" will never get elected, completely disregarding and marginalizing them as "just a politician" when they do.

When you read it in print it seems kind of foolish doesn't it? But this is the conclusion of countless Americans, flying in the face of logic.

A more logical conclusion would be that the political elite don't want you to care, they would rather have indifference circulating the populace than action. Apathy rather than engagement. It is much easier to operate in the shadows with a small minority actually seeing what they are doing than having a large contingent questioning and exposing their every move.

Well, it is widely known that libertarianism is the cure for apathy. That engagement is preferable to indifference. And that liberty is like a muscle, it atrophies without exercise.

For you must enter a room to destroy it. ~Serj Tankian

So, in closing, I understand that it is easier to say "they are all crooks, why even bother." Just know that libertarians don't care about what is easier. Libertarians like Ron Paul understand that if anything is worth fighting for, it is personal liberty. It's the future. Not soaring rhetoric, not broken promises, and certainly not getting elected. But if they don't do everything they can, no one will.

Sitting on the sidelines shouldn't be an option when you understand that you and your children's liberties are being eroded by criminal elitists.

These are the easiest way to tell if a politician is working for The People or their own special interests. These are the three core positions they must take and they are not mutually exclusive. A politician must talk about and act on all three to prove they are on your side, no matter the Party.

1. Advocate sound money: They must demonstrate a willingness to destroy fractional reserve banking and our fiat currency. Hard money will take the cuffs off of our economy and The People immediately.
2. Advocate a comprehensive draw-down of the military overseas: We have permanent military bases in 153 countries around the globe. A far-reaching empire will (a) not make Americans safer and (b) is economically unsustainable.
3. Advocate an end to the "war on drugs": Prohibition has never worked, ever. A State that is allowed to make it unlawful for an individual to consume a substance has zero limits on its power. In addition, it drives those substances and profits into criminal elements as with the mafia during alcohol prohibition.