For young Libertarians, it's Paul or bust

Libertarian-bent young voters had the perfect alternative to Ron Paul this cycle.

Gary Johnson, a widely-respected former New Mexico governor threw his hat into the race for the GOP nomination and routinely failed to earn more than 1 percent of both state and national polls. He's now decided to run for the Libertarian Party ticket, but I think his inability to rally young voters in the GOP by winning them away from Ron Paul exemplifies the problem with assuming that Paulites will support any candidate who flirts with their ideology.

Much of the appeal of Ron Paul is personal. He's a horribly inarticulate speaker at times, his suits rarely fit and he passes little legislation because he's ideologically consistent. Essentially - he's your sweet old grandfather.

Unlike Paul, other potential Libertarian standard bearers - whether it be Johnson or former- Congressman Bob Barr - have generated very minimal young excitement because, frankly, they come across as politicians who have sense Libertarianism becoming popular and adjusted their stances — not as ideologically consistent carriers of the flag.

But returning to the question you raise, Alexander — a competitive college education will never be free in this country, ever.

Why not? Well, it's simple — the free market.

We live in a government system that says winners and losers are determined by the free market. Some people have money while others do not. If it's not a fundamental right, the government should not be providing it.

Look for example, at the national healthcare mandate — a piece of legislation passed, essentially, to provide healthcare to impoverished Americans and enable those who can't afford healthcare to have coverage. Last I checked, the majority of Americans still overwhelmingly oppose the idea and ALL of the GOP candidates are campaigning on platforms to immediately repeal it.

If, after using all of his political capital on healthcare in his first term (as I argued in my New York Times piece last week), Obama turns around and argues for free college education in his 2012 platform the cries of "socialism" will ring louder than ever and he will have dug his own grave.

In my mind, if President Obama even thinks of uttering the words "free college education system" he will have personally escorted Mitt Romney into the oval office in January 2013.

If we accept that it won't happen this election cycle, I'm interested — Do you think we will ever see a free college education system in the United States?