Swing
A while back, Kos did a bit on Libertarian Democrats. I said:
If you read the comments, quite a few of the Kossacks are pro-gun. I found this surprising and interesting. But, and let me be clear, if Kos is getting it, its impact must be growing to the point that it can’t be ignored. Regardless, I salute these types.
Now (via Pro Gun Progressive), Kos is at it again:
The case against the libertarian Republican is so easy to make that I almost feel compelled to stipulate it and move on. It is the case for the libertarian Democrat that has created much discussion and not a small amount of controversy when I first introduced the notion in what was, in reality, a throwaway blog post on Daily Kos on a slow news day in early June 2006.
It is indeed an easy case to make. More:
there’s a whole swath of Americans who are uncomfortable with Republican/conservative efforts to erode our civil liberties while intruding into our bedrooms and churches;
they don’t like unaccountable corporations invading their privacy, holding undue control over their economic fortunes, and despoiling our natural surroundings; yet they also don’t appreciate the nanny state, the over-regulation of small businesses, the knee-jerk distrust of the free market, or the meddlesome intrusions into mundane personal matters.
Well, I fixed it for him. We still like us some capitalism. On guns:
There’s a reason libertarians view the Second Amendment as an absolute right—its abolition would limit one of the most effective ages-old tools against governmental tyranny.
Hence, there was (and is) a natural tension between liberals who see government as a benign force for good, and those who can point to plenty of history showing otherwise. And as long as government remained the greatest threat to our personal liberties, this tension was fated to remain.
Indeed. Read it all. You (like me) may not agree with all of it and that’s OK. I don’t believe that liberals will embrace the libertarian sorts because, well, we scare the shit out of them. But they may reach out to us. Whether or not they reach out to us in the way the Republicans did (i.e., when they need our votes and to Hell with us every other day) remains to be seen. And, there is the fact that we don’t like Democrat party favors like Feinstein, Schumer, Pelosi, Kennedy, etc. It will be tough to convince us. But give it a shot.
Update: Drum spells it out:
Should Democrats court the libertarian vote?
Just the votes, please. And he says:
And let’s face it: Democrats just can’t credibly claim to be on their side.
Ayup.
October 13th, 2006 at 10:34 am
He touched on a point – kinda – that I like to make.
Taking the stereotype of the Republican party – more friendly to big business than government, and the Democtatic party – vice versa, which one wouold you want to have to deal with? Big government or big business? Which do we have a better chance of influencing?
October 13th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
I’d rather work with Big Business. Big Business, you lose thirty percent of your userbase, you’re fudgered. That’s enough to start a whole new set of competition in weeks if not days. In Big Government, you only lose thirty percent of your userbase and you’re a genius.
As to libertarian Democrats, if you think abortion, gay marraige (because the state providing legal and civil status to a group is a real libertarian concept), and privacy on public infrastructure are all important enough to outweigh the entire nanny state essential for the Democratic party — let’s face it, the party would collapse without the trade unions, teachers unions, anti-gunners, welfare recipients, and coastal liberals certain every problem would disappear if people would just listen— go ahead and vote D.
Those of us interested in meaningful freedoms, we’ll go harass the Rs.
Hell, even the Republican infringments on liberty are already well-covered by the courts. The right to privacy covers an act observed by up to ten professionals, but an individual making a tool in his own home, that doesn’t need a warrant to bug around with.
October 13th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I consider my politics to be left-libertarian. I usually swing Democratic. In NYC, most of my friends would see themselves as left-libertarian as well. We don’t know any Republicans because people here keep silent on their Republicanism in the same way one wouldn’t talk much about their antisemitism. I had one friend who was widely rumored to vote Republican, but I think maybe she’s just extremely apolitical.
When I go to the farm upstate, I emphasize the libertarian views and don’t push too hard on the liberalism because it’s the exact opposite. Liberal is as dirty a word with the neighbors up there as Republican is down in the city.
The common theme is the libertarianism. There’s an awful lot of people out here that want to tell government to shut up and butt out. They just don’t tend to base their votes on those beliefs.
October 14th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
How many politicians run and tell you they are going to do less for you than the previous guy?