Libertarian UnrestOur
blogging buddy Patrick Hynes takes a look at the unrest in the Libertarian Wing of the Republican Party.
Too often, though, the idea of a conservative-libertarian divorce reads like an ultimatum from libertarians, who occasionally express so much frustration at conservative apostasy they threaten to walk away.That's right on the money; various small-l libertarian bloggers have made such threats in the recent past, most
notably Bill Ardolino.
Back to Patrick's analysis:
I have worked on dozens of Republican campaigns for high public office and never once, not one time, did I ever sit in a strategy session dedicated to formulating an appeal to the libertarian wing of the party. Conversely, I have never been on a campaign in which we did not devise strategies to communicate with and recruit conservatives, whether they be pro-lifers, anti-taxers, guns rights folks, or Christians. What I’m saying is that if the libertarians walk away from the table, the party will be a whole lot less principled, but we’re not likely to lose a lot of votes.Indeed. It strikes me that the small-l libertarian faction within the Republican party is pretty much going to stay put. If you're a Republican with libertarian ideas, then chances are that limited taxation and business regulation are what attracts you to the party, and social issues are less important to you. If they were more important than taxes and regulation, you'd probably be a Democrat.
