ReasonOnline wonders if “libertarians have been driven out of the GOP”.
Based on an analysis of the American National Election Studies, Cato found that between 2000 and 2004, there was a substantial flight of libertarians away from the Republican Party and toward the Democrats. While libertarians preferred Bush by a margin of 52 points over Al Gore in 2000, that margin shrank to 21 points in 2004, when many libertarians—disaffected by the Iraq war, massive GOP spending increases, and the campaign against gay marriage—switched to John Kerry.
Libertarians want freedom in most thing but there are two competing priorities: economic freedom and cultural freedom. Economic freedom libertarians (like me) prioritize small government and low taxes. Cultural libertarians mainly want to smoke weed.
You can guess which side goes to the Democrats when pissed.
I consider most of my libertarian brethren to be fools because they value ideological purity over practicalities. The number one practicality is our winner take all elections. There can only be two sides of a political debate in America. If the one side fragments, the other side wins.
That is JUST THE WAY IT IS.
The Socialists understand this. They’ve spent the last 30 years taking over the Democratic party. Even after setbacks like Clinton’s “moderateness”, they now stand on the edge of victory, after which they will change the system so the other side can’t win again.
Should we, through some miracle, avoid the Socialist take-over, Libertarians should recognize they have a LOT of power. Over Republicans. They should take a page from the Socialists and start a concerted effort to take over the Republican party.
Third parties don’t work in America. Libertarians need to understand that and act practically to take over the GOP – not leave it.
H/T: Instapundit