"It's no secret that I look to the Mountain West for the future of the Democratic Party, people like Brian Schweitzer and Jon Tester. But I also look to candidates like Jim Webb in Virginia and Paul Hackett in Ohio.
And what is the common thread amongst these candidates?
They are all Libertarian Democrats.
Ack, the "L" word! But hear me out.
Traditional "libertarianism" holds that government is evil and thus must be minimized. Any and all government intrusion is bad. While practical libertarians (as opposed to those who waste their votes on the Libertarian Party) have traditionally aligned themselves with the Republicans, it's clear that the modern GOP has no qualms about trampling on personal liberties. Heck, it's become their raison d' etre.
The problem with this form of libertarianism is that it assumes that only two forces can infringe on liberty -- the government and other individuals.
The Libertarian Democrat understands that there is a third danger to personal liberty -- the corporation. The Libertarian Dem understands that corporations, left unchecked, can be huge dangers to our personal liberties. "..................
The Libertarian Democrat understands that there is a third danger to personal liberty -- the corporation. The Libertarian Dem understands that corporations, left unchecked, can be huge dangers to our personal liberties. "..................
"Left unchecked"... yeah, but there's already anti-trust laws in place to prevent that, and they're used often to avoid the concetration of power in too few hands.
The government is still the largest offender by far.
So, Tea Party is libertarian republicans, and OWSers are Libertarian Democrats, right?
If the Libertarians would moderate their platform, they could grow in leaps and bounds
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
The Democratic party is the antithesis of what Libertarians believe.
While it is true that a one can approach Libertarianism from a left wing perspective- or from the right wing perspective, A Libertarian has little to no common ground with the Democratic party, spare a few social issues.
After all - the Democratic party is a collection of every freak special interest and lefty cause, from unions to political correctness to the belief that government is the answer to every societal problem. Everything from "it's for the children" - to save the world, save the whales- save those snails!
Need your trash hauled away? City run trash removal. Need medical care- Obamacare. Need an education- public schools. Boss not paying fair- join a union. Got a problem with your neighbor- form a homeowners association and make more rules. The answer to everything democrat is a government collective solution.
The left has an intrinsic belief - form an authority for every issue, problem and need. And the left firmly believes that government powers should be used to regulate everything, and provide "re-distribution" of anything un-equal, especially wealth. A law, a regulation and a rule for everything, every issue. The left thinks that the money people earn belongs to the government first and if any crumbs are left after solving all the worlds problems the poor sap gets to keep- the Libertarian thinks that what he earns belongs to the individual who earned it first- and any taxes due the government should be kept to a bare minimum.
All of those beliefs are 180 degrees opposite of what real libertarians believe. The fact is- there is no way to be both- any support that a real libertarian would allow towards those ideas above would be like pissing up wind- like shooting one's self in the foot.
The Libertarian is an individualist first- for liberty & freedom and free markets & private economy and property rights.
Yes- there are differences between Republicans and Libertarians too- but they are not fundamental like the examples I use above. But they are getting farther apart these days. More and more we are seeing progressive republicans who tend to wander away from conservatism - they advocate for massive military actions as if we should be the world's cop. And corporate interests above individual interests- this is not republican or democrat- it's just corruption.
Or they advocate for bigger government- they way the two Bushes did- spend and spend and spend some more- no matter if we can afford it or not. Libertarians believe that the founding fathers had it mostly right- that government should be a last resort- not a first reaction.
I call them "country club republicans"- and they have little in common with real conservative values - which are more like the Reagan model of republican.
The Reagan model has many common values that are shared with Libertarians. We believe that individual rights are more valuable than the collective, we believe in limited government, we believe that government should stay out of our lives, and as far away from our business as possible.
Libertarians want a private solution to life's problems first- and every effort should be exhausted to allow citizens to work out a non-governed resolution - long before a government solution is sought. The left looks to government for the answers first. Libertarians are small government, fiscally conservative, socially liberal.
But No- there is no such thing as a Libertarian democrat- the ideologies are in direct conflict. It's like saying that poop don't stink! It's like sayin "I never had sex with that woman- Monica Lewinsky"- It's an outright lie!
Another pronouncement from BearMtnHIB....who needs wikipedia when we have a resident expert. Actually I know several liberal libertarians. They are no more unusual than a TLGOPT who claims to be a fiscal conservative and social liberal.
OMIGOD have to agree with Archer here, you can be a Libertarian Democrat. For example I am a social libertarian and fiscal conservative, so I could see myself voting for a Dem who promises legal homosexual marriage, repealing pot laws, and wants to cut the overall budget. Too often the parties in Washington do not reflect the members. For example, "W" spending way too much.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
I am a social libertarian and fiscal conservative, so I could see myself voting for a Dem who promises legal homosexual marriage, repealing pot laws, and wants to cut the overall budget.
Name me one democrat who want to "cut the budget".
If you want all those things- you'll need to vote Libertarian, not democrat.
I want to cut the budget....the difference is where we want the budget cut. I also want a balanced, pay as you go, budget. But that doesnt make me a Republican, that makes me a Democrat who believes in fiscal responsibility.
