Libertarians Emerge as a Force (Losertarians deep-six the GOP)

The Economist ^ | November 8, 2006 | Unattributed

[quidnunc]

New York – Glum Republicans might turn their attention to the Libertarian Party to vent their anger. Libertarians are a generally Republican-leaning constituency, but over the last few years, their discontent has grown plain. It isn't just the war, which some libertarians supported, but the corruption and insider dealing, and particularly the massive expansion of spending. Mr Bush's much-vaunted prescription drug benefit for seniors, they fume, has opened up another gaping hole in America's fiscal situation, while the only issue that really seemed to energise congress was passing special laws to keep a brain-damaged woman on life support.

In two of the seats where control looks likely to switch, Missouri and Montana, the Libertarian party pulled more votes than the Democratic margin of victory. Considerably more, in Montana. If the Libertarian party hadn't been on the ballot, and the three percent of voters who pulled the "Libertarian" lever had broken only moderately Republican, Mr Burns would now be in office.

Does this mean that the libertarians are becoming a force in national elections, much as Ralph Nader managed to cost Al Gore a victory in 2000? Hope springs eternal among third-party afficionadoes, but the nature of the American electoral system, which directly elects representatives in a first-past-the-post system, makes it nearly impossible for third parties to gain traction. The last time it happened was in the 1850's, when the Whig party dissolved over internal disputes about slavery, opening the way for the emerging Republican party to put Abraham Lincoln in office. And acting as a spoiler is dubiously effective at achieving one's goals. In theory, it could pull the Repubicans towards the Libertarians, but in practice, it may just elect Democrats, pushing the nation's economic policy leftwards.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Without these political terrorists we would be looking at 52-48 tonight.

You're actually equating a free American excercising his/her voting privilage and demonstrating his/her moral citizenship obligations to terrorists?

Way to convince them to come home to the GOP sparky...not.

With an attitude such as that, i'd never vote for another Republican.

[Tamzee]

"How could you have forgotten the Druid...he's so representative of their mindset. If nothing else works spit on people...it's sure to win them over."

I see your point but can't agree... I think the Blue Smurf is more representative of their mindset. He knew just enough to be dangerous to himself but was too arrogant to think there was anything he had left to learn. His tremendous ego had him believing that the rest of the world just wasn't as enlighted as he was in overdosing on homemade doses of colloidal silver for health purposes...... meanwhile he was poisoning himself.

Sounds exactly like many of the folks here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Jones

[tacticalogic]

A libertarian socialist? The guy's gotta be a certifiable schizo.

[CWOJackson]

I bow to your superior insight...they do like to poison themselves.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

I hope you can afford to protect yourself -- after the tax increases and minimum wage hikes -- when the dirty bomb hits.

Why would we worry about that, unless your boy Bush has lost his veto pen again.

Last i studied American Government, it takes a 2/3 majourity to override a Presidential Veto. Of course with the Republicans in the Senate and House showing a curious lack of cajones, the Democrats just may have it in the bag.

[Tamzee]

No insight needed when you know the smurf story.... the lines just write themselves ;-)

And I was following and enjoying your commentary earlier in the thread... most appropriate and, yes, we'll remember.

[CWOJackson]

We'll remember. Nice posting with you.

[Junior_G]

Any Republican foolish enough to blame the Libertarians for their loss will simply continue to lose.

[microgood]

In Montana, Democrat Jon Tester, a organic grain farmer who lost three fingers in a meat grinder, prevailed in a protracted contest with three-term Sen. Conrad Burns, who was weakened politically by his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Link:Democrats on Brink of Controlling Senate

So I guess what you are saying is that Abramoff is Libertarian?

Sounds more like this guy should have been taken out in the primary. Sloppy work by the GOP.

[Tamzee]

Same here... night :-)

[KDD]

You folks never do think through the consequences of your actions do you.

One of the unintended consequences of those actions has been to provide the totally unexpected entertainment factor of watching CWOJackson come completely unhinged.

[CWOJackson]

Sorry, I don't plan on switching to third party any time soon.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Fscking Bullsh!t, and I'm calling you on it. The Libertarian platform calls for minimalist, militia-based defense, not a standing army. Which is suicide in this world. I'll say it again....Libertarians are just cheap Democrats that don't want to pay taxes, even for a strong military.

When was the last time Switzerland was invaded? Not even Hitler was that stupid.

We should have such a model. i personally like the idea of having automatic weapons in my closet, good for controlling the gophers.

[Mamzelle]

Oh, I'll never forget getting cold-cocked by the mild-mannered Tony Snow.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Posted by Incitatus
Figure it out, dude. What are you offering us? Market protectionism? Soaring entitlements? A spectacular national debt owed to, of all places, Beijing?! Yeah, China, America's historical ally, and all round pal! Why don't we borrow a few bucks off Castro while we're at it? We're all friends now right! And Iraq; yea, that went well. We've saved the jihadists a $600 ticket to fly to America and blow Americans up. They can do it in the comfort of their own back yard, now! War in Iraq, my ass. It was a police action. We should have been in there, trashed the place, taken Sadaam out and said 'Adios, Good luck with the democracy!'. As it is, a few hundred billion greenback later, and that's what's going to happen anyway. Money well spent, right?

'Traitors'. What planet are you on, man. Libertarian votes don't 'belong' to the GOP, anymore than Democrat, Green or independent votes do. You're seriously bitching because people turned away from a gang of pedophiles and queers so crooked they need a 'page' to help them screw their pants in the morning?

If that's treachery, then get used to it buddy. You're gonna feel it every election.

LOL! Yes, I'm sure conservative America will allow itself to be held hostage by a small fringe element.

Did you actually read What Incitatus posted?

If That is conservative American, i'm proud to be a classic Liberal, (a.k.a. Libertarian)

You can keep that other $#!t, and you're welcome to it.

[CWOJackson]

If you want to try the old we'll crap in the pool and ruin it for everyone tactic please feel free...I'm sure it will remove any doubt thinking people have following yesterdays performance.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Yep...buchanan believed that BS also. Come to think about it...I don't see much difference in the two camps.

Seems to me that Pat Buchanan did exactly what his RNC bosses told him to do:

• Get the Reformed Party Nomination, and take Perot out of the race.
• Spend the reform party coffers empty.
• Make himself unelectable, and unappealing to Republicans.
• Keep the Reform Party vote totals so low that the party would not qualify for Federal Matching funds in the next election.

In short, Buchanan was there to take Ross Perot out of the king making business.

Surprised you didn't see that one.

[CWOJackson]

LOL! pat buchanan was in it for one thing and one thing only...the matching funds. He used it to first pay off his previous disaster debt then proceeded to put his entire family on the payroll to skim off as much of the rest as possible.

The funniest part was how he spent the remainder in hiring a lawyer to protest the Florida vote...that lawyer was his brother.

But I give you credit for trying to assign noble qualities on pure greed.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

Pro homosexual pro euthanasia libertarians (crypto dems) are not wanted by the republican Party. It's been an OK visit but now it's late and you need to go home...to the House of the Left where you belong.

Shoo...go away.

They did, so did a lot of Libertarians, and Constitutionalists who didn't support those ad hom exaggerations that you posted, and guess what...The American Electorate didn't what what you had to offer. Deal with it.

[Brucifer]

I agree. Those are some mutually exclusive conclusions. I'm a libertarian, but I vote Republican because otherwise I'd get stuck with Rats all the time. I did vote for Kinky, but it's not as if Perry was ever in any trouble.