Posted on 11/14/2006 6:25:58 PM PST by Purple GOPer
In one closely watched Congressional race (Sodrel v Hill, IN-9) and two critical Senate races (Missouri and Montana), the Republican candidate was defeated by fewer votes than the Libertarian candidate received.
[Note: the last data I could find on the Missouri race still had two of the 3746 precincts to report, so it is possible that statement isn't true for Missouri, but if it is not true it is still very close and does not diminish my point.]
In other words, in these two critical Senate races and if the Republican had gotten the Libertarian's votes, the Republican would have won.
For the rest of this article, please recognize that I am speaking of the small-"l" libertarian, and not the Libertarian Party of the candidates mentioned above. A "libertarian", in the shortest definition I can muster, is someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. In other words, it is someone who wants the government to perform a very small set of legitimate functions and otherwise leave us alone.
I can hardly contain my glee at seeing this happen after years of hoping it would. And in such dramatic fashion, with such important results. I did not hope it would because I wanted Republicans to lose, but because the Republicans had become corrupted (by which I do not mean corrupt in the typical sense.) They became enamored of power, and believed that they could get away with expanding the size, intrusiveness, and cost of government as long as they had government aim for "conservative" goals rather than liberal ones. This loss, and the way it happened, was the best thing that could have happened for Americans who care about a government focused on limited government and liberty.
No, the Democrats are not that government. They believe in anything but limited government, and they only believe in liberty in one's personal life, but not in one's economic life. In a sense, Democrats believe that the citizens work for the government.
Republicans on the other hand have acted in just the opposite way: they believe in economic liberty and they know we do not work for government. But they do not believe in personal liberty. The failure of the strategery of the Republicans, to focus on "the base" by trotting out social issues such as the South Dakota no-exception abortion ban (which lost, I'm pleased to say) demonstrated two things: First, social issues do not have long coat-tails. Second, the GOP base is fiscal conservatives more than it is social conservatives.
Fiscal conservatives, even more than social conservatives, were the demotivated voting block. Fiscal conservatives who are not socially conservative, i.e. voters who are libertarian even if they don't know it or wouldn't identify themselves that way, were the key swing vote in this election and were the reason that the GOP lost Congress...the Senate in particular.
In a recent study called "The Libertarian Vote", David Boaz (Cato Institute) and David Kirby (America's Future Foundation) discuss the growing number of American libertarians, the growing dissatisfaction among them (including me) with the GOP, and the continuing shift in voting patterns caused by that dissatisfaction. Tuesday held the obvious conclusion of this shift.
The party which went from reforming welfare to banning internet gambling by sticking the ban inside a port security bill, the party which went from Social Security reform to trying to amend the Federal Constitution to prevent gay marriage, the party which went from controlling the size and scope of government to banning horse meat became a party which libertarians and Republicans alike could not stomach.
The Democrats are a disaster, though they probably realize they need to move to the center. The Republicans have just been taught a brutal lesson that they also need to move to the center (on social issues) and back to fundamental principles of our Founders on issues of economics and basic liberties. No party can rely on the unappealing nature of their opponent to be a strong enough motivation to win elections, nor should we let them win if being just a bit better than the other guys is all they aspire to.
What I love about libertarian voters is that they vote on principle, not on party. The GOP might not like it, but politics should not be about blind loyalty if your party has lost its way. So, I disagree with suggestions that libertarians are fickle and unreliable voters. Instead the Republicans became an unreliable party. The Democrats on the other hand are extremely reliable -- they will always raise spending and taxes, get government involved where it doesn't belong. But other than the tax cuts of several years ago, the Republicans have been no different other than choosing different areas of our lives to intrude upon.
I hope that the result of the Libertarian Effect, particularly on the GOP, will be that the next election may provide us an opportunity to replace this batch of Democrat placeholders with Congressmen who not only have read the Constitution, but respect it. Congressmen who understand that Republican voters do not elect politicians to have them impose their (or our) morality on the people, but rather to keep government from interfering in our lives and leaving us, in the immortal words of Milton Friedman, "Free to Choose".
Me too. Then, as the Clinton horror years advanced, I began studying politics like crazy, soaking up everything I could find on political theory, American history, political biographies and reading at length about the Founding Fathers and Reagan.
I learned why politics works the way it does, that Madison deliberately prevented any "20% of the voters" (even us GOOD 20% LOL) from having total power and that we have to work together with others for a majority... it's the only structure that can also prevent a BAD 20% from gaining total power. Through all that learning the foundations of our country, liberty, personal freedom with responsibility, justice for all, I learned why conservatism had always rang so true to my naive heart. And was humbled to tears that so many great men have died to protect and preserve us and our incredible America.
Sorry to get mushy... but my cut-my-own-nose-off lesson in voting against Bush Senior actually shoved me on an incredible personal learning journey that brought me to an even greater reverence for America that is God's miracle and our deep responsibility to care for her now ourselves.
The Morning-Of-Clinton-Winning was like a two-by-four to the head that changed my whole life in the end. I used to just feel great pride when I heard this, now I cry every time for how much it means to me.... "Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, Over the land of the free, and the home of the brave?"
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Talk about a "valuable lesson" :-)
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By electing Democrats? What kind of goofy idea is that?
Locally? None of the major seats. Representative Weldon lost his seat, Senator Santorum lost his, and the governorship remained with Fast Eddie.
But your wording highlights something interesting...the GOP no longer really feels much like "my party"... :-( I'm a conservative--a supporter of the Constitution--and it doesn't seem like there's a place for me in the GOP.
Not your fault totally, JFK had GREAT speechwriters.... and there was no Free Republic to cut through the fluff and frosting ;-)
And a bug-eyed dingbat Pelosi or possibly a senile old-bat like Murtha in charge of the House.
Too bad the Republicans didn't learn anything.
What a vile, repulsive picture {{{shudder}}}
Think I'd rather see a picture of Helen Thomas in a bikini than a pic of those two controlling the national political discussion :-(
Thank God.
Maybe if you had paid more attention to the race in Montana, like so many others in this country, you would have noticed "blue boy" was essentially going on the attack on Burns only. That to me was the red flag. This article just confirms what I've known for months now.
No, you're right...it's not just economics...it's the Constitution in general.
When I was in Young Americans for Freedom, I served on Platform Committee at one of our conventions with Boaz. He and I co-wrote a resolution on getting the government out of education.
You get yours in order. You've practically got the KosKids fawning over your party, hoping you'll win more for them in the future. They're counting on ya.
It wasn't "the Republicans" lesson to learn, it was ours... you don't get to impact public policy at all when you step out of the arena, you just give the opposition greater freedom to govern unopposed.
Guess you still have some reading to do...
Problem is, the libertarian candidates got rid of the most conservative of the GOP. They're the ones that got burned because of some alliance between the libertarians and the Democrats.
All those organizations like "Montanan's For Tester" were Soros funded outfits of MoveOn.org.
All you will do is make the world safe for Islam.
11/3/2006 12:03:00 PM
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
Contact: Trevor FitzGibbon, 202-246-5303, Alex Howe, 202-822-5200, both for MoveOn.org
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a breakdown of money MoveOn raised for candidates this cycle through MoveOn.org Political Action. Members gave $5,721,231.59 to federal candidates in 2005-2006.
2005-2006 Moveon.org PAC RESULTS
Arcuri for Congress: 181,696.02
Bill Nelson for US Senate: 158,316.51
Bob Casey for U.S. Senate: 168,590.52
Braley for Congress: 85,179.27
Chris Murphy for Congress: 55,058.62
Christine Jennings for Congress: 213,223.04
Christopher Carney for Congress: 165,787.22
Ciro Rodriguez for Congress Committee: 163,643.74
Citizens for Altmire: 136,214.60
Courtney for Congress: 109,642.84
Cranley for Congress: 255,310.36
Darcy Burner for Congress: 52,453.66
Farrell for Congress: 90,035.82
Francine Busby for Congress: 124,621.10
Friends of Robert C. Byrd Committee: 834,212.72
Friends of Tammy Duckworth: 240,737.65
Harry Mitchell for Congress: 144,690.88
Joe Donnelly for Congress: 130,275.51
Kilroy for Congress: 139,038.73
Lampson for Congress: 164,562.01
Larry Kissell for Congress: 134,776.10
Lois Murphy for Congress: 196,342.85
Mahoney for Florida: 145,334.95
McCaskill for Missouri: 382,532.31
McNerney for Congress: 51,212.17
Montanans for Tester: 88,334.53
Ned Lamont for Senate: 255,821.41
Patrick Murphy for Congress: 89,977.65
Paul Hackett for Senate: 177,531.28
Sanders for Senate: 13,666.00
Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate: 303,148.96
Tim Walz for U.S. Congress: 102,772.49
Zack Space for Congress: 166,490.07
TOTAL: 5,721,231.59
Source: US Newswire
"(un)Patriot Act intrudes into our private banking lives. I sure hope they have caught some terrorists banking in America because the Act has created a nightmare of paperwork for banks and consumers. Meantime we saw untold numbers of uncut sheets of hundred dollar bills in a video from a report in the rubble of Lebannon. They're counterfeiting the yankee dollar in Lebannon and our govt is looking the other way while reviewing and documenting our legitimate banking transactions with this act. Meantime, I'm still trying to figure out just how much an airline ticket and some box cutters must cost which initiated this act."
God what stupidity.
The sheets of bills were xeroxes of bills which are used to track serial numbers.
It disgusts me to my soul that an uninformed buffoon's vote counts as much as mine.
Nope. It's over. He conceded.
So let me get this straight, you hate GOP spending, so it's okay to vote for the Dems that dwarf GOP spending.
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What's the difference? A letter next to their name on the ballot? Big whup!
I vote conservative, regardless.
Want my vote? Be conservative or get outta my face!
But hey, instead of being conservative - thus getting my vote, they'd rather invite El Chupacabra to do the work American's won't.
And then pass out free (prescription) drugs to all!
That way we'll understand why they'd build a 'bridge to nowhere'.
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