Are Republicans Going Libertarian?
Nate Silver seems to think so. Writing at Five Thirty Eight, he states:
“Last week’s Tea Party protests had their origins in the libertarian movement. Although many conservative groups were eager to co-opt their purpose, the core of the message — anti-tax, anti-big government — was about as libertarian as it gets. Participation in the rallies was also proportionately quite high in areas like New Hampshire and the Interior West, which are traditionally more sympathetic toward libertarian concerns.”
He goes on to cite as evidence the Republican alternative budget which would have required a massive reduction in the size of government and the relaxed attitude he perceives from the right after Iowa’s court decision on gay marriage.
He also presents this interesting chart from Gallup which shows that currently, 80% of Republicans view big government as the greatest threat to the country.
Of course, others are more skeptical about American Elephants dropping their party affiliation and going completely Galt. Matt Welch at Reason Magazine comments:
“I don’t know if I see a pattern, but I do know that A) I’d be happy if it were true, B) there does seem to be some public-opinion tectonics underfoot on bailouts, marijuana, and gay marriage; and C) my expectation of national Republicans going libertarian even one hour past election day is roughly zero. Other thoughts?”
Our thoughts, Matt? You’re probably right. But it’s still fun to think about.
