Many people are noticing a Libertarian shift in the GOP, especially since CPAC this past weekend. I seem to remember a certain blogger predicting a Libertarian shift in the GOP as far back as July, 2009. Let me see, who was that again? Oh yeah…

IT WAS ME.

Mike Huckabee doesn’t like this shift and went so far as to criticize CPAC this year for being too Libertarian but as Allahpundit points out at Hot Air, this just makes the Huckster look a bit out of touch…

What political benefit is there, in this year of all years, to knock CPAC for being “more libertarian” and “less Republican”? Libertarianism has never had more cachet within the GOP than it has right now; it’s not perfectly synonymous with the tea-party movement (of which Huckabee is predictably complimentary) but it’s close enough, especially with Beck in the role of TPers’ patron saint.

My feeling is that Mike Huckabee is just angry about Ron Paul winning the CPAC straw poll this year. If you remember the Republican primaries leading up to the 2008 election, you’ll recall that there was no love between Huck and Paul as they both slugged it out to the end, even when it was apparent that McCain was the nominee.

But forget about the Ron Paul win in the straw poll. It’s very doubtful that Ron Paul would run in 2012 and even if he did, the chances of him getting the nomination are slim to none. The significance of Paul’s libertarian leanings are the only matter of relevance. His young supporters from the Campaign for Liberty were out in force at CPAC. Even Ann Coulter acknowledged the libertarian contingency in the room.

Even Ann Coulter, who drew a huge crowd herself, felt compelled to give a shout out to Paul-mania, saying she agreed with everything he stands for outside of foreign policy — a statement met with cheers.

The younger, Libertarian Republicans in the room were largely responsible for booing one speaker offstage when he singled out a gay Republican group which had co-sponsored the event. Whether the establishment GOP realizes it or not, this was a defining moment which wasn’t lost on the conservative gay blog, Gay Patriot…

Folks, I’m relegated to writing this from my iPhone. But it is big news and a huge topic tonight at CPAC.Earlier today, during a student activist session on the CPAC main stage, one brave young man thanked the group for including GOProud as a sponsor this year. A few minutes later, another student launched into an anti-gay tirade from the same podium. The CPAC attendees turned on him and booed him off-stage.

You see, when libertarians and conservatives can focus on fiscal conservatism, smaller government and increased personal liberty, amazing things can happen. It also scares the living hell out of rank and file Democrat voters. Even the liberal gay blog Americablog sat up and took notice…

When conservatives are standing up for gays, and Democrats treat us like we are an embarrassment, there’s a problem. And when the Republicans increasingly say the right things, like repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell now, and even supporting marriage, and all the Democrats show is political homophobia, gays get the message. To the White House, the DNC, and our leadership in Congress: You are messing with people’s lives, and we know it. And the day that an anti-gay bigot gets booed at CPAC, you all better start being very afraid.

If libertarians feel as welcome in the Republican Party as social conservatives, and they should, America’s independent voters will follow in even greater numbers.

If that alliance can hold together in 2010 and 2012, it will be an unstoppable force.

Young Libertarian style Republicans care about fiscal conservatism, defense, liberty, love of country, and many more of the same things that motivate conservatives. What they don’t care about is if their friends and neighbors are gay or straight, what people choose to eat drink and smoke, and which religion a person does or does not practice.

If the GOP really wants to attract more young voters, they will embrace this young Libertarian Republican faction. With their enthusiasm and activism the sky would be the limit.

Just remember, I said “if.”

Not that the Tea Party and the GOP are automatically joining forces, they’re not… yet. But if and when they do, they spell certain doom for Dems.

A new Rasmussen Poll on the generic ballot has the math:

“Running under the Tea Party brand may be better in congressional races than being a Republican.”

“In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.”

“Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top.”

The Tea Party is made up of Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats and Independents who have a few things in common: Love of country, love of liberty, a desire for fiscal conservatism in Washington, DC and a rejection of government expansion.

If a candidate can piece those items together and unite those factions, he or she will be unstoppable.

Via Memeorandum.

“Anderson resident Brock Glaze clutched two copies of Palin’s book, hoping to get one signed for himself, and one for a co-worker. Although he considers himself a Libertarian, Glaze said Palin is an exemplary Republican. “I think she’s absolutely brilliant. She’s the only one with the guts to say what needs to be said. Her gender has absolutely nothing to do with it. She has more guts than most of the men in her party. I think she’s not afraid to stand up for her conservatism, her Christianity, for pretty much everything that’s necessary for a free nation.”

What a stark contrast between that quote and the words of Steve Chapman, who one might presume to be a libertarian since he writes for Reason.com. Chapman isn’t buying Palin’s libertarian appeal one bit. In fact, he thinks it’s a great big sham. In an article titled “Sarah Palin and the Decline of Conservatism” he asks “What happened to the party of Goldwater and Reagan?”

“Who needs policy? In her world—and the world of legions of conservatives who revere her—the persona is the policy. Palin is beloved because she’s (supposedly) just like ordinary people, which (supposedly) gives her a profound understanding of their needs.”

“That attitude used to be associated with the left, which claimed to speak for the ordinary folks who get shafted by the system. Logic and evidence about policy, to many liberals, were less important than empathy and good intentions. Now it’s conservatives who think we should be guided by our guts, not our brains.”

Chapman then does his best to disassociate Sarah Palin from the memory of Ronald Reagan.

“When Oprah asked if she had felt any doubts about her readiness to be vice president—which requires the readiness to be president—Palin replied breezily, “No, no—I didn’t blink. … I felt quite confident in my abilities and my executive experience and I knew that this is an executive administrative job.” (The audience tittered.)”

“Contrast that with Reagan, who after learning of his victory on Election Night 1980 told his supporters, “There’s never been a more humbling moment in my life.” Palin doesn’t do humble.”

Funny. Ronald Reagan’s son, Michael Reagan, had a completely different take on Sarah Palin in September of 2008 when he wrote a piece about her called “Welcome Back, Dad.”

“I’ve been trying to convince my fellow conservatives that they have been wasting their time in a fruitless quest for a new Ronald Reagan to emerge and lead our party and our nation. I insisted that we’d never see his like again because he was one of a kind.”

“I was wrong!”

“Wednesday night I watched the Republican National Convention on television and there, before my very eyes, I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he’s a she.”

“And what a she!”

“Like Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin is one of us. She knows how most of us live because that’s the way she lives. She shares our homespun values and our beliefs, and she glories in her status as a small-town woman who put her shoulder to the wheel and made life better for her neighbors.”

“Welcome back, Dad, even if you’re wearing a dress and bearing children this time around.”

I was truly puzzled as to why Steve-Chapman-the-libertarian has such a problem with Sarah Palin but then I checked his bio at Reason.com and suddenly it all made sense.

“Steve Chapman is a columnist and editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune.”

Figures.

The Democrat talking point of the day is that they aren’t afraid of Kalid Sheikh Mohammed like all the wimpy conservatives who don’t want him tried in New York. Another classic example of liberals putting politics above national security.

Attorney General Eric Holder, defending his Obama’s decision to try KSM in New York said:

“I’m not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial and no one else needs to be afraid either,” Holder said. “We need not cower in the face of this enemy.”

Right on cue, liberal venom spewer Markos Moulitsas followed up with:

“American liberals are tough on terrorists and secure in their knowledge that the Sept. 11 conspirators are guilty of mass murder. American conservatives are timid cowards who fear that the U.S. government can’t actually prove that the Sept. 11 killers committed their heinous crimes.”

How is it cowardly to want KSM tried in a military tribunal and executed?

What’s really cowardly is that liberals can only advance their agenda through back doors in the dark of night since their ideas never survive the forum of public scrutiny.

What Holder, KOS, and company really want is a referendum on Bush, Cheney and company.

They can’t do it out in the open so they’re sacrificing national security to sneak it in through the back door and hoping no one notices.

That, my friends, is cowardice.

Robert Stacy McCain, with whom I enjoy a blogger friendship, is on his way to Orlando, Florida to cover the arrival of the Tea Party Express on Thursday. I caught up with him on his cell phone tonight as he was driving through the lower Appalachian Mountains.

No major scoops but I asked Stacy if he minded me putting up a blog post about our conversation. He didn’t mind at all so I’m happy to share the yadda-yadda-yadda with you.

A portion of our chit chat was about the relationship between Libertarians and Republicans. I think we pretty much agreed that the GOP would be wise to welcome Libertarian minded Republicans to the tent. As a result, Eric Dondero came up in conversation and Stacy encouraged me to send Dondero a big shout out. Mr. Dondero, consider yourself shouted.

The focus of all this Libertarian Republican talk was really an offshoot of a bigger issue – the building of a coalition to oppose Pelosi & Obama’s agenda and this has entirely to do with the conservative grassroots. The point? No more infighting. The grassroots tent has to include social conservatives, libertarians, Republicans, Tea Partiers, and other Americans of all backgrounds.

As Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said in April 2009, “If you believe in freedom, liberty, self-determination, free enterprise, I don’t care if you’re a Muslim, Jewish, Agnostic, Christian, gay, straight, Latino, black, white, Irish, whatever. Join us.”

If together, we can stop ObamaCare, Cap & Trade and Card Check, American politics will be “a whole new ball game” to use Stacy’s words. I concur.

The libertarians need to stop bashing the neocons, the neocons need to stop trashing the Paulistas, the beltway pros need to stop trashing the grassroots and on and on…

Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, says he wants to build a big tent. Let’s give it to him.

We can start by working together. Let’s settle the small stuff after the 2010 elections.

Politico published an incredibly stupid piece today in which writers Meredith Shiner and Glenn Thrush ponder the GOP’s “women problem.”

The article suggests that Conservatives rejected NY-23 candidate Dede Scozzafava based on her gender.

“Conservatives say they pushed Dede Scozzafava out of the House race in New York’s 23rd District a week ago because of her left-of-Republican social views — and not because she is a woman.”

Robert Stacy McCain, in top form as usual, called out Politico’s laughable hypocrisy:

“Why is it that only pro-choice liberals count as “women”? It’s as if Phyllis Schlafly, Bay Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Michelle Malkin were un-persons.”

Let me add to that list, Conservative women such as S.E. Cupp, Andrea Tantaros, Monique Stewart, Amanda Carpenter and Mary Katherine Hamm.

I would also like to point you to a Politico article from June of 2009 where writer Jonathan Martin said of Governor Sarah Palin:

“Going forward, does she offer a conservative and charismatic face for a demoralized and star-less party? Or is she a loose cannon who should be consigned to the tabloids where she can reside in perpetuity with other flash-in-the-pan sensations?”

It’s interesting to note  that at the time of this writing, a quick scan of Politico’s “About Us” page shows that male staff members outnumber females by 69 to 40.

Conservatives know all too well, the horrors of misogyny and none of us will ever forget the way the left treated Sarah Palin or for that matter Hillary Clinton who was vilified by many in her own party until she no longer presented a threat to The One.

To this day, Sarah Palin and her family are regularly attacked by noted gynocolegist/obstetrician blogger Andrew Sullivan who is grossly obsessed with Governor Palin’s infant son, Trig.

Sullivan announced today that he is releasing a coffee table book called “The View From Your Window.”

The only photo that didn’t make it into the book is the view from Andrew Sullivan’s window. In an American Glob exclusive, we have obtained that photo and can share it with you now:

Finally, here’s further proof that Allahpundit likes me.

Lest there be any question… I like Robert Stacy McCain.

I think I just invented the term “Libertarianapalooza.” Talk about a Libertarian round table, though. Here’s Judge Andrew Napolitano sitting in for Glenn Beck with guests John Stossel and Peter Schiff.

What happens when you pretend to be a Republican and then ruin everything for Republicans by endorsing a Democrat?

This happens:

“Dede Scozzafava, the Republican nominee who issued an election eve endorsement of Democrat Bill Owens in the Nov. 3 New York special election, will meet with Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb Monday to discuss whether she will be stripped of her Assembly leadership position.”

“POLITICO has learned that Kolb will announce after the face-to-face meeting whether Scozzafava, the Minority Leader Pro Tempore, will remain as the GOP floor leader.”

“Fundamentally my members are very disappointed with her endorsement of Bill Owens and aiding him in helping achieve the Nancy Pelosi health care plan in Washington,” Kolb said.”

Hardly a surprise, considering that the Democrat candidate Scozzafava endorsed (Bill Owens) broke FOUR campaign promises within ONE hour of taking office…

“Owens indicated in a press release that he was now in favor of the [Pelosi/ObamaCare] bill in direct contrast to his earlier position during his campaign.”

“During his campaign for Congress, Mr. Owens assured voters that he felt the public option had no place in the health care reform bill. Contrary to that position, Mr. Owens now indicates that he intends to vote in favor of the bill even though it now contains a public option.”

“Owens also promised to vote against cutting Medicare benefits, taxing health care benefits, and increased taxes on the middle class. All of those are “features of the House bill.”

Dede Scozzafava was rejected by conservatives because it was obvious that her election would ultimately provide support for Nancy Pelosi and ObamaCare.

Her endorsement of Bill Owens proved every suspicion about her was correct and in the end, she was able to help the Pelosi/Obama agenda and further their cause.

In the future, maybe the GOP should avoid candidates endorsed by the Daily KOS.

With the introduction of Cap & Trade, ObamaCare and corporate bailouts, you can practically taste the surge of of interest in libertarian ideology in the air. It’s no accident that Tea Parties are springing up everywhere, Ayn Rand is more popular than ever and Glenn Beck’s ratings continue to rise.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Wall Street Journal where Steven Kurutz recently interviewed Ayn Rand biographer Anne C. Heller.

“When Anne C. Heller set out five years ago to write a biography of Ayn Rand, she was intrigued by the fact that though Rand’s novels like “The Fountainhead” continued to sell well, the libertarian writer was barely spoken about. One near-Depression later, however, Rand’s anti-socialist beliefs championing individualism over collectivism are suddenly striking a chord with critics of the government’s recent nationalization of banking and other industries.”

“The Wall Street Journal: Ayn Rand has been invoked at town hall meetings across the country. Why are Rand’s fiercely libertarian ideas — and novels — back in the news?”

“Her sales and reputation bubble along under the radar quite consistently. But certain opinion makers like Glenn Beck rediscovered her because there’s a strange parallelism between her visions in “Atlas Shrugged” and the Obama administration — namely, government taking over private industries. In periods of economic downtown “Atlas Shrugged” strikes a chord in people who are afraid of economic collapse.”

This liberty driven zeitgeist hasn’t escaped Reason Magazine either. A well known Libertarian outlet, Reason is producing a video series on the suddenly increased relevance of Ayn Rand’s work.

Ed Morrissey of Hot Air wrote a great post on this subject today where he tied it all together in this brilliant quote:

“Who would have guessed that the era of Hope and Change would have produced Rand as a counter-cultural phenomenon?”

“Well, perhaps Rand herself would have foreseen it — and in fact she did, in Atlas Shrugged.”

Libertarians and conservatives are old political friends. Although there have been a few bumps in the road over the years, we should all give credit to President Obama for making us more solid than ever.

Maybe that’s what Obama meant when he said he was a “uniter.”

In a race that has become about just two candidates, a new poll shows Conservative Doug Hoffman is leading over Democrat Bill Owens by 5 points.

“Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman holds a 5-point lead over Democrat Bill Owens in the race for an upstate New York congressional seat, according to a poll released Monday.”

“According to a study conducted by Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., Hoffman leads Owens 41 percent to 36 percent — while 18 percent of likely voters said they were undecided.”

“The right-leaning New York congressional seat has become a sought-after prize for the Democrats, who sent Vice President Biden to campaign for Owens at a Monday morning rally in Watertown, N.Y.”

“GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava, who was criticized as too moderate by members of her own party, dropped out of the race over the weekend and endorsed Owens on Sunday.”

An interesting side note… The FOX News story which I’ve linked to above was , at the time of this writing, the top story on Google News. That would seem to suggest that the whole country is watching this election.

UPDATE: In case you missed it, Public Policy Polling says Hoffman Leads Big…

“Doug Hoffman has a commanding lead in the special election for New York’s 23rd Congressional District.”

“In a three way contest with Democrat Bill Owens and Republican Dede Scozzafava Hoffman leads with 51% to 34% for Owens and 13% for Scozzafava. In a head to head contest with Owens Hoffman holds a 54-38 advantage.”