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" "Libertarian" isn't a pure term or concept. " Not as a single doctrine along the lines of the Democratic or Republican platforms/talking points, no. However

" "Libertarian" isn't a pure term or concept. " Not as a single doctrine along the lines of the Democratic or Republican platforms/talking points, no. However, the group that called itself "libertarian" or "right-libertarian" before the word became the new term of choice for faux-independent Republican voters is one that's rather distinct from your average Republican. ETA: and they agree rather well on positions on issues that are anathema to most admitted Republicans. And that group is not remotely of one mind on the subject. Some of them are denialists, and even those of us who acknowledge warming distrust the suggested government solutions or the use of the issue as an excuse for expansion of government authority. Hence my advice against the broad brush.

redthrowaway 16y ago
It's a small point, but Democrats can't be considered to adhere to a single doctrine either, which is partly why they're having so much trouble governing. As a "big tent" party, they have members with a wide range of political views, from very liberal to pretty conservative. That, for example, is why they couldn't pass single-payer health care: too many conservative democrats didn't want it. Also, lobbying from the insurance companies, but that's a different story.
- Semiapies 16y ago
  Please, let's not even go to that perennial bit of mythology, especially after you reduced Republicans to paleocons (a group whose most powerful figure in Republican circles is, well, Ron Paul) and neocons (a disfavored group glowering at the populists and others who elbowed them out of power a few years ago). Otherwise, we have to drag up all the self-congratulating Republican mythology that they use when they lose power in whole or in part, and neither of us want to dwell on that brand of glurge. The truth is that both Democrats and Republicans are fundamentally centrist parties with halos of more right-wing or left-wing members who have little actual power, but don't feel they have any home anywhere else. Their communities have decades-old mythologies about why they win or lose power that have little or nothing to do with why Americans vote.

redthrowaway 16y ago

It's a small point, but Democrats can't be considered to adhere to a single doctrine either, which is partly why they're having so much trouble governing. As a "big tent" party, they have members with a wide range of political views, from very liberal to pretty conservative. That, for example, is why they couldn't pass single-payer health care: too many conservative democrats didn't want it. Also, lobbying from the insurance companies, but that's a different story.

Semiapies 16y ago
Please, let's not even go to that perennial bit of mythology, especially after you reduced Republicans to paleocons (a group whose most powerful figure in Republican circles is, well, Ron Paul) and neocons (a disfavored group glowering at the populists and others who elbowed them out of power a few years ago). Otherwise, we have to drag up all the self-congratulating Republican mythology that they use when they lose power in whole or in part, and neither of us want to dwell on that brand of glurge. The truth is that both Democrats and Republicans are fundamentally centrist parties with halos of more right-wing or left-wing members who have little actual power, but don't feel they have any home anywhere else. Their communities have decades-old mythologies about why they win or lose power that have little or nothing to do with why Americans vote.