Why are ya'll so afraid of libertarians. They get like 3% of the vote.

[nadinbrzezinski]

86. Actually, yes, yes it does

There is a reason why the third largest party in the US is going nowhere. If you think the Democratic Party has a big tent policy, well, the Libertarian party of the US, the third largest party mind you (it's a real party) makes the dems look like a closed in party.

Within their ranks they have all types of libertarians. Granted, the Ron Paul types are loud, but hardly alone.

The term libertarian does not necessarily only mean what you think it does. A basic understanding of the history of the US and Libertarian though starting with Walden Pond helps.

The OP is very correct. It is a boogeyman. FYI, there are Left Wing economic libertarians who are far less radical than their RW brethren, gasp they believe humans should be free to achieve their potential, true and all, but they also believe the market needs some regulation.

LW civil libertarians have little differences from their RW pals, understanding that there is government over reach. And yes, somebody like Senator Ron Wyden is a left wing civil libertarian



Oh and I forgot to add, classic liberalism, and even more modern versions of it have many elements of LW libertarian though, gasp, so does progressivism. You identified one of the basic elements of it, gasp, civil liberties.

There are others. Libertarian is not a four letter word. It includes more than just your Ron Paul's and Randian types. It takes knowing quite a bit of political theory. You know what? We need more, not less, left wing Libertarians in the halls of legislatures every were. I am talking philosophy here, not a political label.

Instead of going fss, you should seriously look this up.

Here, I will even get you started.

http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2012/11/the-distinctiveness-of-left-libertarianism/

I prefer wonky debate. This does not help. Reason 10000000000 why I no longer post analysis here.