A Coalition of Conservatives and Libertarians in 2012?

While doing my morning check for an interesting lead the Cato @ Liberty, Gallup's Conservatives and Libertarians spot caught my eye. It didn't interest me so much because I am a Libertarian, (I define myself as a true modern independent conservative and a classical radical in the mold of our founding fathers), but  rather as I read the article I could not help but think a strong coalition of true Conservatives and Libertarians could win the White House in 2012.

Some numbers from the Poll;

1) 40 percent of respondents consider themselves to be consevative
2) 36 percent consider themselves to be moderate
3) 20 percent consider themselves to be liberal

Based on respondents answers to two broad questions noted below Gallup consistently find approximately 20 percent of the electorate hold Libertarian beliefs.
  • Some people think the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses. Others think that government should do more to solve our country’s problems. Which comes closer to your own view?
  • Some people think the government should promote traditional values in our society. Others think the government should not favor any particular set of values. Which comes closer to your own view?
The poll numbers are of course not scientific. They do however provide an indication of where the voting public is at. The numbers indicate an opportunity exists for a strong candidate with integrity and strong ethical values to unseat the current socialist/statist occupant of the White House.

Something else I found of interest in the article is the apparent lack of understanding of Libertarian values. Note the following excerpt:


The word “libertarian” isn’t well known, so pollsters don’t find many people claiming to be libertarian. And usually they don’t ask. But a large portion of Americans hold generally libertarian views.... They don’t fit the red-blue paradigm, and they have their doubts about both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. They’re potentially a swing vote in elections.

As I was reading the article I couldn't help thinking what a dynamic ticket a coalition of true Conservatives and Libertarians would make in the 2012 election and the effort to unseat our current socialist/statist President.

So I went for a walk through the video info world and hit pay dirt. Here is a series of 4 videos on Libertarianism by none other than that giant intellect Milton Friedman. Rational Nation USA runs them here for your viewing pleasure.









Via: Cato @ Liberty 


Comments

  1. I, too, lean toward being a Libertarian, but the problem is the party cannot come up with a viable candidate. They seem to come across as a crack port. Unfortunately this country is a two party system until a true candidate can be chosen to make it a viable three party system. Right now, voting the Libertarian ticket is helping the Liberals because the Conservative vote is divided.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with your observation, and from a conventional viewpoint if nothing changes you are correct. It helps the Liberals and Progressives.

    My hope is through education and a strong candidate emerging we can eventually put the conventional wisdom to rest.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Right now, voting the Libertarian ticket is helping the Liberals"

    that may be the conventional wisdom but i would have to argue against it. democracy is about voting for the man who you want for office not who you do not want. and when that arguement is used then you are admitting voting for someone who you don't want as well as voting against a person who you don't want.

    and a vote for the libertarian ticket is not helping the liberals. it is helping the libertarian ticket grow stronger.

    and as individualist we know that our individual vote will not elect anyone. and from that poll, we can see that if everyone voted for who they did want, the libertarian party would be a lot stronger voice then it is.

    its not getting the message out that is needed but the debunking of the message that is out there, such as this one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Griper, I agree with what you say in principle. But without the education and a good viable, dynamic personality, the Libertarian part will be nothing but a means of dividing the Conservative vote. You may really like a Libertarian candidate, but the chances of him being elected are not even worth considering. I agree that McCain wasn’t a good choice this year, but he was head and shoulders above Barry ’the Ears’ Obama. But with the Libertarian vote, the Conservative people lost in the long run.

    ReplyDelete

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