commentary by Ross Kaminsky

[flight2q]

This Libertarian commentator chooses the USA online gambling bill as an example of GOP alienation of libertarians and claims libertarians may have won the Dems the Senate.

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2006/11/the_libertarian_effect.html

[MiltonFriedman]

"claims libertarians may have won the Dems the Senate"

.. .. in his dreams.

[Self Made]

In case you don't know much about libertarians, many professed libertarians vote Republican, because they realize Libertarian candidates aren't likely to win. It's possible libertarian dissatisfaction with Republicans shifted their voting patterns in the recent elections, but I'm skeptical. I may be upset about UIGEA and overspending by Republicans, but it hasn't changed my voting patterns.

Kaminsky cites a study by Boaz and Kirby that purports to provide evidence that a shift is happening, but I think their definition of libertarian is seriously flawed. They find about 13% of the population to be libertarian, which I think is ridiculously high. The evidence is in the stats they provide: they show a significant number of those "libertarians" voting Democratic. Being a fiscal conservative and a social liberal doesn't make you a libertarian. Real libertarians, the type who may vote Libertarian, don't vote for Democrats any more than they vote Green or Socialist, and don't switch their votes between the two major parties. Libertarians favor much more limited government than either Republicans or Democrats, many of which were apparently counted as "libertarians" in those polls. So if there's been a shift in the voting of true libertarians, the type that would have swung the vote in the election Kaminsky cites, that study doesn't show it.