DC Blows

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISILLUSION

After reading the Libertarian v. Republican banter in Agity’s comments section, I tried to reflect a bit on why small “l” libertarians seem increasingly disillusioned with voting Republican and are willing to toss a futile (but principled) vote to a Big L. (Radley even threatens a spite vote for a Big D.) So I thought back about which issues were important to me during the presidential campaigns in 1980 and 2000, how things have changed over the last twenty years, and why I’ve grown less interested in voting for Republicans.

So here are some campaign issues from 1980. The ones in italics are the ones that libertarians might not like.

REAGAN
Decreasing the role of government in our lives
Supply-side economics
Moderately bellicose foreign policy
Deregulation
Balanced budget
Ban on abortion
Against the Equal Rights Amendment
Against funding for “renewable energy resources”
Against a federal jobs program
Against SALT II

CARTER
Increasing government programs
Increasing government aid
Command-and-control economics
Non-bellicose foreign policy
National health insurance
Pro-choice
For the Equal Rights Amendment
For funding for “renewable energy resources”
For a federal jobs program
For SALT II

So in this (non-scientific) sampling, libertarians can clearly identify the lesser of two evils. Most of Reagan’s platform advanced the cause of smaller government. The items that we may quibble about are not clearly anti-libertarian:

Reagan did not have an overly hawkish view of the world – there were valid strategic reasons to be against SALT II other than wanting a bigger war machine. Being against the Equal Rights Amendment didn’t necessarily mean you were against women having equal rights – there were plenty of things in that bill that libertarians would not like. Being pro-life is not a deal-beaker, either. Plenty of libertarians hold the view that individualism is irreconcilable with abortion.

Carter was an obvious no-go for libertarians. He believed every problem could be solved by a new government program. His economic policy hurt the already weak economy. And while he had some foreign policy successes, he was by no means a non-interventionist. His foreign policy could at best be characterized as peaceful interventionism and at worst feckless meandering.

Contrast this choice between Reagan and Carter with our most recent presidential campaign:

BUSH 43
For a small tax cut
Smaller government
More federal involvement in education
For vouchers
Funding a prescription drug program
For Social Security privatization
For banning some “soft money”
For some tiny gun control measures
For affirmative access, but not quotas
For some military adventurism

GORE
For a tiny tax cut
Streamlined government
More federal involvement in education
Against vouchers
Funding a prescription drug program
Against Social Security privatization
For banning some “soft money”
For some small gun control measures
For affirmative action, but not quotas
For some military adventurism

The two are fairly similar. They both agreed that at least some Americans should get a small tax cut. They both talked a big game on making government more efficient. They both wanted the federal government to have a heavier hand in education. They both endorsed small gun control measures. They both wanted to fund a prescription drug program. So, unlike the 1980 election, these two agreed on many more issues. They differed not on ideology, but on degree or methodology.

So, when I voted for Bush in 2000, I did so somewhat grudgingly, because he was significantly less libertarian than past Republican candidates.

But Bush shared two pet issues with libertarians: Social Security privatization and school vouchers. So, I voted for him.

And what really gets my panties in a twister is that he has the balance of power and approval ratings to make these things happen, but won’t. Which means that I’ve been duped.

So, he hooked a lot of libertarians, but eventually fell short on just the issues they care about. And that’s why I’m disillusioned.