Should Libertarians Vote Democrat?

In over a half-decade of Republican political dominance, Americans have witnessed a huge expansion in the scope and cost of government, a questionably just and so-far unsuccessful war in Iraq, serious erosions of civil liberty, and a troubling tendency toward an imperial executive. Is it time for the traditional alliance between libertarians and conservatives to finally end? If Republicans in power have failed so utterly to promote libertarian ideals, would libertarians better advance their cause by supporting Democrats at the polls? Of course, the fact that libertarians have been so badly abused by conservatives doesn’t necessarily imply they will find a more welcoming home among liberals. Is the Democratic tent big enough to include small-government free marketeers. Perhaps libertarians have something to gain by supporting to Democrats, but does the Democratic party have anything to gain by courting libertarians?

Markos “Kos” Moulitsas kicks off October’s discussion with “The Case for the Libertarian Democrat.” Democratic Leadership Council President Bruce Reed will reply from the “new Democrat” center, while Washington Post columnist and the American Prospect editor Harold Meyerson will reply from the “old Democrat” progressive left. Rounding out the field is Reason magazine editor-in-chief Nick Gillespie, who will tell us whether libertarians should be buying what the Democrats are selling.

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