

How libertarians might prove useful -- and vindicate Calvin Coolidge - malchow
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/07/where-are-libertarians-when-you-need-them.php

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glenra
Change mostly happens on the margin in relatively small increments.
Libertarians are actually _making progress_ at legalizing pot, which is great
because the war on pot has long been a gateway drug driving the increased
militarization of the police. They've also been making progress getting rid of
dumb archaic laws (like those that prohibit sodomy or gay marriage) and
fighting against the _growth_ of _new_ incursions against freedom, even if it
is a rear-guard action.

Fighting "the regulatory state" as an abstract project seems quixotic, unless
you have an actual PLAN for doing so. Besides, when libertarian forces DO try
to attack the regulatory state too directly, they tend to get marginalized by
the left AND the right, as happened with the Tea Party.

One underlying problem is that we don't currently have anyone as prominent and
capable as Milton Friedman arguing the issues. There are some great
econobloggers (eg, at
[http://econlog.econlib.org/](http://econlog.econlib.org/) ) but none
sufficiently prominent to serve as a counterpoint to Krugman. There are a few
libertarian celebrities (eg, Penn Jillette) but they don't have the gravitas
to get taken seriously in intellectual debates.

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pessimizer
So libertarians should avoid actual, relevant, concrete issues surrounding
personal freedom, and that people care about, in order to concentrate on
abstract Republican rhetoric (that Republicans have never carried through on,
expanding government as much or more than Democrats)? Sounds like a dumb plan.

~~~
tthomas48
Another way to phrase it is libertarians should focus on the heavy lifting of
reforming small pieces of government where they are likely to have success
rather than focusing so single-mindedly on issues they are unlikely to have
much impact on.

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iterationx
If libertarians controlled the school systems, then mainstream liberalism
would be a fringe movement.

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xname
It's so funny, but I have to say it again, libertarians are not a subgroup of
conservatives, so please stop talking to us like we are on your side.

