Whatever the outcome of the recent debates in Washington, I think that the message is pretty clear. There is a growing movement within the republican party that is decidedly Libertarian.
And to be sure, the methods they are using and the message they are spreading may do them more harm than good. But I’ve come across two recent articles showing that the trend is steadily growing:
A new poll confirms a libertarian renaissance in 2013.
FreedomWorks commissioned a national survey of registered voters last month, shared first with POLITICO, that finds 78 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents self-identify as fiscally conservative and socially moderate.
It’s not that Republicans are suddenly self-identifying as “libertarians” and devouring Ayn Rand novels, but more that they seem to be embracing underlying libertarian priorities and views about the role of government.
The GOP dominated politics for a generation with a coalition of libertarians, social conservatives and defense hawks that Ronald Reagan successfully cobbled together in 1980. The tea party-affiliated FreedomWorks argues in a 23-page report that the so-called three-legged stool has become lopsided.
The poll asked Republican voters what they are most interested in: 40 percent said “individual freedom through lower taxes and reducing the size and scope of government,” 27 percent picked “traditional values” and 18 percent chose a “strong national defense.”
Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, who ran the poll, said she’s seeing a spike in voters who feel the government is too expensive, invasive and expansive.
“The perfect storm is being created between the NSA, the IRS, the implementation of Obamacare and now Syria,” she said. “People are looking at the government more suspiciously. They’re looking with deeper scrutiny and reasonable suspicion.”
It’s my hope that this decidedly libertarian push continues. Partly, mostly, because it’s the right philosophy. But also because it resonates to more people and will thus generate more of a movement to support the policies. How many votes has the GOP lost due to Gay Rights or Immigration?
Finally, consider the growth with these two graphs:
Freedom Works used Gallup data to generate the trend. Below is Freedom Works using data from American National Election Studies:
Good stuff.
return to Washington.
