Libertarianism In The Obama-Era: Taking Stock Of Libertarianism’s Victories And Defeats

Libertarianism, a resurgent ideology that is confoundingly on the retreat within the more friendly of Americas two major political parties, represents a fascinating case study in both grassroots political success and failure. The ideology, and the party as well, have had some major victories as well as some devastating defeats over the last four years. A libertarian philosophy has much to offer American politics, but they have thus far been unsuccessful at attracting a broader audience for their policy prescription to the nations nagging problems. Whats more, supporters of mainstream libertarianism seem more inclined to isolate themselves from criticism. Libertarianism is an important element to American politics but it will not achieve a wider acceptance among the electorate if the task of mainstreaming the ideology is left to its present practitioners.

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The financial crisis that began in 2008 with the collapse of the mortgage-based derivatives market forced both Democrats and Republicans to reevaluate their legislative priorities. While traditional Democrats and left-leaning progressives found new impetus to push for legislation that favored fairness and equality in financial markets not to mention an expansion of the social safety net for those most exposed to the economic downturn Republicans found new reason to return to their fiscally conservative roots.

Compounded by Sen. John McCains loss to President Barack Obama in 2008, Republican voters repudiated their compassionate wing; a branch of Republicanism that was happy to oversee the growth of the state, so long as it could be managed and directed in the most politically advantageous of ways. Welfare programs like the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit and the No Child Left Behind education reform law, championed by President George W. Bush and his Republican-led Congressional majorities, came to symbolize a GOP that had lost its way.

But in the light of the new reality ushered in by the financial crisis, Republicans found that these programs formerly buoyed by Americas once ever-expanding largess were simply unjustifiable. Those programs short-lived successes were outweighed by their costs. It was in this political environment, amid a thorough repudiation of Bush-era Republicans, that the GOP embraced their libertarian wing.

The tea party movement, born spontaneously in early 2009, drew heavily from the libertarian grassroots organizations that were already active and viciously opposed to the big government wing of the conservative party. As the average Republican found new value in the tenets of mainstream libertarianism, (sound currency, a less interventionist foreign policy and reduced government intervention into the private sector to name a few examples) it seemed clear that the national GOP would quickly follow suit.

The 2010 midterm elections suggested that this transformation was well underway, but somewhere along the line the Republican partys drift towards libertarianism halted. It would be a mistake for libertarians to blame the loss of this opportunity to secure a critical level of influence over the GOP as the result some cabal of establishment-types working behind the scenes to shut them out. Worse, libertarians should avoid consoling themselves in the belief that Republican voters were simply cowed by sharp advertising or too close minded to embrace a libertarian philosophy. No, it was the base of the libertarian movement that sabotaged its own rise.

The Weekly Standards Mark Hemmingway outlines the follies of the libertarian movement in the magazines most recent issue. In his article, he chronicles the small ball issues that the libertarian movement seems to obsess over. The legalization of marijuana and prostitution are among libertarianisms most favored causes that simply do not resonate outside the bounds of the ideologies most faithful adherents.

Furthermore, Hemmingway notes how mainstream libertarians embrace conspiratorial notions that Republican officeholders eschew. [W]hen you start inquiring about the economy, the talk escalates quickly from paper currency to conspiracy, Hemmingway writes. On a Libertarian message board, youre often just one click away from a frightfully earnest conversation about the Bilderbergers and the Rothschilds.

While GOP leaders have done all within the power to tamp down foolish conspiratorial notions about, for example, President Obamas parentage and place of birth, libertarian leaders are often guilty of legitimizing conspiracy theories among their faithful supporters.