Where have all the Libertarians Gone?

              I write this knowing I’m a fella who will never quite fits in politically. I’m a Cold War Era NATO baby, a Liberal from Wyoming, a Left-Wing Libertarian, a Democrat for Decentralization—I contain multitudes, and they all point in somewhat similar directions. In short, truisms like “Think globally, act locally” and “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely” seem true to me.

They are true to me in a way that shapes my long-term political thoughts. They make me skeptical of the centralization of power, be it political, corporate or ecclesiastical, and one of the lenses I use to look at policies is the question, “Does that maximize liberty?” At the end of the day, I’m a party of one who would maybe caucus with Democrat Farm Labor, except I’ve never lived in Minnesota while of voting age.

I point out this background because I’ve been wondering why a political party I have some sympathies towards, the Libertarians, aren’t taking advantage of the moment, and aren’t speaking up for their deeply held beliefs about: liberty, economic freedoms, the sacrosanct nature of speech, small government, and all the rest, at a very clarifying time in our nation. I think doing so would be good for the Libertarians, and also good for America.

 

Speaking up now would be good for the Libertarian Party

              We are at a time when one of the two major political parties is having a wilderness moment. They are on a walk-about finding themselves. “Dems in Disarray” “Leaderless and Lost” and “Who owns the left now?” are all headlines and heartlines of our time. Democrats are out there trying things, everything from Democratic Socialism to No Kings rallies to books about Abundance. And this is as it should be, coalitions have shifted and the parties need to re-assess and figure out who is in their tent now and how they can use what they have to win elections.

              Now, a not small segment of those Democratic Party voters are on a “No Kings” kick. They are framing being a Democrat as being against overreach by President Trump; blunting the force with which he can reach into people’s day to day lives, coercing them to make choices they wouldn’t otherwise make, is what it means to be on the Left.

I believe if the Libertarian Party was to show up at these rallies with clipboards, and passed out yellow and black “don’t tread on me” signs reading: “Libertarians against a Unitary Executive” “Got liberty?” and “Coequal Branches of Government are Sexy” to anyone who would sign onto their mailing list, they would have an okay shot at being a major governing party by 2026 (there are of course all the longstanding jokes that Libertarians very much do not want to be a governing party… but that’s a whole different conversation).

Talk to these Dems reacting to gross overreach by a politician they don’t like, doing things of which they disapprove. Agree with them about the Unitary Executive Theory, and then push them to see it as part of a longer story of the erosion of the Separation of Powers. Agree with them on Abortion, push ‘em on Imminent Domain. Agree with them that the extrajudicial killings of Venezuelans is bad, and remind them that Obama expanded and codified drone warfare. This is a moment where Libertarians could be heard by the mainstream.

 

Speaking Up Would be Good for America

              This could be the Libertarian moment—the “told you so” worst case scenario you’ve always warned America about. And the Libertarian voice, being a minority voice, could express the dangers of our present in a way that lays things out starkly and might be heard by the silent majority, who in some ways just want to be left alone—which is your whole deal!

              “We warned you that the Federal Government invading ranches was bad, now they’re invading the cities as well!”

              “We warned you that using the military for non-war functions is dangerous, now the Commander-in-Chief is asking them to clean up our streets and enforce immigration law and blow-up drug smugglers, in what is being interpreted abroad as an undeclared war on Venezuela.”

              “We warned you that the Government playing favorites with corporations was dangerous—the Cash for Clunkers program and the Affordable Care Act were sins—now the president is requiring fealty and gifts from CEOs, is nationalizing companies, his unchecked words are seesawing the global economy, and he’s moving like a mob boss against independent agencies that influence the economy.”

              “We warned you that even the whiff of imposing ideologies and political correctness in corporations and on college campuses was setting dangerous precedents, now look at what’s happening! Media companies are firing comedians and closing up long cherished late-night shows on account of the president’s grief over the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and he has promise that the two remaining late-night hosts are in his crosshairs. No Government should be so big that the executive’s mood dictates the life of the little guys—the 200-some backstage people who won’t land as gently as Cobert or Kimmel! On top of that, he’s hobbling Universities in such a way that many instructors and staff across the country still don’t know if they’ll have a job by the end of the first semester.”

              “We warned you that power corrupts and pointed to Hunter Biden trading on his father’s name in Ukraine, now when Trump takes a trip to the Middle East a foreign government bribed him with a palatial airplane, and his family business got a sweetheart billion-dollar deal. Conservative estimates are he’s used the presidency to enrich himself by 3.5 billion dollars, and that’s not counting in-kind gifts and grifts, or anyone else's graft.”

              “We warned you that imperial presidencies are only as good as the President, now look where we are! We’re stuck with a man who attacks religious denominations, and food pantries—while hacking away at the safety nets that those private institutions are supposed to replace in a Libertarian vision—a man who folds in more and more power under his awful auspices, who imposes executive orders like his life depends on it, who intervenes in affairs best left up to school boards and town councils.”

 

And the Libertarian Wave is Coming

              And there are signs that Libertarian minded folks are waking up. South Park has aimed its sneer and barking laugh at the would be Emperor, who happens to be naked. Rand Paul is speaking up against misuse of military might abroad… my liberty minded brothers are starting to stand up for what they believe in, starting to turn their eyes from the boogieman of tax and spend liberals to the present reality of a reactionary executive hording governmental power and authority.

Come on out, worst case scenario you strengthen the part of the Democratic party that cares about freedom, and we get a President Jared Polis in 2028. Best care scenario, you are true to your values even when it is tough, and you send a few congress-creatures to Washington and to local legislative bodies, and the country has to take your concerns to heart, because they need your votes to govern.