A very interesting discussion about the possibility of libertarians slowly shifting towards the moderate wings of the Democratic Party. Here’s the original piece written by Ross Douthat.
I find the idea of libertarians supporting Democratic candidates in certain situations as somewhat plausible, but an entire shift of a whole political demographic seems unlikely. If we are discussing libertarians in the sense of socially liberal conservatives who distance themselves from the “Christian right,” then it is not all together improbable that this voting group may start to tilt more towards Democratic candidates.
Even if Ross’s idea was that of socially liberal conservatives voting Democrat because of the sometimes uncomfortable ideas of the Christian right, I highly doubt that will happen. No matter what the Republican Party’s view on social issues, I think the name “Democrat” will remain synonymous in every Libertarian’s mind with the word “spending”. Since many if not most Libertarians vote largely on the wasteful financial decisions of candidates, I cannot foresee a large enough departure from the Republican party to make this an issue. Especially with the massive spend blitz of the Obama administration, which I think may be large enough to keep Libertarians for at least the next few election cycles.