Your typical liberal completely misunderstands Ron Paul and libertarians in general. A significant percentage of americans are anti-government, period. This has always been the case, since 1776. Many modern Americans - esp. youth - view government as pathetic, something to be avoided... inefficient and frustrating at best. Who hasn't matched wits with the DMV, or suffered public transportation for any length of time, or stood in line at the post office in december, or been forced to calculate their taxes (an unpleasant exercise that merely adjusts that which was already violently withheld from us without consent), or contested a parking ticket... any one of these experiences is enough to convince all but the most distracted and naive souls that government should be severely minimized, and certainly not entrusted with more responsibility or control over the lives of free citizens.
In this respect, the entire lefty platform is swimming upstream against the popular current, particularly among taxpaying families and Generations X, Y and Z. America is not a naturally socialist country, and probably never will be. This fact has something to do with the highest law in the land, The Constitution, which could never be interpreted as anything but a libertarian document. Traditional democrats may find it difficult to consistently win elections if their movement fails to acknowledge and reduce the leviathan that is government authority. A vital slice of america's voters are taxpayers (and 'indepedents'), many paying federal, state, and local taxes with dollars that simply don't go a far as they did just 5 years ago.
Average household income (adjusted for inflation) hasn't budged in 30 years. Young people - joining the workforce for the first time and with high expectations of efficiency borne of the digital age - are asking serious questions about the 35-40% of their income that evaporates before the remainder even finds it's way into their bank accounts. While most of these new voters are social liberals (raised on Sesame St.), they are also hip to technology and finance. Traditional 20th century liberals will eventually find themselves at an electoral disadvantage if their platform forever advocates an expanding socialist nanny state. Too many people of all ages simply do not want it.
Ironically, big government conservatives are learning the same hard lesson right now, and they have temporarily forfeited the mantle of 'fiscal responsibility' to the Left. Democrats will ignore this gift and govern/spend as their predecessors have, they will find themselves learning the same hard lesson (on the losing end of elections), again, four, eight and twelve years from now.
The message here is simple: while the Ron Paul revolution has been marginalized in this election cycle, it's core pillars of fiscal responsibility and anti-imperialist foreign policy sit at the heart of the 'independent' vote that determines winners and losers in the electoral arena. Now is the time for Democrats to put their pie-in-the-sky pet programs on the shelf, and join libertarians in targeting long-term priorities, such as energy independence, sound money, administrative efficiency, and restoring constitutional rights.
The Left should be taking this issue head-on, as one can rightfully blame the GOP's 8+ year reign of fiscal irresponsibility for the regression of America's working middle class. Here is the opportunity to claim quality in government, not quantity. US voters/taxpayers are increasingly exposed to fierce global competition. Regular folks are living with the effects of globalization on the job, and they are earning less - on average - as a result. The Right abandoned these voters when they embraced deficit spending (to wage war, no less). Here the Left can claim ground they haven't inhabited in four decades (and challenge themselves and voters in the process). Passive, touchy-feely politics doesn't win here in the middle. The Left must issue challenges to voters and themselves, and win the debate on merit. The next election cycle may not be as advantageous for Democrats as the current cycle for many, many reasons. Here and now is the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of leadership, and not merely the limp victor of a reactionary election.
While Ron Paul's foreign policy causes embarrassment for liberal candidates and voters, the left could learn even more from Paul's classical civil liberalism. He voted against the Patriot Act, for example, and he advocates an end to the war on drugs. How is it that liberals and libertarians are in lockstep with respect to many major issues, yet reside in opposing political parties? Semantics and tradition, mostly. Perhaps this election cycle will expose such contradictions?
Paul's anti-war message is heresy in his own party, and his anti-government message shocks traditional Democrats. Yet among his supporters these same two policies are completely consistent, based on constitutional principles. Try to find such straightforward, unhedged and principled policy dynamics among the front-running candidates of any other party... and one begins to understand Paul's appeal and support.
One area where the Left can draw from the center exclusively is immigration. Paul breaks rank with most libertarians here and leaves immigration centrists in the cold. Unfortunately, this is one of those quirky McCain constituencies - pro-immigration rationalists.
But the most critical opportunity/signal to be missed by the Left is the incredibly libertarian nature of the internet. Traditional liberals can be overheard muttering phrases like, "the govt should do this...", or "the govt should do that...". Chatter of such dependency at any level is rare among netizens. people on the web are finding their own answers, not waiting for bureaucrats to accidentally solve a problem by some miracle of competency. It are these norms and this spirit and this generation that will shape the future. And here again is a macro trend likely to boost the profile of the libertarian platform in popular politics for years/decades to come.
One could argue that strict, two-party politics is doomed. Like all things sponsored by government, politics-as-usual will simply fail to meet the expectations of modern Americans, and ever more citizens will be online looking for better answers, and unconsciously yielding to 'web rules' .
P.S. - A Direct Request of the Democratic Nominee... please prove to me that you can improve the quality and efficiency of services rendered to government by constitutional charter before you ask for control of healthcare... because this is an issue where many libertarians may actually betray the code. In a global economy, certain services like quality, efficient healthcare are a distinct competitive advantage. Employers have known this for a long time, and more employees are getting a clue, too. By mis-administering healthcare, we may forfeiting a natural advantage. Soon benchmarks at all levels could be set elsewhere. Allowing private "insurance" interests to manage healthcare with a profit motive is simply providing one less reason to favor being an american v. some other nationality wherein the standard of living is actually rising, not falling as it is here.
That most liberals are stunned by popular resistance to universal healthcare is another example of missed signals. Many Americans (including libertarians) can support "universal" coverage, so long as it done efficiently - in an affordable and accommodating marketplace - with choices and upgrades and options. The idea that government or any top-down masterplan could outperform markets strikes most Americans as naive and/or foolhardy. One should expect such tendencies of citizens with strong memories of Ronald Reagan, and weak memories of FDR, and a universal healthcare plan should be presented accordingly. Yet the Left rarely acknowledges this fundamental and generational characteristic, failing to persuade - or ever attempt to persuade - America's independent center with it's growing libertarian undercurrents.
-- MP
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