Update: Here's another Daily Kos diary, which is ongoing right now.

Also check out the perspective at Psychopolitik.

Here's a list of the reactions to Markos's description of "Libertarian Democrats."

First, there were a string of Daily Kos diaries on the topic.

Fuck Libertarians: The Politics of Contrast, an angry rant against Ayn Rand Objectivism. Kudos to the author for apologizing after a horde of us pointed out that we don't all worship at the Church of Atlas Shrugged.

Libertarian Dems and universal health care, an attempt to find a way to make universal health care appealing to libertarians. A nice attempt, but I know enough to realize that this won't convince most libertarians.

Let Stakeholders Incorporate, a diary that didn't seem directly related to the topic and I didn't get into. Some proposals about changing the way corporations are set up.

Libertarian Dem = More Cow Bell, a hostile attack even on the moderate proposals coming from Markos, let along a real Libertarian Democratic agenda.

I'm a Libertarian, a Democrat, and a Kossack, a spirited defense of libertarianism from Jay Elias. The point is that libertarians and Democrats can work together, but not necessarily in the way Markos envisions.

A Libertarian Democrat's Plan to Win in November, my own post based on Terry Michael's article "Jefferson's Jacksons: a Wake-up Call for Democrats Who Are Trying to Win by Default, Without Firing up the Base". Posted a few seconds after Jay's diary, it didn't get much attention. But I also suspect that more people want to debate their own strawman versions of libertarianism than to talk about the actual issues.

Next up we have some libertarian reaction. It ranges from negative to indifferent, but on the verge of hopeful.

Markos Moulitsas Is Not a Libertarian" at the Hammer of Truth was perhaps the most negative I saw. I like that though, someone needs to stand up and clearly (if not angrily) declare that Markos has it wrong when it tries to not only explain liberty and freedom, but this idea that corporations are independently powerful enough to threaten the individual, instead of being created and armed by government.

Libertarian Democrats?" by Perry de Havilland at Samizdata.net also drills home the lesson that "Large corporations can coerce people because they can manipulate excessively mighty state power."

Puke or Scream? was the reaction of David Reynolds at the view from below, which I think some of us also felt.

Misunderstanding libertarians is the name of the entry at the will to exist that I found through trackbacks. I think that the author, Trevor, makes one of the best summaries of the moderate libertarian view of government:

If the United States is a house, government is a hammer. To it, everything looks like a nail. You need more than a hammer to build a good house. In fact, modern houses are built primarily with other tools.

Some government is necessary, yes. It’s good to have a hammer around when you need to pound in a nail that’s sticking out. However, Democrats in general have a tendency to attack every problem in the house with the hammer of government, and that’s why there are so many holes in the damn drywall of the United States, Kos.

Lib Dems is the response at Say Uncle. A generally positive reply, it brings forward the example of Russ Feingold as a Democrat who might have a better claim than Markos to the title "Libertarian Democrat."

This is a sampling of the libertarian blogosphere, but I also wanted to highlight the big boys: Reason and Cato.

Common Kos?, from David Weigel, was the first reaction at Reason's Hit & Run. He doesn't buy it at all . . .

How to Be a Half-Decent Democrat, from Jesse Walker, is a better response in terms of telling Markos and other Democrats what they would have to do to appeal to libertarians. First, actually be libertarian on the issues (social and foreign policy) where you're supposedly more libertarian than the right. Second, drop the war against fast food, smokers, and gun owners. And third, show some willingness to cut the pork. Gary Hart and Jerry Brown did it, why can't you?

“Libertarian Democrats”?", from Gene Healy, presents a general overview and questions the existance of such a beast.

Show Me the Libertarianism, the response of Will Wilkinson, focused on the fact that actions speak louder than words. He points out that most libertarians and liberals come from the same personality background (open minded and generally tolerance), but they differ on their views of government. But given the similarity in background, he thinks that if the Democrats shifted closer to the libertarians on economic issues they'd win over supporters in droves.

Liberaltarian might be a better word, according to Radley Balko, who brings up several examples in the last few years where liberals were silent on criticising the expansion of government power, such as Raich and Kelo. He also lists some good issues where government is on the march: anti-smoking and anti-fast food activists.

I also noticed that our old friend Mike Renzulli, who has given up on working within the two parties after a time as a DFC member, commented on the diary. I looked up Mike to see his view on it after seeing a comment on the Daily Kos thread (I can't find it now, they are so long) about Arizona State Senator Ken Cheuvront. Check out a recent newspaper article about him and other business owners in the Arizona legislature.

Like Mr. Quelland, Mr. Cheuvront’s business experience is backed by a degree from the Graduate School of International Management. And like Mr. Quelland, he regards himself as a fiscal conservative.

That’s not out of keeping with being a Democrat, Mr. Cheuvront adds.

“I’m a libertarian and a Democrat,” he says. “Republicans are no longer for limited government.” He adds: “I don’t see the Republican Party at all as the party of fiscal restraint.”

As a businessman, he is perhaps more attuned to issues like property taxes than his colleagues, Republicans or Democrats. In Arizona, commercial property carries a higher tax burden than residential property.

To Mr. Cheuvront, the businessman, that’s unfair.

“Whether I’m making a profit or not, I still have to pay the property tax. The income tax is at least based on how well your business is doing,” he says.

Checking out Cheuvront, I found that he's a DLC rising star and also openly gay. He's also endorsed fellow Arizona State Senator Gabrielle Giffords in her Democratic primary to run for the open House seat left by retiring Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe. She has an interesting economic platform.

* oppose any Congressional pay raises until the budget is balanced.
* eliminate corporate welfare that puts special interests ahead of taxpayers – such as the billions in tax breaks given to oil and gas companies, and the Medicare Drug bill that guarantees drug company profits.
* support a transparent and open process for earmarks, so that porkbarrel boondoggles aren’t slipped into bills in the middle of the night, like the $200 million bridge that connects a small Alaskan town to an island of 50 people.
* target government waste – like Halliburton and cronies pilfering money from Iraq contracts—and root it out of the budget.
* end the special tax discounts that Congress and the Bush Administration have given to the wealthiest Americans and corporations.

Any thoughts? Check out the rest of her site, it's good.

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