The Debate Continues

As some of you have noticed, my thoughts on libertarian Democrats are up at Cato Unbound. Check out a new voice to the debate, Michael Strong of FLOW. Strong's argument in favor of the Democratic Party becoming more libertarian is very solid as it includes a discussion of the failures of the class war rhetoric of old school Democrats. If Democrats want to win in the future, not just now because of the failures of President Bush, they need a new agenda.

I was afraid that the debate at Cato Unbound was going to die out after Nick Gillespie single-handedly disarmed Harold Meyerson, Bruce Reed and kos. Turns out there is still a lot of energy and debate to be had - Mike Strong and Logan's posts were particularly moving.

I must say that kos's latest post is uncharacteristically on the mark. He argues that libertarians have hung back in American politics and. We need to roll up our sleeves and do things ourselves if we want them done right. Waiting around for another Ron Paul or Frank Gonzalez is just not adequate.

Heck, I'd run for public office if I had the chance. I've had my eye on the first district of Virginia for a long time, but I am still too young (and poor) to pull it off. If we can keep the Freedom Dem ball rolling for a few more years, I would be proud to step up and try my hand at politics.

I think the trick to fielding a Freedom Dem is to get the message out while cutting through the popular media distortion. Most interest groups and political cliques have embedded their hands deeply into the media pie. It will probably be tough to overcome a natural amount of bias inherent in the popular framing of political issues, but I think it can be done at local level.

I like the idea behind FLOW. Though it's a bit lacking in pragmatism, I cannot fault their ideals and where their hearts are.

Mike Strong used to be a 60s liberal until he realized how much pure modern liberalism was making his business ventures difficult. His travels to his reformed views should be able to resonate with many bleeding hearts...I would think.

But I hate the Kos attitude which reeks of short term tactical voting. When stuck in a choice between Democrats and Republicans, the short term answer is the Democrats. Long term possibilities are far more numerous and limiting them to two fixed positions is not taking action but giving in.

Right now, I'm with comfortable influencing both parties without pledging support to either. Unless the Democratic party is willing to seriously reason, debate, and back their positions, I will never consider them a viable party.

Michael Strong mentioned an interesting point about the youth and the internet. So how many of us are of the young techies ilk??? I certainly am.

DevP, Logan and I are all twenty-somethings. I believe Adam Ricketson and John are Gen-Xers. I'm also a serious techie and internationalist - I do R&D policy for the Defense Department.

I tend to see the emergence of information technology since 1990 a dialectical materialist lense. IT is redefining the means of production in a society the same way the industrial revolution did in the 19th Century. This rearranging of the means of production is causing inevitably changes the nature of markets and politics. Techies and Silicon Valley may be experiencing this change more acutely because they are closer to the IT revolution's epicenter than the rest of America.

Or it could be that we are a self-selecting audience because young people tend to blog more frequently than older folks.

but yes...good guess. My background is not technology but rather Foreign Language/International MBA. I now own a restaurant (go figure) after an unpleasant layoff from a NYC dot com during the bubble burst.

But I HAVE been active on the net since 1994! My have things come a long way in a short span.

I hit 40 this year, but I'm definitely a Gen Xer (young Boomer parents, so I'm definitely a child of'60s parents.) I'm also a Sys Admin working as a contractor for the Navy. Computer geek through and through. ;)

Lenny Zimmermann