Path: utzoo!hoptoad!uunet!husc6!bbn!mit-eddie!mit-amt!joel
From: joel@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (joel s. kollin)
Newsgroups: alt.individualism
Subject: Re: Libertarian Republicans
Keywords: libertarian republican
Message-ID: <2227@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 3 Apr 88 22:29:37 GMT
References: <1291@PT.CS.CMU.EDU>
Reply-To: joel@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (joel s. kollin)
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Lines: 27

In article <1291@PT.CS.CMU.EDU> yamauchi@SPEECH2.CS.CMU.EDU (Brian Yamauchi) writes:
>
>I have heard the (small "l") libertarian wing of the Republican Party
>mentioned a number of times (in Maddox & Lilie's "Beyond Liberal and
>Conservative", for example).  My question is: does this wing exist, and why
>haven't they taken a role in the primaries?

The answer is simple - they are a casualty of the Reagan Revolution.
While Reagan pays lip service to economic freedom and "getting
government" off of the backs of the people, actions speak louder than 
words.  Fed. Gov't spending as a percentage of GNP has increased even
as social spending has declined in real terms, the Administration has
launched repeated attacks on personal liberties, and has invented new,
creative menas of protectionism ("voluntary" import restrictions) 
which only hurt the consumer.

Need I say anything about Republicans who disagree with Reagan?
There are more Fundementalists than libertarians, I'm afraid.

The Democrats haven't been much better.  I suppose Dukakis is the
closest to being libertarian since Carter, but I'm not sure how much
that's saying. 

BTW, the April edition of "Atlantic" has a real hysterical cut-up of
Bush in it.  It's called "War is Heck"

joel kollin