Kos Unbound
Markos Moulitsas has an essay up at Cato Unbound, in which he tries to explains the beliefs held by "libertarian Democrats".
It's a very interesting read. Kos makes some good points. Really, he does. But he never adequately disproves or reconciles the fact that being a libertarian Democrat is a contradiction in and of itself.
You can not be for smaller government while at the same time promote larger government. As far as I can tell, calling oneself a libertarian Democrat is to believe in "smarter" government, which of course, is just as nonsensical as calling oneself a "libertarian Democrat".
Libertarians, fiscal conservatives, and public choice advocates don't believe smarter government is possible because incumbency, rent-seeking, and corruption are all negative forces that promote larger government, while at the same time, there are very few, if any, incentives at work that reduce government.
Kos rails against Republicans because they support Big Business (i.e. Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Big Tobacco). But instead of supporting smaller government by reducing the subsidies to these corporate interests, Kos merely wants to shift the money to Big Education, Big Environment, and Big Research Grants to Study Things He Deems Important. There's nothing libertarian and everything Democrat about that.
In the days ahead in response to this essay, Cato Unbound will be publishing articles by Bruce Reed, president of the DLC; Harold Meyerson, the very liberal editor of the American Prospect; and Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason Magazine. Look for 'em.
