Liberty Maven

Over and over and over again I see headlines using the words “Sarah Palin” and “libertarian” in the same sentence.  Sometimes I think it’s due to ignorance, but other times it’s clearly a crafted agenda to redefine the term “libertarian” to mean something closer to “neocon”.  For some blogging enthusiasts, this article could be considered an Eric Dondero hit piece, since I will be focusing largely on headlines written by him.

In a recent blogger post discussing Sarah Palin, Dondero wrote back to one commenter who didn’t quite agree with him: “You’re a purist libertarian. You don’t give a f*** about such things. Perfectly understandable….Now go back to your Ivory Tower, and take those books off those dusty shelves, and start studying Objectivist/Austrian economics theory, like you do every day. You’ll be much happier than living in the real world like the rest of us do.“  For Dondero, if you don’t subscribe to his warped concept of libertarianism (i.e. neoconservatism) then you must be a “purist”, and not worthy of contributing to the discussion.  Eric, there’s only so far you can stretch the definition of a libertarian, and you’ve gone way off the deep end.

A sideline quote on Dondero’s blog states: “Real libertarians believe in protecting the homeland first and foremost.”   False.  Real libertarians believe in protecting liberty first and foremost.  National defense (not offense) is important, but not at the expense of individual liberties in the homeland (which is precisely what’s happened in the past 7 years).

Indeed, it seems clear that Dondero has an agenda here.  Simply counting the number of times he’s referred to Palin as “libertarian” tells you something.  Consider these headlines:

• “Conservative Blogger recognizes LR blog for pointing out Palin’s libertarian streak”
• “Confirmed! Palin’s a libertarian on social issues, takes a “hands off” laissez faire attitude”
• “Libertarians seem reasonably happy with a VP Sarah Palin”
• “Sarah Palin swimsuit video: America’s new cultural libertarian icon”
• “It’s official: Sarah Palin now linked with libertarian Republicans”
• “Sarah Palin passes Cato’s libertarian test with flying colors”
• “More evidence Sarah Palin was picked cause she’s a libertarian”

Of course, these are just the headlines.  There isn’t enough space here to list all the times he has described her as libertarian in passing, as though it’s an indisputable fact.  I suppose he’s banking on the fact that if you repeat something often enough, people will start believing it (and worse, repeating it).

So how does Palin differ from true libertarians?  Since we really know very little about her, we can only judge her by what she’s done as mayor and governor, and what she spouts on the campaign trail.  Of course, in this day and age it’s her job to support her running mate, but the fact that she defends so much of McCain’s big government actions is enough to scare any true libertarian.  Here are just a few differences:

Foreign Policy - Palin endorses the same policy of interventionism that’s gotten us into trouble for the past 50 years. Libertarians believe in non-interventionism.

Taxes - While Palin claims she believes in lower taxes, she raised the sales tax in Alaska.  And unlike libertarians, she doesn’t even mention repealing the 16th amendment.

Religion - Palin regularly injects religious beliefs into public policy.  She said it was the “will of God” that we intervene in Iraq.  Where libertarians would use general principles of freedom and liberty to guide them, she often follows religious precepts, and the result is often different.  This is more in line with the Constitution Party platform than the Libertarian Platform.

Freedom - Palin supports gambling bans.  She says it’s “harmful to society”.  A libertarian believes that what one does to oneself is one’s own business, not the government’s business.

Drugs - Similar to the previous item, Palin supports the failed and disastrous war on drugs.

Education - Like libertarians, even true Conservatives have called for the abolition of Department of Education.  I haven’t heard Palin support this idea either.

As times goes on, I’m sure other differences will surface.  These days, there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans, and Sarah Palin is no different.  Like so many Republicans these days, she pays lip service to the idea of smaller government, but then goes on to call for more regulations in the financial industry.  Frankly, I’m sickened by the number of people who are planning to vote for McCain/Palin as a protest vote against Obama, as though there’s a substantive difference.  But I digress.  Palin is no libertarian.  She’s not even a true conservative.

There are certainly varying sets of beliefs within libertarianism, but Dondero stretches those beyond the limits of comprehension by suggesting Sarah Palin is a libertarian. Dondero needs to realize it’s just not possible to paint libertarian lipstick on a neoconservative pig.