Divided in Nevada

In America's most libertarian state, libertarians don't know how they'll vote

David Weigel from the November 2008 issue

(Page 2 of 2)

Root, who still has a photo of himself with George W. Bush on one of his walls, believes that wavering suburban Republicans, not Paul backers, are the winnable base for the state and national Libertarian parties. He rattles off interest groups he wants to bring into the party and talks about running for mayor of Las Vegas in 2011. He’s writing a book, The Conscience of a Libertarian, and transferring his interests from sports betting to investment banking and punditry. The theory is that if he sells the message, the party building will follow. “I suspect 40 years from now nobody will remember I was ever involved in gambling,” Root says. It’s kind of like Winston Churchill. Nobody knows anything about him except that he saved the world from Nazi Germany.”

But how much more selling does the libertarian message need in Nevada? Forget the legal gambling and prostitution: This is a state where Bob Beers was able to defeat an incumbent state senator because the latter pushed through a tax hike. Republicans shouldn’t be able to alienate libertarians and win elections here. “I’ve told the McCain people not to piss off the libertarians,” says political blogger Chuck Muth, a former Republican, now independent, who’s trying to find a friend in a safe Democratic state to vote Barr so he can vote McCain.

At the Bunny Ranch, there’s no talk of Barr among the staff. There’s a little discussion of Obama and McCain. Neither of them can touch this business, but they will not support the enterprise’s political values like Paul did either. “I don’t like either of them,” says Air Force Amy, the most famous of the Bunny Ranch girls. “I may move to Sweden.”

David Weigel ([e-mail]) is an associate editor of reason.

Comments

nfl jerseys|11.5.10 @ 9:11PM|#

wtjkj