Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

3 Ways Romney, Ryan, and the Republicans Can Woo Libertarian Voters

Nick Gillespie | 8.30.2012 8:18 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

So tonight is Mitt Romney's big night. He's running even now with President Barack Obama in most polls but all indications suggest this is going to be a tight race. The GOP ticket is going to need every vote it can scrounge up.

Even - and especially - from those of us who are independent, libertarian voters who prize "free minds and free markets." As can be seen from its treatment of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) at this year's Republican National Convention in Tampa, the GOP establishment doesn't care much for small-government types until it absolutely has to. Which it does, at least in this election. 

Here are three ways Romney, Ryan, and the rest of their party-mates might win over at least some of the 10 percent to 15 percent of libertarian-minded voters who want exactly the same thing the GOP says it stands for: sharp reductions in the size, scope, and spending of the federal government.

1. Get serious about cutting spending.

Democrats and Republicans alike pay lip service to cutting spending, but the GOP's entire identity is predicated on the notion of smaller government.

If Romney wants to carry libertarians, he needs to start talking about cutting the actual year-over-year totals that taxpayers shell out for big-ticket items such as Social Security, Medicare, and defense. Outlays on Medicare alone have risen over 75 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2001 and Romney's calls for "preserving and protecting" Medicare makes a mockery of the idea that the GOP will be fiscally responsible with Mitt in the White House.

Indeed, even Paul Ryan's much-celebrated budget plan would increase annual spending by more than $1 trillion in 2022 compared to what we're spending annually now. That's an echo of Obama's own awful proposal (which would spend $2 trillion annually in a decade).

2. Get serious about bringing home the troops.

Defense spending is up more than 70 percent in real terms in the 21st century and everyone is tired of us trying to be the world's policeman. Libertarians believe in a strong national defense but, like the majority of Americans, they don't believe that endless wars like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan will either make us safer at home or bring peace to foreign lands.

Romney needs to tell the Pentagon what he told countless businesses while working at Bain Capital: Do more with less.

3. Get serious about staying out of personal lives.

Many people rightly fear that Republicans want to sharply curtail reproductive freedom, expand the drug war, ban whatever they consider pornography, and treat gays and lesbians as second class citizens. Romney needs to make clear that his limited government philosophy means the feds shouldn't be intervening in the private lives of individuals unless it's absolutely central to the survival of the nation. Nobody's asking for lifestyle approval, they just want to make sure Romney and the Republicans will respect our right to be left alone.

If Romney, Ryan, and the GOP want to win the libertarian vote - and hence win in November - they should acknowledge that the memory of George W. Bush and his big govenment ways – not to mention a great LP candidate in former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson - means they've got their work cut out for them, no matter how genuinely awful Barack Obama has proven.

Romney and the Republicans will have to do something that's almost unthinkable in politics: They will need to actually live up to what they say they stand for.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Nobody Cares About RNC Protesters

Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.

PoliticsWorldNanny StateWar on DrugsScience & TechnologyCultureCivil LibertiesEconomicsPolicy
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (68)

Latest

The App Store Freedom Act Compromises User Privacy To Punish Big Tech

Jack Nicastro | 5.8.2025 4:57 PM

Is Shiloh Hendrix Really the End of Cancel Culture?

Robby Soave | 5.8.2025 4:10 PM

Good Riddance to Ed Martin, Trump's Failed Pick for U.S. Attorney for D.C.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.8.2025 3:55 PM

Trump's Tariffs Are Already Raising Car Prices and Hurting Automakers

Joe Lancaster | 5.8.2025 2:35 PM

Trump's Antitrust Enforcer Says 'Big Is Bad'

Jack Nicastro | 5.8.2025 2:19 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!