In many ways 2013 was a terrible year for libertarians and limited government.
Obamacare started signing people up, Democrats and Republicans rolled back sequestration, and we found out that the NSA was cataloguing every phone call, Tweet, and Snap Chat message ever sent.
But here are three reasons why 2014 might well be the most libertarian year ever!
1. Obamacare Agonistes
Last fall's rollout of Obamacare – complete with non-functioning website and irrefutable evidence that the president lied about your ability to keep your plan if you liked it – has helped wake people up to the inefficiency and dissembling nature of government. That will only get worse as the program actually starts providing healthcare.
2. F@$# the Government
Between Obamacare, ongoing and continuing NSA revelations, and so much more, mistrust of government is near record levels. And a record-high percentage – 72 percent!—agrees that government represents "the biggest threat to the country in the future."
3. Midterms Bloody Midterms
Congressional approval ratings are at or near historic lows, with some polls showing approvals ratings as low as 7 percent! Barack Obama's ratings are better but still terrible for any second-term president not named Nixon. Incumbents will be under attack in the midterms.
Successful candidates in both major parties have no choice but to rally around popular libertarian themes such as reducing government spending and power, drug legalization, marriage equality, and a restrained foreign policy.
Of course, if things don't pan out for libertarians, at least we can go to Colorado and Washington state and chill out in a way that is finally legal after decades of misguided prohibition.
About 2 minutes long. Written by Nick Gillespie and produced by Meredith Bragg.
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