Looping the Hen

Drowning in the Hot Tub

I know how my best friend (G-Max), a Green Semi-Conservative with Liberal tendancies (Or semi-liberal with conservative tendancies) must have felt about politics for many years. When the Republicans completed their domination of the political branches in 2000 (although the Judicial is debatable), some believed (myself included) that we were entering the promised land of smaller government, more years of balanced budgets, and less of a bureaucratic nanny-state. When George W. and the Republican congress passed the tax cuts early in his first term, I was even more convinced we had a good thing going.

After 9/11, although many felt our civil liberties were being threatened with extinction, I felt I understood the need for the Patriot Act and some hard decisions about the War on Terror. The crazies on the left (and some on the right) raised the spectre of a fascist state under Bushitler and his Republinazi regime, but it never materialized. I agreed (and still do) with the mission in Iraq and the importance of establishing another democracy in the Middle East.

So as the years since W took office passed and we saw traditionally liberal big government programs such as No Child Left Behind and the Prescription Drug benefit pass as well as the retreat from Social Security reform and the fiasco of an immigration policy, I began down the long road of disillusionment. I guess it was shortly after 9/11 that I started reading blogs and discovered Glenn Reynolds. (Instapundit, see sidebar) Independent, polite, curious, and an avowed Libertarian, he helped me to the path.

The problem with being a Libertarian (or in my case, moderately Libertarian) is their lack of any sort of political clout. I believe the percentage of folks who might now be classed as Libertarian (even unintentionally) is large enough to warrant some listening to, if only we had the energy of the grassroots Libs and Cons, or even the Greens. (Anecdotally, discussions with most of my friends leads me to believe they are of the same bent, even though they are from varied backgrounds and geography.) I read this today, describing one possible explanation for our lack of focus.

I for one am almost ready to jump out of the hot tub.

In the past year or more, I have become so fed up with the establishment Republicans, I am most likely either going to support independents down the ticket or stay at home (the Libertarian ticket is generally loony). In the past few days, however, I have been reading some of the responses by more than a few folks, right and center, of the consequences of a protest vote.

Are they right? Is it too dangerous to have the loonies like Pelosi and Kennedy in charge? At this point, I am still undecided. It took Newt and the Contract With America for the Republican's to reassert themselves as a party. If we relegate them to the back seat for another 4 or 8 years, will they follow up with some more large ideas? Will we still be around for them to do so? I may do as the above article suggests, and send checks to folks like Tom Coburn, who looks to be one of the few with a set of nads to go with his values.

If the Democrat's retake one or both houses in 2006, at least then Bush may actually have to use his veto, instead of rubber-stamping every pork-laden bill that crosses his desk.