Meet a swing voter …me
According to Political Wire, people like me are the new swing voters:
A new Cato Institute report says libertarians — people who historically tend to agree with Republicans on fiscal issues and Democrats on personal freedom — are the new swing voters. The authors estimate approximately 13% of voters fall into this category.
“For those on the trail of the elusive swing voter, it may be most notable that the libertarian vote shifted sharply in 2004. Libertarians preferred George W. Bush over Al Gore by 72 to 20 percent, but Bush’s margin dropped in 2004 to 59-38 over John Kerry. Congressional voting showed a similar swing from 2002 to 2004. Libertarians apparently became disillusioned with Republican overspending, social intolerance, civil liberties infringements, and the floundering war in Iraq. If that trend continues into 2006 and 2008, Republicans will lose elections they would otherwise win.”
This sounds like they are talking about “small-L” libertarians.
I’ll give you a tip on how this disillusioned libertarian feels about Bush and the GOP: I am completely sick of their crap. Bush had me on the day after Sept. 11, 2001, when he said that he gets it, that he understands that we are at war with a world-wide movement to establish a fascist-style Muslim dictatorship across the world, and that the United States would oppose them. But he also said that the United States would be true to its values and our Constitution. Well, Bush got it about half right.
The trouble is, even though Bush and company are generally throwing away a military victories in Iraq and Afghanistan though long and meaningless occupations — and don’t seem interested in keeping North Korea and Iraq non-nuclear — nothing I’m hearing from the Democratic Party tells me they “get it,” that they understand that we are in the middle of a war forced upon us and that we can’t appease these guys. They started killing us before we started defending ourselves against them.
So, here I am faced with a choice between a party that’s willing to use the Constitution like toilet paper to protect us against SOME terrorists, but not others, and a party that for the most part seems to think all we need to do is curl up in a ball and promise to stop hitting back and the beatings will stop.
But now that I’m a swing voter — not those annoying soccer moms — I can look for candidates to start sucking up to me, now.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Congrats on the rise in voter status, Billy!
I think there is indeed a dearth of compelling Democrats in Illinois. The guy running against LaHood is pretty much MIA, IMHO. And there are no other local races going to DC. So you haven’t heard much. The gang running for state isn’t addressing these issues much.
But take a look around the US. Jim Webb in Virginia, for one. Ned Lamond in CT. Scott Kleeb in Nebraska (of all places – plus, for the ladies, he’s a freakin’ hottie!). The guy whose name is escaping me who’s running in the staunchly republican Colorado Springs area. Jon Tester, who’s running for Governor of Montana. There’s a whole new breed of progressive Democrats who are making some noise and who I think you might be intruiged by.
Happy Surfing if you do…
I’m also one of those Libertarian people and I tend to vote for the candidate who best represents my views. I do not like the present “two party†system and totally support efforts to lift the unfair hurdles “3rd†parties have to overcome to get on Illinois ballots.
I agree Conrad, the hurdles that 3rd party members must go through are designed to fail, and are merely lawful obligations of liberty designed by the Democrats and Republican members of Congress. It is not always popular to challenge the majority, but I believe we are heading into the right direction to possibly see change in enlightenment around the year 2015. When the constitution and amendment changes have self eliminated the values that Republicans and Democrats hold virtue to. We will preogress and find change. Reason and enlightenment will encourage this change.