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Recently, Markos posted a lengthy essay at Cato Unbound on the rise of the Libertarian Democrat. He describes supporters of this idea thusly:

…there’s a whole swath of Americans who are uncomfortable with Republican/conservative efforts to erode our civil liberties while intruding into our bedrooms and churches; they don’t like unaccountable corporations invading their privacy, holding undue control over their economic fortunes, and despoiling our natural surroundings; yet they also don’t appreciate the nanny state, the over-regulation of small businesses, the knee-jerk distrust of the free market, or the meddlesome intrusions into mundane personal matters.

Markos is correct that any right-thinking Libertarian should be so deeply concerned over the loss of individual liberty that a vote _against_ the Republicans ought to be a priority for them, but since when do Libertarians like the idea of corporate controls? Markos’ central position is that corporations have run amok and are more powerful than governments, but the Libertarian response to his essay demonstrates how unsellable this idea is to Libertarians.

For example, Andrew Olmsted had this to say:

I realize that people don’t want to believe this, but business has to deal with one very simple fact: on its own, business cannot force anyone to buy its products. Microsoft can’t make you buy Windows, or Office, or any of their other products if you don’t want to do so. Even if they have a monopoly, they can’t make you buy their products. The complaints Kos and hekebolos make above aren’t really a problem of corporations having too much power; they’re problems of government having too much power.

TalkLeft believes Markos may be dressing up liberal, FDR-style ideas in Libertarian clothing to get people onboard, and based on Andrew’s comment and those of many other Libertarian blogs, I’d say they see through this little trick.

Of course, most liberals don’t buy Libertarian arguments like Andrew’s. Even though you may choose to opt for “nothing” when given a choice between the product(s) of an oligopoly/monopoly and nothing, the suffocation of choice that occurs, the prevention of any real alternatives from rising, is destructive and coercive. Corporations in America have repeated formed tight cabals that prevent items like, say, the electric car from being widely adopted. They form conglomerates to create “synergy” that is also known as information control. See: Media, Corporate.

Markos is right: we need to reign in the corporations. But we don’t need to hide behind Libertarianism to do it.

Americans distrust big companies but feel disempowered to do anything about it. This is a perfect way for Democrats to reclaim their liberal roots by connecting them with a real need for responsible governance of corporations. TalkLeft described liberalism this way (emphasis mine):

To me liberalism can and does embrace economic libertararianism where it meets the goals of liberalism. We are pragmatic. If social justice and economic equality could be reached be cuts in the estate tax, we liberals would support it. We oppose it because it does exactly the opposite.

Exactly right! We are pragmatic with an eye towards social justice and economic equality. Markos uses language like “the nanny state” when describing liberalism, but all he does is feed a mythical beast that was created by elitists. He missed a real opportunity to fight those stereotypes. Instead, he decided to run and claim a new title for Democrats, one that doesn’t fit the bill at all.

We don’t have to shoehorn our ideas into the oversimplified package of Libertarianism. Liberal ideas are extremely marketable because they are designed to genuinely enable and protect an enormous majority of the country.

Markos’s plan is no different than chasing any other unwilling audience. Libertarians can be appealed to in the short term, but they do not represent what most Americans want.

They want health care help:

At the top of the list, almost two thirds (63%) of U.S. adults cite lowering the costs of health care and health insurance as a top priority for the President and Congress, followed by making Medicare more fiscally sound for the future (58%) and increasing the number of Americans with health insurance (57%).

They want environmental responsibility from the government:

“As you may know, scientists have found evidence that the earth’s climate is warming. From what you have heard or read, do you think global warming is a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem, not too much of a problem or not a problem at all, or haven’t you heard enough about this to say?”
Serious Problem: 73%
Not a Problem: 19%
Haven’t Heard Enough 6%
Unsure 2%

“Do you think the U.S. government is doing too much, too little, or about the right amount in terms of protecting the environment?”
Too Much 4%
Too Little 62%
About Right 33%
Unsure 1%

And they want an honest government:

“How concerned are you about each of the following? Corruption in Washington . . . ?”
Very Concerned 60%
Somewhat Concerned 31%
Not Very Concerned 5%
Not At All Concerned 2%
Unsure 1%

Fortunately, we can show Americans that these ideas aren’t a pipe dream if the Democrats would just embrace the ideas of liberalism and vociferously defend them from slander. So forget Libertarianism, Markos. You should simply own and defend the central idea in which many of your positions are grounded: liberalism.

In the wake of the Democrats’ failure to put up a real fight against the legalization of torture and the ability to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus, two things about our party have become clear (if they weren’t before):
1) They are weak and rudderless.
2) They have abandoned their liberal roots.

Many staunch Democratic voters feel hurt and abandoned by this latest debacle, but it’s hardly the first time we’ve felt this way. Disenchanted voters who hate the conservative agenda have even less reason to turn out and vote for a party that can’t distinguish itself from the right wing.

Right now, a number of incumbent Republicans are weak, and the Democrats stand to benefit. In theory. The races are close, but based on the outrage and dismay over their latest debacle, and considering the number of times previous we’ve gone into close elections with high hopes only to have those hopes dashed by hook or by crook, I fail to see how the Democrats will emerge victorious.

Should they somehow take back the House, it will be entirely because of who they are not. The Democrats have no positive identity, nothing to rally voters to their cause outside of hating someone else. Even then, they adopt the hated people’s agenda and language, arguing only that the hated people have taken too long or spent too much.

As I wrote on Monday, the Democrats can’t get new votes this way. Republicans don’t believe they’ll be better at waging war, and disenchanted liberals see them talking just like conservatives. Ask John Kerry how well this strategy works.

Only deep unpopularity by an incumbent Republican president or Congressional majority ever results in Democratic gains anymore, and that’s no strategy for long term success. If the Democrats want to regain long-term control of the White House and Congress, they have to tap into the liberal agenda. Not only is it the right thing to do, poll data suggests it’s quite popular.

If that’s the case, then we have to do something to get the Democrats to see the value in returning to their liberal roots. They must be convinced that if they start pushing a liberal agenda, the votes will come. We have to show them that going liberal is the right thing to do, which is what we care about, and the best way to remain in power, which is what they care about. As I’ve said before, this is the essence of win-win.

We just have to get the idea out there, and we have to do it in a focused manner. As Dick Cheney knows, buckshot hurts, but lasers kill.

To that end, what if we had a united liberal voice to communicate to the party the power and the hope that comes with returning to liberalism? What if we could show how many Democratic voters feel abandoned and how many potential new voters would be gained from a return to our roots? What if we decriminalized the world “liberal” and reattached it to the notion of being a Democrat?

Why, if I’m not mistaken, I think we’d have ourselves a majority party that fights for the liberal agenda again.

That’s why I’m starting Liberal Democrats.

The idea here is to provide voiceless Democrats and potential new party voters with membership in a group that speaks a focused liberal agenda to the Democratic Party. It’s also going to show the Democrats just how successful a return to liberalism can be for the party. While groups like MoveOn.org and ActBlue have done a great job mobilizing money and people to achieve immediate election results, there’s no group out there protecting the long-term Democratic product. I think we can fill that need.

At first, we have to get the Democrats to endorse a few broadly popular liberal ideas and begin formulating policies/platforms to address them. Once they do, we have to show them the votes. It’s as simple as that.

The ideas that strike me as big wins are:
-environmental responsibility via sustainable American energy
-health care reform for every citizen in America
-accountable, transparent governance

I know there are a million other liberal issues to address, many of which are deeply important to all of us, but the 3 above speak to almost every single American, and I think they represent the most electable platforms for a new national Democratic agenda. If we concentrate on these ideas first, there’s a good chance that we’ll be able to show the Democrats some real successes.

I know there’s been a lot of outrage and frustration expressed about the Democrats. I hope that once we officially launch our presence, you’ll direct some of that energy to joining with us. It’s not gonna cost you a thing, and we’ll need as many names as possible to show the Democrats how serious we are.

Once we get a critical mass, we can begin making a few targeted efforts to draw Democratic and media attention to our ideas. It may be as easy as flooding Howard Dean’s office with a postcard from each of us, for example, or coming up with our creative ways to use our size to good effect. A few minutes from every member put towards a single idea will cause quite an impact.

If you believe in liberal ideas, then we have to take back the Democrats, however long it takes. They’re our only hope of making systemic changes for the good of all. I know there are millions of people who feel just like we do and want more from the party.

I’m a few weeks away from the official launch, but I hope you’ll consider participation. It may seem like a longshot now, but if all our hours of frustration can be refocused into a few minutes each month of communicating our strong, simple message to the party, we can affect real change. I can’t tell you how long it might take for that to happen, but I do know that we’ll feel a lot better right away if we starting trying together.