Libertarian Strategy: Should We Focus Democratic?

The conversation more or less says it all.  It took place this weekend on the Texas State Libertarian Executive Committee.  The linked article also provides background and is worth reading.

Pat Dixon:

As a Libertarian I will not coerce you, but I strongly recommend and request you regard this link as required reading and consider its pertinence to the 2008 campaign.

Jeff Daiell:

Pat, thanks for posting this, as I long ago got tired of being slammed for saying we should reach out to lefties as well as righties. For that matter, we need to reach out to a *lot* of constituencies we haven't approached much so far -- African-Texans, Texan Indians, GLBT individuals, Mormons, evangelicals, labor, etc.

John Shuey:

I disagree with Jeff...and some of the Cato article...in that I  believe the Democratic core is too heavily invested in class warfare and income redistribution to ever buy into the LP's positions. But there are those fiscally conservative Dems who, again, might possibly be converted.

Jeff Daiell

Depends on what you mean by "core". Yeah, the
brazenly socialist activists within the DP will not
accept any tolerance toward the free market. But,
just as many Greens have over the last few years
joined us when they realize that statism is bad for
the environment and other living things, so might some
lefties who are lefties because they don't realize
government is the tool, the plaything, and the weapon
of the privileged move our way when they realize that
it is.

Also, many groups align with the Democrats because the
Democrats aligned with them, at least officially, and
alleged advocates of free enterprise disdained them.
Those are groups we can recruit from.

Finally, keep in mind that even if we peel away 3-5%
among any of these groups, and especially if we do so
from more than one, the bipartisans will notice and,
however grudgingly, will move in our direction on some
issues to attract those folks back.