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So @MKWilson_603 raises an interesting question here: why are the Libertarian Party of NH's affiliation numbers so low when NH is considered such a libertarian state? mobile.twitter.com/MKWilson_603/status/1193411528755679233?p=v Rambling thread of various ideas following from here. 1/?Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 So, first of all, despite being relatively small in terms of numerical amounts of people, libertarianism is actually a pretty big tent in terms of the amount of ideological space it occupies. This means it intersects with plenty of the other political parties.Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 Thus, plenty of people can feel satisfied calling themselves "libertarians" while actually still remaining members of the bigger political parties. This happens with both the Republicans and Democrats. I have several examples to illustrate, which will follow.Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 So first, on the Republican side: well, actually, even on the Republican side, there's multiple subdivisions of libertarian-linked Republicans, so it doesn't even make sense to talk of a single "side" here. But anyways: let's start with the Free State Project.Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 Most Free State Project people are Republicans. Granite State Progress and Susan Bruce keep track of FSP people, and most of the ones they keep tabs on are Republicans. Since they have electoral success winning on the GOP ticket, why switch to LPNH instead?Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 But what's more interesting though, is which direction within the GOP it is that FSP people end up going in once they get here. Take Chris Cantwell, for instance. He came here as a FSP-er and ended up going fully rascist and fascist. He is not a unique case.Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 The Ron-Paul-fan-to-alt-right pipeline is well-established. How is this compatible, you may ask? Well, for these people, their libertarianism is more about contrarianism and going against prevailing norms than having a coherent ideology.Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 This is what PJW meant when he called the alt-right the new "punk rock": he saw punk rock as being about pissing people off, and then figured the best way to piss people off would be to go against the prevailing norms of being good and respectful to others.Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 Now, if you're going out of your way to piss off people, that eventually spills over to people who otherwise agree with you. This is why Cantwell is no longer a member of Free Keene: he pissed too many of them off, & now they fight against him on Twitter as much as anyone elsePermalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 So, there's reason 1 why libertarians don't affiliate with LPNH: their propensity for pissing people off leads to people being put off by infighting. But, as I said, that's only part of the libertarian-linked Republicans. On to the next group of them...Permalink On twitter.com
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@MKWilson_603 So, while the previous group may have been more on the extremist side, there are also Republicans who call themselves "libertarian" as a way of making themselves sound more moderate. I'm talking about the Bill Weld style of Republican here.Permalink On twitter.com
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update: after finding out Lincoln Chafee ran in the LP primary this year I guess he fits in this section, tooOn twitter.com
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