Cynical Nation

Kos has an interesting bit advice for his fellow Democrats when it comes to winning elections: be libertarians. Kos isn't trying to convert his party into a collection of Murray Rothbards and Ayn Rands, of course. He's merely saying they should adopt a general predisposition in favor of individual liberty. This would go beyond issues involving privacy and sex, to include (but not be limited to) gun rights and deregulation for small businesses.

This is sage advice, and I've offered very similar sentiments myself. Coming from Kos, however, it's going to carry a lot more weight, particular among progressives. There are many small-l libertarians like myself out there who are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the Republican Party. We are not only willing, but eager for other parties to compete for our vote.

On one hand, Kos's post is music to my ears. It's exactly what I've been begging for for years now. On the other, I suspect I can already see the fatal flaw in Kos's strategy. Any type of libertarianism that I can imagine (be it with an upper or lower case "L") is appalled by the burden of taxation on the private sector -- a burden that, in total, approaches or even surpasses the 50% mark for many of us.

This country has reached a point at which the upper half of income earners are shouldering essentially the etire burden of the federal income tax. Consequently, any proposed tax relief measure is instantly disparaged as "tax cuts for the rich," because it disproportionately benefits those at upper income levels. It's all to easy, politically, to call for tax increases on "the rich" -- an absurdly broad designation that seemingly includes such decidely non-rich folks as myself, and those like me who work hard every day to amass some degree of wealth and to obtain a higher standard of living for ourselves and our families.

Kos didn't address this point, and I'm afraid I know why. He knows that if he speaks his mind on tax policy, it will alienate the very demographic he's hoping to attract. I still think Kos's message is a welcome one, but I'd like to supplement it with a message of my own:

To the Democratic Party: If you really want my vote, you can probably get it. Your party is already markedly more palatable than it was during the days of Walter Mondale. If you want my vote, however, you'll have to abandon this reflexive, knee-jerk hostility to the pursuit and accumulation of wealth. I'm not even asking for you to become supply-siders or tax-cutters, but a pledge simply to leave taxes exactly where they are for everyone would almost ensure my support in the next election.

I know, I'm only one person -- a lone, individual, fourth-rate blogger, and there's no reason that any political party should care about my vote alone. But I can guarantee this: If you do what it takes to win my vote, you will also win the votes of enough people out there who are like me to become the next majority party.

Deal?