There are plenty of liberals and conservatives just as well informed as the libertarians. It's just that 'liberal' and 'conservative' are the mainstream views and therefore the uninformed generally lump themselves into one of those two groups.

I think that in a lot of cases it's first hand experience with the government that makes you a Libertarian.

One of the things I've noticed is that many Libertarians I know have usually worked for or with the  government at some point, and people I know who have worked with the government are nearly always libertarians.

Yet there is still such an enthusiasm gap, as is shown by the straw polls.

Which is a scary thought, that expierence with the government makes you want a smaller one.

Though that's only half the picture... for Liberals.  For conservatives i'd have to guess the genisis of Libretarianism comes with becoming friends with a bunch of people like gay people and the like.

I was Libretarianish before I worked for the govenment... but that didn't help.  Me I was raised "Everyone is equal who care what they do if they don't hur tother people"... and then I did some research into economics.

This article is AWESOME. Every single thing McCullough says is terrible about Libertarians, I agree with and think the GOP should work toward adopting as party principle.

Pretty much how I came about Libertarianism. I joined the party in 1999 and while I differ from the party line in several aspects (I believe in bigger government than the average Libertarian), it's still the closest thing I have to representation in American government, as sad as that may seem given the few Libertarians in office.

Yeah, same with me really.  I believe in as big a government as we can work economically.

I'd love universal healthcare... if we could find a system that works!  However the current system is just the Orbitz website and forcing people to get healthcare hoping it brings the prices down... like car insurance, but what brought down car insurance prices was picking and choosing coverage... which is something the bill bans...

 Orbitz like Website = good idea.

Orbitz like website that costs billions.... not good idea.

Just on healthcare ...

What you're talking about could be achieved simply by encouraging/forcing healthcare "insurance" companies to sell their healthcare insurance and healthcare benefits as two seperate packages (obviously allowing discounts for bundling); and mandating that healthcare insurance operates like insurance.

In other words, if you want basic catastrophic healthcare insurance covering you for $250,000 worth of care if you get a disease or are in an accident you should be able to buy that policy on its own; and if you have something happen to you that falls under this policy that money should continue to be available to you regardless of who your current policy holder is.

I could be wrong but I suspect that if you split healthcare insurance from healthcare benefits, most people would be surprised by how little the insurance really cost; and how much of their healthcare costs are associated with people abusing healthcare benefits.

Yep, pretty much. I'm all for universal healthcare if done intelligently and without the "aid" of healthcare company lobbyists.

Then again, most Libertarians think I'm crazy because I believe in raising taxes. Raise taxes to cut the deficit THEN figure out ways to slim down the government. After that is finished, lower taxes to accomodate the newly decreased spending. Stop trying to do it backwards. Fiscal responsibility STARTS with fixing the immediate problem and that problem is that we're spending more than we generate.

And for fuck's sake, STOP ENABLING THE RICH TO GET RICHER.

I don't mean to be rude but this entire topic does read to me like a whole heap of libertarians patting each other on the back.