The Enemy of My Enemy

Libertarians are to conservatives what socialists are to liberals – ideological anchors that restrain drift to the unprincipled middle. Libertarian principles intensify the conservative message, and conservative political potency acquaints the public with libertarian themes. We need each other.

Just two short years ago, libertarian Ron Paul was ridiculed within his own Republican Party for demanding Constitutional limits on government, cutting government expenditures, calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve, opposing corporate bailouts, and warning against health care reform. He demonstrated the power of grass roots organizing and mobilizing new voters through internet social networking.

This is now the blueprint for success in GOP primaries; half of the candidates on the stump sound like Ron Paul this year and all of them have Facebook pages and e-mail lists. Rand Paul, Sharon Angle, Christie O’Connell, and Joe Miller all feature libertarian themes prominently in their anti-establishment campaigns. Glenn Beck, Vicki McKenna, Jonah, Goldberg, Dennis Miller, Ann Coulter and George Will are just a few conservative opinion-shapers who acknowledge libertarian instincts.

The distinctly un-libertarian George W. Bush’s presidency ultimately betrayed and alienated conservatives and libertarians alike, delivering control of government over to Pelosi and Obama. While we are distinct political philosophies, libertarians and conservatives share a common framework for understanding civil society, the role of the individual, and the role of government. We believe government is a necessary evil, something to be feared and caged and kept subservient to individual sovereignty.

Our libertarian/conservative worldview stands diametrically opposed to the socialist/liberal framework. Liberty versus Government – this is the great divide in American politics, not Party or demographic identity.

In electoral triage, divisions between libertarians and conservatives are cuts and bruises compared to the life-threatening wound that the socialist/liberal agenda is inflicting upon the nation. This year is not the time to let ideological purity deny a victory that our common interest has placed within reach; it is safe to ignore our differences long enough to defeat our common ideological adversary in November.

Which is not to say that we should rally behind Republican candidates; libertarians and conservatives should rally behind candidates who share our commitment to liberty, be they Republicans, Libertarians, Constitution, independent, or by some miracle, Democrats.

The predicted Republican rout in November will occur not because of intelligent design from GOP Party leadership, but rather from the spontaneous order and organic energy of the tea party movement. That movement is not exclusively conservative; it includes many libertarian groups – Campaign 4 Liberty, Republican Liberty Caucus, Young Americans for Liberty, the 9/12 project, to name a few.

Some Libertarians are uncomfortable with the tea party; I am not one of them. For every one sign at a tea party advocating a position I disagree with, there are 20 which echo my sentiments. Overtly religious appeals do not offend me, patriotic symbols do not intimidate me, and alternative Constitutional interpretations do not obscure an underlying shared reverence for our founding principles.

Last weekend I was invited to speak at a tea party event in Merrillan, Wisconsin, population 587. The crowd was estimated at over 700; most of them, by show of hands, had never attended a political rally before. As I looked out over the audience, I recalled Grover Norquist’s book title, "Leave Us Alone". That Merrillan crowd was the leave-us-alone coalition in the flesh.

Whether their focus was education, taxes, debt, energy, guns, gold, religion, or any number of issues that matter most to them, most of those who gathered in Jackson County that day had a single non-negotiable demand of government, namely, to be left alone. And "leave us alone" is the essence of libertarian political philosophy – an uncompromising belief in the right of each individual to live free of coercive force.

The event’s organizers knew I am a Libertarian. I wore my Libertarian Party lapel pin, signed some copies of my Libertarian book, and gave the same "Tooth Fairy Government" speech that I have given at Libertarian events. I was warmly received, as was Wisconsin libertarian icon Ed Thompson, who is running for state senate as a Republican. Those who view the tea party simply as a GOP subsidiary are badly mistaken.

This election year it is not difficult to determine friend and foe; what is difficult is trusting in the new coalition of Constitutionalists – including libertarians and conservatives - that has arisen in response to the clear and present danger that socialist/liberal statists pose to the nation.

The old saying goes, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Welcome, friends.


"Moment Of Clarity" is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D. Visit Tim’s website www.timnerenz.com to find your moment and order his new book, "Tooth Fairy Government."