The Impending Paradigm Shift?

The consumer advocate and former Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader appeared on Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch to discuss the current changing dynamics of our political system. Nader pointed out that because many principled politicians are disrespected by both parties, an emerging alliance between pure progressives and libertarians, or the anti-corporatists, is taking shape due to the current extreme political environment.

Conservative libertarians, like Representative Ron Paul, and progressives such as Senator Bernie Sanders are fed up with the never-ending antics of both parties. Whether it's the secrecy of the Fed, "bailouts" of corporations,  the "defense" budget, and the never ending wars overseas and at home, the mess never seems to end.

The question posed now, is whether or not this partnership will lead toward more traction against the entrenched establishment based in crony corporatism?  Additionally, will political alliances such as these in the long term be beneficial to the liberty movement?

Just some food for thought.

Constitutional Conservatism vs. Libertarianism

Rand Paul has an op-ed in Tuesday's USA Today, in which he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative." The title of the piece is, "Rand Paul, libertarian? Not quite," but Dr. Paul fails to distinguish any dissimilarity between the being a constitutional conservative or libertarian. No matter what political philosophy Dr. Paul subscribes to (Note:  His father, Congressman Ron Paul, also identifies as being a constitutional conservative), it seems as if he's trying to shed the tag of libertarian because it's become a polarized word:

It's often repeated in stories about me or my race for U.S. Senate that I am a "libertarian." In my mind, the word "libertarian" has become an emotionally charged, and often misunderstood, word in our current political climate. But, I would argue very strongly that the vast coalition of Americans — including independents, moderates, Republicans, conservatives and "Tea Party" activists — share many libertarian points of view, as do I.

A recent unscientific poll taken via the Young Americans for Liberty Facebook page showed that out of 47 participants, 35 described themselves as subscribing to a libertarian political orientation. Conservatism and liberalism both netted 5 votes, and there were 2 votes for "other." What do you think, if any, are the main differences between libertarianism and constitutional conservatism?

24 Types of Libertarian: A Rebuttal

I found this today on reddit.com/r/libertarian in response to the previously mentioned 24 types of libertarian.

(click for full-size)

Muse: Anti-Establishment Libertarians

My favorite band ever, Muse, released their newest album, "The Resistance" last year. In this interview, Matt Bellamy, the lead singer and guitarist talks about why he released the album:  For liberty.