For all the people who think DailyKos is a far-left, liberal whacko site, this should put that to rest. Markos wrote a screed about the new breed of, as he dubs them, Libertarian Democrats:

[Traditional libertarianism] assumes that only two forces can infringe on liberty — the government and other individuals.

The Libertarian Democrat understands that there is a third danger to personal liberty — the corporation.

…the Libertarian Dem doesn’t believe government is the solution for everything. But it sure as heck is effective in checking the power of corporations.

A Libertarian Dem rejects government efforts to intrude in our bedrooms and churches. A Libertarian Dem rejects government “Big Brother” efforts, such as the NSA spying of tens of millions of Americans. A Libertarian Dem rejects efforts to strip away rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights — from the First Amendment to the 10th. And yes, that includes the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms.

So far, this isn’t much different than what a traditional libertarian believes. Here is where it begins to differ (and it shouldn’t).

A Libertarian Dem believes that true liberty requires freedom of movement — we need roads and public transportation to give people freedom to travel wherever they might want. A Libertarian Dem believes that we should have the freedom to enjoy the outdoor without getting poisoned; that corporate polluters infringe on our rights and should be checked. A Libertarian Dem believes that people should have the freedom to make a living without being unduly exploited by employers. A Libertarian Dem understands that no one enjoys true liberty if they constantly fear for their lives, so strong crime and poverty prevention programs can create a safe environment for the pursuit of happiness. A Libertarian Dem gets that no one is truly free if they fear for their health, so social net programs are important to allow individuals to continue to live happily into their old age. Same with health care. And so on.

And somebody said “I see affirmative action gets left out,” to which Markos responded:

A libertarian society is purely meritocratic. Where there are barriers to that, government can play a role. But it has to be a short-term strategy toward that meritocratic world.

So yeah, there’s a place for affirmative action in some place, but as a means to an end, and not for the end itself.

[...] The bigger barrier to a world of equal opportunity is actually probably education. A lot of disadvantaged communities suffer mostly from shitty education.

Exactly. And that last bit is the important bit that most people against affirmative action either don’t get or choose to ignore, which is why I’m usually cautious about the idea of getting rid of affirmative action.

I’m down with all of this, and I think a lot of other Americans would be, too. If this is where the Democratic Party goes over the next few years/decades, they may well become a juggernaut.