W Post
In search of libertarians in America
* By _Robert P. Jones_ (http://wapo.st/1766jBY)
* October 29 , 2013
The rise of the Tea Party movement and the Republican Party’s own post
mortem analysis in the wake of Romney’s 2012 defeat has created renewed
interest in understanding libertarians in America, particularly the extent to
which libertarians are animating the Tea Party and how they fit into today’s
conservative political coalition. Despite the existence of a third political
party bearing their name, the search for libertarians in America has
presented challenges to researchers and pundits for decades. Simply put, true
to
their independent nature, libertarians often do not appear in the places
where labels or elites proclaim they should.
PRRI’s newly released _2013 American Values Survey_
(http://publicreligion.org/research/2013-american-values-survey/%20) takes up
the search for
libertarians in contemporary America. Our findings show consistent
libertarians
constitute seven percent of the American public. This distinct group of
Americans is overwhelmingly white and male, skews younger than the general
population, and holds generally consistent libertarian views across a range
of issues such as national security and international intervention, economic
policy, and on personal liberty and social issues.
One of the most striking findings about libertarians in America is that
they exist largely outside the boundaries of those who claim them. Given the
strength of the two-party system in America, it may come as little surprise
that only 15 percent of libertarians claim membership in a third party,
such as the official Libertarian Party. However, it is notable that most (61
percent) libertarians also say they do not consider themselves part of the
Tea Party movement, whose leaders have claimed is “a _functionally
libertarian influence_
(http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/PA705.pdf)
on the Republican Party.” Viewed another way, only about one-quarter (26
percent) of Americans who say they are a part of the Tea Party movement
are libertarian.
This elusive nature of libertarians among historically conservative
constituencies also comes into sharp relief by comparing the relationship
between
libertarians and the Tea Party to the Christian right. In 2010, PRRI
uncovered the surprising overlap between the _Tea Party and the Christian
right_ (http://publicreligion.org/research/2010/10/religion-tea-party-2010/) ,
finding that approximately half (47 percent) of those who consider themselves
part of the Tea Party movement also consider themselves part of the
Christian right, an overlap that remains steady today at 52 percent. By
contrast, less than one-quarter (22 percent) of libertarians say they consider
themselves part of the Christian right.
To give just a couple of examples of how strongly these differences in
composition between libertarians and the Tea Party play out, consider the
following chasms between these two groups on social issues. More than 7-in-10
(71 percent) libertarians favor legalizing marijuana, and nearly 6-in-10 (57
percent) oppose making it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion. By
contrast, nearly 6-in-10 (59 percent) Tea Party members oppose the
legalization of marijuana, and 58 percent favor making it more difficult for a
woman to obtain an abortion.
But how important are libertarians to future conservative political
coalitions? Notably, libertarians make up a smaller proportion (12 percent) of
the Republican base than other key conservative constituencies, such as the
Tea Party (20 percent), those who identify with the Christian right (33
percent), or white evangelical Protestants (37 percent). Given their elusive
nature and their smaller size, some conservative political actors might argue
for writing them off.
Yet there are at least two reasons why conservative political strategists
may want to embrace libertarians. First, they are active in primary
elections. A majority (53 percent) of libertarian voters report they always
vote in
primary elections, a rate higher than voters overall and comparable to
Republican voters. Second, and most important, libertarians (62 percent) are
20 percentage points more likely than both Tea Party members (42 percent)
and white evangelical Protestants (42 percent) to be under the age of 50.
While the inclusion of libertarians within the fold may not help Republicans
solve their _outreach problems with racial minorities_
(http://publicreligion.org/research/2013/09/hispanic-values-survey-2013/) ,
tapping this
politically active, younger group could provide an important new infusion of
energy and ideas into the party.
--
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
