Face The State Staff Report
Podcast: Listen to audio from the event.
At a Wednesday night event moderated by Face The State's Managing Editor Brad Jones, libertarians and conservatives came together at the Oxford Hotel for a panel discussion on what can be done to save the American West from a Democrat takeover. The conclusion: Republicans face an uphill battle due to serious fractions within what was once a solid coalition.
Jim Pfaff, president of the Colorado Family Council, opened the dialogue by talking about the social conservative issues that evangelicals hold dear, including ending abortion and fighting the effort to recognize safe-sex partners as married. Calling himself a "Christian libertarian," Pfaff attempted to present an optimistic and united outlook on the ability of social conservatives and libertarians to unite for this November's general election.
But minutes into the conversation, it was clear that others didn't share Pfaff's optimism. According to other panelists, including Independence Institute President Jon Caldara, a hardline social conservative agenda threatens prospects for unity and turns off those seeking the freedom to raise their families without government interference.
Gene Healy, a senior editor at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. expressed concern with the fact that too many conservatives have bought the liberal line that the president should "be a soul nurturer, life coach, buddy and supreme warlord of the earth."
Healy said people should “abandon the false idol of partisanship” because according to his analysis, history demonstrates that one-party rule in Washington results in spending rates three times greater than when control of the three branches of government is split between the two major parties.
Ryan Sager, author of Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians and the Battle to Control the Republican Party, and the only Democrat on the panel, said that Red states are getting what they deserve because they destroyed their party on the national level. His remarks were met with both heckles and applause from the nearly 100 people who attended the event.
When asked what she thought of the panel Shelley Cooper, a registered Democrat from Denver, said: “I feel pretty good about it. The Republicans sound screwed.”
But others, including Caldara, applauded the America's Future Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging libertarians and conservatives under 40 in the political process, for sponsoring the event, saying that it provided a much needed venue for young people to come together to begin the discussion of important ideas surrounding liberty and free markets. "This is great," he said. "People can come together for a free beer and learn a lot from each other."
Evangelicals
On March 28th, 2008 prk166 says:
I've always found it a bit odd as to why evangelicals and the Reeps became so close. A large portion of evangelicals believe that the government should have a strong say in individuals lives; that is, they don't believe in freedom. They'll espouse the Freedom of Religion when advocating doctors not having to give referrals for women seeking an abortion (despite their Hippocratic oathe) or if the government is talking about taking away their non-profit status. But they have no problem in looking the other way if government is going to ban alcohol or force prayer upon children in public schools. They're not necessarily fiscally conservative. They're just religious. I don't seem to see many if any evangelicals worried about how Sar-Ox would negatively affect our economy or pushing for lowering corporate tax rates (how many countries now have 1/2 of the US' rate? 40? 50?). Even for politics it seems a bit of an odd partnership.