surprise, surprise

Just watched John Stossel - yes, that John Stossel, from 20/20 - on C-SPAN2.

It seems that he's a Libertarian. Good for him! I must say that I was surprised to hear him admit as much.

I've leaned in the Libertarian direction for a long time. In 2000 I moved to Florida and registered, for the first time, as a Democrat. I've always registered as an independent in the past, but seeing the coming election (Gore vs. Bush) and the overall tendency of our electorate I just had to declare myself a Democrat.

Nevertheless I hold many Libertarian concepts dear. Handgun ownership, low taxes (when practical), and freedom from excessive government regulation.

It is a common misconception that the Democratic party is against all of those ideas.

The Republicans have taken "freedom from government regulation" to unfortunate extremes, leading to unfettered corporate freedom raising the spectre of the robber barons and trusts that were "busted" roughly 100 years ago by Theodore Roosevelt - a Republican.

Likewise the "low taxes" concept. The Republicans have taken that idea to the extreme and are creating the massive deficits that they decried not so long ago. Suddenly deficits are "not a bad thing."

And, the Democrats as a whole are not bent upon taking our firearms. I know that for a fact.

I know how I will vote come November, and it won't be a Republican I choose.