I’m often asked about my political beliefs in non-political settings (even at the Freddie Awards!), probably because I work in a very political environment.

People often assume that I’m a Republican because I’m a strong advocate of market solutions to social problems. And I’m not. And that confuses people. When I tell them that I’m a libertarian (but not a member of the Libertarian Party for heaven sakes), they assume I’m just a pie-in-the-sky utopian ignoring political realities. I certainly don’t think that I am!

I thought I’d pass along Jacob Levy’s articulation of why he’s a libertarian and not a Republican, because I found it to ring quite true:

I’m not a Republican because I’m unwilling to draw the line where the Republican Party draws it– trying to exclude David Duke and Pat Buchanan but include Trent Lott and Rick Santorum and Pat Robertson and Louis Sheldon and their base constituencies.

…

Of course, given budgetary developments in the past three years, not being a Republican is easier than ever– libertarians are supposed to be tempted vote Republican and thereby trade in their opposition to intrusive government in exchange for getting a small government. If the Republicans increase the size of the state faster than Democrats, there’s no temptation to be weighed at all.