Can we come together with tea baggers on some economic issues? Nope.

[cali]

Yes, they hated bailouts, but these are people who want less regulation of any kind of industry and lower corporate tax rates as well as lower taxes for the wealthy. So how do you find common ground with that? These are people who want cut back social welfare spending. They want to privatize just about everything.

And a recent Gallup poll shows a near tie between those who want the new tea party congress critters to set the agenda and those who want Obama to.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/130789-poll-tea-party-gopers-obama-nearly-tied-for-leader-of-choice

[tomm2thumbs]

1. they have social issues they just don't want to talk about until they are in office

they finally realized that all the talk of conservative social issues was driving independent voters away, so now they pretend their agenda is only about fiscal issues - but that is the foot in the door to everything else they want to change in this country

they finally realized not talking about all these issues was a great plan (but with a wink and a nod to their insider constituents)

[Democracyinkind]

2. No.

But there does seem to be a superficial congruence on some issues on the first glance, so it is very easy to trick progressives into joining the Ron/Rand jerkfest.

History teaches us that the Illusion of a progressive-libertarian Alliance is an idea that comes up every 10 years or so, and sometimes is even tried out in practice, i.e. some parts of the 60's and 90's. But it always ends up with muddying the Progressive's Agenda and it always ends up in a compromise that reinforces the status quo and therefore the conservative, not the progressive agenda.

My mother was one of those progressive gals that believed in reaching out to Libertarians like Tucille and the like during the 60's. You should hear her talk about the resuls of that today. Suffice to stay that she consideres that her worst political mistake ever made.

Anyways... Anyone familiar with what Libertarian doctrine really is (an almost-fascist superiority-doctrine) won't like seeing progressives endorsing it.