sharpsteve2003
04-26-2009, 11:22 PM
Interesting story from Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com
Were the Tea Parties Really a Libertarian Thing?
Last week, I suggested that the April 15th "tea parties" were an indication of the potentially increasing influence of libertarianism within the Republican Party, and noted that attendance at the tea parties had been higher in states (such as New Hampshire and the Mountain West) that are traditionally associated with having libertarian leanings. But I didn't present any evidence in support of that claim -- and so, here it is.
The best benchmark I've been able to come up with for libertarianism is the amount of contributions to Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. Fundraising data has the advantage of being extremely clean and comprehensive -- all contributions of at least $200 are reported to the FEC and itemized by their location. Here, then, were Ron Paul's best fundraising states, as measured by contributions per adult aged 18+.
Read more and check the Data at:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/were-tea-parties-really-libertarian.html
Were the Tea Parties Really a Libertarian Thing?
Last week, I suggested that the April 15th "tea parties" were an indication of the potentially increasing influence of libertarianism within the Republican Party, and noted that attendance at the tea parties had been higher in states (such as New Hampshire and the Mountain West) that are traditionally associated with having libertarian leanings. But I didn't present any evidence in support of that claim -- and so, here it is.
The best benchmark I've been able to come up with for libertarianism is the amount of contributions to Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. Fundraising data has the advantage of being extremely clean and comprehensive -- all contributions of at least $200 are reported to the FEC and itemized by their location. Here, then, were Ron Paul's best fundraising states, as measured by contributions per adult aged 18+.
Read more and check the Data at:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/were-tea-parties-really-libertarian.html