How is this explained? Libertarian Alex Snitker is viewed favorably by only 4% of conservatives
Well I do have a theory….
In a poll on the Florida Senate race from Public Policy Polling released on July 20th it shows that among other data, that Libertarian candidate is viewed favorably by 24% of liberals, 24% of moderates, and only 4% of conservatives!
How could this be? Mr. Snitker holds many of the traditional conservative/libertarian views concerning taxes, debt, balanced budgets and border control among many others.
So where is the disconnect between conservatives (and Republicans) and Mr. Snitker?
I believe it lies in the strong belief in a non-interventionist foreign policy that Mr. Snitker holds. We saw this during the 2008 Republican primaries with Congressman Ron Paul. Many conservatives agreed with him on fiscal issues but lambasted him on a more restrained foreign policy.
Today’s conservatives are certainly not the same as Mr. Republican Senator Robert Taft, Barry Goldwater or even Ronald Reagan for that matter when it comes to this issue.
Traditional conservatives and libertarians who hold true that a non-interventionist foreign policy and a strict constitutional belief that the congress has the responsibility to declare war do not believe in weakened military defense…quite the contrary.
So what’s happening here? I believe it’s the neoconservative influence over conservatives and Republicans foreign policy thinking that is the result of these numbers.
So called conservatives and tea partiers like Sarah Palin and the rest have been taught and ingrained in their thoughts that the only way to keep the United States safe is to have military forces all over the planet, preemptive attacks and strikes, sanctions, etc., totaling ignoring there mantra about fiscal concerns, spending and debt.
Unfortunately, much of the general public believes this also from listening to so called conservative talking heads who continue to blast anyone that disagrees with such an aggressive approach to foreign policy.
It’s as if the cost of our military presence worldwide is not included when the issue of spending comes up.
The sad thing here is that Mr. Snitker is more “conservative” in a constitutional way than Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio will ever be.
[…] Scarborough explains that one of the most difficult things to explain to a conservative is the definition of a conservative foreign policy, not what is currently considered a conservative foreign policy like I tried to articulate in my recent piece, How is this explained? Libertarian Alex Snitker is viewed favorably by only 4% of conservatives. […]