Walter in Denver, a dedicated libertarian, picks up on our post about Ashcroft's new drug and gun prosecution policies and says:

"There's been much debate lately ... about the Libertarian Party's effect on Republican election results in the past election. The assumption made by some is that LP votes would go to the GOP if there were no LP candidate on the ballot. That may be true in some rare cases, including the South Dakota senate race, but LP voters that I know, and I know lots, made a careful and reasoned decision when they left the GOP. That's assuming they ever were with the Republicans, many were Democrats or split ticket voters before they saw the light. Most of us are painfully aware that voting GOP is voting for stuff like this: (found at TalkLeft) ....This sort of thing (and many other reasons) is why LP members take delight in voting against Republicans, and even try to spoil Republican results. As long as partisan Republicans are blind to this there will be no winning over LP voters."