New McCain Ad: Patriotic Act – The Appeal to Libertarians

I was wondering when McCain was going to make his play for the libertarian vote. Economically-minded Ron Paul was very popular for a while there, and Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr may take some of Ron Paul’s votes in the general election. So it’d be a wise move for McCain to try to appeal to the libertarian mindset.

Surveys show about 15-20% of Americans identify with libertarian ideas, even if they don’t consider themselves libertarians. If McCain can get a good portion of that 15-20%, it could make all the difference in the general election.

Those libertarian ideas boil down to individual liberty and little to no government involvement in citizens lives. As many economists will tell you, economic liberty is a prerequisite to all other freedoms; so lower taxes often mean more social freedom. Also, libertarians are usually fans of the founding fathers, and often consider themselves “real” patriots. The sarcastic use of “Patriots” in this McCain ad will strike a chord with most libertarians.