I agree with CT on some things, not on others. Myself, I have strong (small-L) libertarian leanings. That is, fiscally conservative, socially liberal. However, I've long-since realized that a lot of what's in the (big-L) Libertarian party is silly or a sham: I like not paying tolls on the freeways, I like non-privatized police forces, I like a foreign policy that doesn't hide behind our borders; the last Libertarian I saw running on my local ballot was running on a "right to own ferrets" platform (no, I'm not making this up).
Add to that the fact that, when the chips are down and pragmatism is at stake, I'll vote Republican just about every time, simply because they support the things that I hold most dear (gun rights, low taxation, a culture of personal responsibility). Part of the problem people like me (and, I would guess, CT) have is that some of the things we've always liked about the Republicans seem to be disappearing (I appreciate the tax cuts, and I think they should be permanent, but I've balanced my check book enough times to realize that you can't do both cuts and things like the prescription drug benefit, the largest expansion of a federal entitlement program in years).
So what's the solution? Split from the Republican party, like CT has, and join a third party? I don't think so. As much as I'd love to, in theory, pragmatics has a way of biting you in the ass; if half the Republicans go Libertarian, we're simply dooming ourselves to two decades of Hillary Clintons and Janet Renos and Charles Schumers. That's where the tactical voting comes in. I'd love to go with the pie-in-the-sky stuff, but I'd rather compromise on a decent Republican than have the ATF at my door collecting my newly-outlawed firearms.
