15-13 and a pair of scissors

Let the revolution begin!

City-County Councilman Ed Coleman is leaving the Republican Party to become a Libertarian.

"I have found that the direction of the Republican Party has changed, and it is not the same party I joined many years ago," he said. "Nor do I believe its current leaders truly represent the ideals that the party markets and advertises to voters."

Council President Bob Cockrum said he was surprised by Coleman's defection but noted the balance of power on the council will not change. The new makeup of the council is 15 Republicans, 13 Democrats and 1 Libertarian.

I guess it really isn't much of a revolution when somebody is elected as one thing then comes out of the closet as something else. But it's probably the only way to get a Libertarian on most elected bodies. It would have been a lot more interesting, though, if the makeup were 14, 14 and 1, wouldn't it?

As someone who has always had at least libertarian leanings, I've noticed that allies come and go. Back in the days of my yout, the libertarians and liberals seemed like allies in disdaining government authority, with the Vietnam War the biggest thing on most people's minds. In recent years, libertarians and conservatives have been together on fiscal restraint.

There is a movement afoot these days to create something called "liberaltarianism," which I don't think will get any more traction than libertarian paternalism did a couple of years ago. Libertarians (especially the big-L variety) are the original purists, much more interested in advancing their philosophy than actually winning elections and participating in government. They run with scissors much better than they play with others.

Coleman said he jumped ship when he became disillusioned with GOP abuse of power: "During the council's previous period of Democrat control, the majority's powers were used to silence Republicans," Coleman said. "Now, under Republican control, the council majority abuses their power to weaken Democrat influence." Well, that's politics for you, messy as it is. I suspect poor Mr. Coleman, now a minority of one, isn't going to become any less disillusioned with the real world.

Do you suppose there are any closet Libertarians (or even libertarians) on City Council? Mitch? Tom? Liz? Sometimes I even have suspicions about Karen.