Congratulations on the Birth of "Politics"! And Ayn Rand Goes MySpace

The great periodical paean to political wonkery, Campaigns and Elections, has a new look, according to this morning's Washington Post magazine column. It's now "Politics" magazine, and apparently has a new, politics-as-general-interest (rather than, you know, blood sport) feel.

"Tuned Out," the anchor piece of the redesigned issue is an interesting and quick read on cultural libertarianism. It's also, I think, a pretty egregrious misapplication of the Long Tail model to the 2008 presidential election. The authors, editors of the libertarian Reason magazine and reason.com argue that "The Ron Paul Revolution" is both the fruition and harbinger of "a new niche era of politics, unmoored from party affiliation, attracted by both authentic politicians and limited-government platforms, and able to activate election-tipping swarms of voters at the touch of a keystroke."

To my mind, though, the conflation of the growth of niche culture and a forthcoming rise of libertarianism doesn't hold water beyond the still-small circle of proselytizing libertarians. Their argument about the decoupling of culture and politics is compelling, but their conclusion that this phenomenon will create a movement towards political libertarianism is a non sequitur. At worst, their cheerleading for Paul's fundraising ability (as opposed to say, the actual votes received in far greater numbers by nearly every other GOP candidate), demands for legalized online gambling, and repeated invocation of South Park perpetuates the worst stereotypes of libertarians as privileged, solipsistic, and frankly kind of nerdy, white guys out of touch with the lives of the majority of their countrymen.

But "Tuned Out" is also a witty, un-invested look at the shortcomings of the two major parties in a burgeoning internet- and individual-driven culture, which is to say it succeeds in perpetuating the best of libertarianism, too.