Thanks to Matthew Yglesias for pointing out the fundamental divide today is between those libertarians and conservatives who hate the state and those who merely hate the left. This explains why some libertarians and conservatives fought Clinton’s expansion of the welfare state, crackdowns on civil liberties, and global crusades, yet today cheer (or at least excuse) Bush’s expansion of the welfare-warfare state which exceed anything Clinton achieved.

A similar phenomenon exists on the left, where some leftists object to government spending when done to benefit Republican constituencies, Republican wars to spread democracy, and right-wing crackdowns on civil liberties, but support tax-and-spend Democrats, left-wing crackdowns on civil liberties, and leftist crusades for “international human rights.”

Those willing to oppose statism even when their friends and allies hold state power are few and far between.