Libertarian Thinking
Given the rightward trajectory of the Republican Party and the the likely candidacy of Rand Paul in 2016 it seems inevitable that we will soon be debating the merits of a libertarian approach to governance.  This should be a debate about what we mean by limited government, because limited government is a widely shared American value; what we each mean by that term, however, can vary dramatically.

Libertarians prefer maximum limits, allowing for only the smallest possible government. There is a lot to like about constitutionally limited government, where the rules of the game are set (mostly) ahead of time and the rulers (mostly) as well as the ruled are expected to follow these rules, and governments function, therefore, is limited to enforcing the limited number of rules in the constitution and protecting us against our enemies (foreign and domestic), that is, providing for national defense and running a criminal justice system. 

Libertarians are likely to favor the Articles of Confederation, for instance, where states (a much smaller unit than a national government) hold all the cards, power, sovereignty.  Today, given how power works, it might be a good idea to push back against a growing national government to re-empower states, since concentrations of power undisturbed by regular folks need to be disrupted from time to time...as we saw in the civil war, when we needed to disrupt the power of states seeking to nullify constitional authority.

I welcome this conversation, if it emerges, because it is honest and can be thoughtful, though I have my doubts the mass media will highlight these aspects.   But I also have my doubts about the extreme limitations envisioned by Libertarians.

On the one hand, minority rights are a provision in the constitution that limits government authority, making it consistent with Libertarian thinking.  On the other hand, our post civil war tradition of the federal government struggling to compel states to recognize and respect minority rights has been one contributing factor in the growth of federal, at the expense of state, power.  In this sense rights run contrary to Libertarian thinking.  So, minority rights--essential to a functioning majoritarian democracy--are one area I am concerned about in Libertarian thinking. 

A second area is, in my view, Libertarians undervalue all we do for ourselves and each other through government agencies.  National defense, criminal justice system, roads, bridges, food inspections, market regulation, public schools, public radio, environmental protection, safety in manufacturing or any building, civil justice system, homeland security, NASA, FHA, social security, medicare and medicaid, ACA, funding basic scientific research, public universities, and a lot more.  Imagining the enactment of Libertarian vision does not bring to mind pretty pictures of strong communities and family values.