There is no such thing as a libertarian Democrat.

“They came in the dark, shining bright flashlights while my family was asleep, keeping me from milking my cows, from my family, from breakfast with my family and from our morning devotions, and alarming my children enough so that the first question they asked my wife was, ‘Is Daddy going to jail?’”

That’s how Amish farmer Dan Allgyer described an early morning visit last week from two FDA agents, two U.S. Marshals, and a Pennsylvania state trooper. Apparently, investigating a single farmer for possibly trafficking raw milk across state lines requires a show of force.

(via The DC Trawler) Pretty much by definition. You can have libertarian Republicans – and, as libertarians are no doubt eager to point out, you can certainly have hypocritical ‘libertarian’ Republicans – but the Democrats are a liberal-run political party these days, and liberals like to expand the state. That’s what liberals do. This can be disconcerting to counter-culture types that are not on the Left’s list of protected lifestyle choices.

Mind you, if you are on the list then the Democrats will be happy to pursue policies that mandate that everybody else endorse said lifestyle choices, too. Which I suppose sounds like a decent deal, until one realizes that a) there’s a hierarchy of protected groups and b) all groups on it are expected to enthusiastically support the Democrats in everything, no matter how well or poorly said groups are treated. Which is why the raw milk people get such a raw deal; the organic food movement is quite low on the pyramid, and government bureaucrats are at the apex of it*. With that kind of power imbalance, it’s a miracle that Mr. Allgyer didn’t get arrested…

Moe Lane

*Although the prospect of doing a favor for biotech industry giants is no doubt a factor.

Crossposted to Moe Lane.