Glenn Reynolds is talking about the potential for a 3rd party in the near future…

…if Republicans do get majorities next month, but continue to act in 2007 fashion. That is: as if they were Democrats.

Hey, I hear you. Republicans have a chance, here, and they’ve got to take it.

That said, let’s not have this become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I’m thinking about Melissa Clouthier’s recent post on Libertarians. An excerpt:

Like the nagging wife, the American public is constantly hen-pecked by lazy, spoiled libertarians telling them how stupid and just not good enough they are.

And then, the libertarians whine about why they never get A Real Seat at the Republican table. Uh, maybe if you guys actually acted like you were on the team instead of pretending to be some sort of blind line judge, you’d be taken more seriously.

…But it’s not about going with the team and holding the team accountable. It’s about feeling smart. Libertarians must always feel smart. And as long as they don’t actually participate, they can never be judged as stupid.

Word. Odds are, a lot of conservatives/libertarians have already decided that whatever Republicans do won’t be good enough.

Plus: odds are, Republicans will end up with a small majority in the House, but still a minority in the Senate. And the Presidency, of course. Democrat. So Republicans’ actual power to do anything other than play goalie will be extremely limited.

Thus:

A: Republicans have to actually be different from Democrats in fact, not just in degree;

B: Conservatives, tea partiers, libertarians have to actually be betrayed before taking their ball and going home. Or, more in keeping with the metaphor, heading for another court.

For either group (I almost wrote “side”) to act otherwise will be counterproductive. Let’s all keep the goal – smaller government, and a citizenry that understands the dangers of bigger government – in mind.