Democratic presidential hopeful defects to Libertarians

No, not Obama, you silly. I'm talking about Mike Gravel, the former U.S. senator from Alaska.

What? You didn't know he was still in the presidential race as a Democrat? Well, now you won't know that he's still in the presidential race as a Libertarian.

Yep, a Libertarian -- Gravel defected to the Libertarian Party, saying his old donkey party "is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism — all of which I find anathema to my views."

In a separate statement, he added:

I'm joining the Libertarian Party because it is a party that combines a commitment to freedom and peace that can't be found in the two major parties that control the government and politics of America. My libertarian views, as well as my strong stance against war, the military industrial complex and American imperialism, seem not to be tolerated by Democratic Party elites who are out of touch with the average American; elites that reject the empowerment of American citizens I offered to the Democratic Party at the beginning of this presidential campaign with the National Initiative for Democracy.

Gravel's libertarian sympathies aren't new. He's long been a fan of Reason magazine, and explicitly endorsed libertarian ideas in an interview with Brainwash magazine. His views could probably best be described as an amalgam of liberal and libertarian -- what some folks call "liberaltarian," but which could also be considered a return to something like the old-fashioned, individualist liberalism of the sort that gave birth to modern libertarianism. Former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern has also moved in this direction in his writings over the past two decades.

Gravel's move probably won't mean much in itself, but it may be an indication that the liberal-libertarian coalition advocated by people including the Cato Institute's Brink Lindsey may have a future.