Can Daniels Win Over Libertarian Wonks?

Mitch Daniels may have a reputation as the wonk candidate, but some libertarian and free market wonks have concerns with the potential GOP candidate.

In my look at Mitch Daniels chances yesterday, user ProfNickD suggested that my contention that Daniels was the favored candidate of the conservative policy wonk community was misplaced:

Wonks love him? Really? You mean the Cato Institute? The Independence Institute? The Ludwig von Mises Institute? The Reason Foundation?

Some wonks like Daniels — DC/NYC Republican statists and establishmentarians, for sure, those who advocate free markets, not so much.

I have a sense of where this free market rejection of Daniels comes from. Cato released a paper in September which graded each state governor on their fiscal records. Daniels' grade was a mere "B", with the report noting that "Governor Daniels is a fiscal conservative, but he seems to focus more on balancing the state budget than shrinking the size of government." The report went on to cite that Daniels went on to sign a cigarette tax and a temporary increase in the income tax (which was rejected). The report also cites that while he did lower property taxes, he off-set it by raising the sales tax. The report ominously warns this "may lead to larger government down the road by increasing state power at the expense of competition between local jurisdictions."

Daniels is thus clearly not a minarchist. Yet while Cato does seem to view taxes on cigarettes as a mark against the cause of liberty, on the whole, a fair number of libertarian organizations seem willing to give Daniels credit where credit is due on his record. Heartland institute has praised Daniels’ governance and The Reason Foundation also praised Daniels’ privatization of the toll road.

It’s true that Daniels is not the darling of the libertarian right. They have criticized him for having the audacity to support full-day kindergarten, and when he first announced his accursed tax on cigarettes in 2006, he recieved a "D" grade in Cato's governor's grading.

However, fast forward to 2009, when Daniels proposed an education tax credit, and received praise. Cato policy analyst Adam B. Schaeffer wrote: "Sounds like Governor Mitch Daniels deserves kudos for keeping the bill in his budget and pushing for the program...Big Ed ain’t what he used to be."

So perhaps even free market advocates can concede that while it is a shame that Daniels thinks that cigarettes create negative externalities which should be taxed, that at least he does his part to fight for school choice and balanced budgets, even if Indiana is merely an efficient state and not a Galt's Gulch.

If Daniels fails to become president, it won’t be because of a cigarette tax, it will be because 80% of Americans don't know who he is.

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