Rise of the Conservatarians

There is a new word in the political lexicon, gaining currency as Rand Paul builds a following in the high-tech crowd:  Conservatarian.  A combination of “conservative” and “libertarian.”

So would any of you describe yourselves as Conservatarians?  What are its tenets?  How is it different from regular old “libertarian”?  Or regular old “conservative”?  Might this become a winning political ideology?

From Strange Bedfellows: Silicon Valley Techies ‘Like’ Conservative Senator Rand Paul « CBS San Francisco:

There’s a new app in Silicon Valley — conservatarianism.

It’s the app that conservative Senator Rand Paul is pushing. He wants to join forces with local techies.

But how can technology and liberty flourish side by side? Paul’s answer, “shrink government.”

“Is government inherently stupid?” the Kentucky Republican the audience at the Lincoln Labs Reboot 2014. “I say no, but it’s a debatable question.”

Since Paul’s visit a new political term is being coded — the conservatarian… part conservative, part libertarian.

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Garrett Johnson organized Senator Paul’s visit.

“It’s not that I agree with him 100% of the time,” said Johnson. “I don’t agree with my parents 100% of the time, but I still go home for Christmas and Thanksgiving every year.”

“I call myself a conservative with libertarian leanings,” said Evan Baehr, co-founder of Able. “Conservatarian? It’s new for me, but it’s a fit.”