Meanwhile, a long decade of reality TV, college sports, and the like have democratized and commercialized the entertainment industry’s pseudo-aristocracies of actors, musicians, and professional athletes, growing the pie of people with a materialistic mindset of self-entitlement. (For every Tim Tebow, there are a thousand alumni of Flavor of Love and LA Ink.)

These developments aren’t liberal plots so much as sweeping cultural changes. But libertarians know well that even the most self-regarding and tribalistic enthusiast of the lower pleasures can also cultivate a basic appreciation for a day-in, day-out independence from the manipulative interference and supervision of a government that claims the prerogatives of omnicompetence while wasting their money, corrupting their representatives, and squandering their prosperity on a vast scale.

Nonetheless, for Democrats, there’s more and more low-hanging fruit to persuade in the other direction. If Barack Obama wins re-election, it means the liberal base really is growing, a lot. Despite the insane fears that the GOP will nominate someone average Americans think is a freak, the eventual nominee is fairly certain to be palatable enough that reasonable people actually dissatisfied with Obama will vote for him.