In other words: She managed to give an answer that was incredibly offensive not only to libertarians, but also to people with autism. Let me be clear: Having autism does not mean that you do not have empathy for other people, and it’s outrageously inappropriate for McClean to have made such ignorant and insensitive comments about something she clearly knows nothing about.

Having libertarian beliefs also does not mean that you lack empathy. I know, because I have both. Libertarianism does not rest on the belief that people should not have good things, but the belief that getting the government too involved in people’s lives actually does more harm than it does good. The entire idea behind libertarianism is to minimize this kind of harm — and, believe it or not, wanting to minimize the harm being inflicted on others is the exact opposite of not having any empathy. Libertarians want people to be happy and prosperous, and suggesting otherwise is downright asinine.