Noted radical libertarian (and LR reader) backs Romney

From Eric Dondero:

We're not quite sure what to make of this. But we'll take it.

Nate Nelson is an active Indiana Libertarian. He has the site Daily Radical. He has been a commentator here at LR, most times on the opposite side of the spectrum from our stated pro-defense libertarian stance.

Yesterday, he posted a lengthy article at United Liberty endorsing Mitt Romney - "Mitt Romney Will Have to Work for Libertarian Support." A couple highlights:

It’s become pretty clear that Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex.) isn’t going to win the GOP presidential nomination. Following his fourth place showing in the South Carolina primary on Saturday... Even in the unlikely event that Paul sweeps the caucus states, he will receive no more than 500 delegates* — far short of the 1,144 needed to win the nomination.

This leaves libertarians with a choice. We can choose to support either former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), or former Governor Gary Johnson (L-N. Mex.).

At best, Johnson may play the role of spoiler in New Mexico and elsewhere in the Southwest. The message that could send to Republicans is that libertarians are more an electoral thorn in their side than a valuable part of their base.

Faced with a choice between Romney and Gingrich, it would seem that Romney is the better option for libertarians... Gingrich — far from being a limited government, Tea Party conservative — is more like the Republican version of Barack Obama. Jason Pye has noted that Gingrich supported a federal individual mandate long before RomneyCare was signed into law in Massachusetts. Romney, meanwhile, is a Washington outsider with experience as a businessman in the private sector. He has offered a more consistent and coherent limited government platform than Gingrich has offered. And as an added bonus, he was elected governor of a state that has been dominated by Democrats for decades.

If Romney wants to woo libertarians and limited government conservatives, though, he’s going to have to work for our votes.

Nelson goes on to strongly suggest that Romney pick a libertarian-leaning running mate, like: Gary Johnson (wouldn't that be a hoot?), Utah Sen. Mike Lee or KY Sen. Rand Paul, or Reps. Tom McClintock, Paul Ryan, or Jeff Flake.