With all due respect, Sen. Bernie Sanders is not — thankfully — a libertarian, as some have claimed.
Senator Sanders would indeed work with libertarians on questions of free speech, open immigration, decriminalizing drugs, and a less interventionist foreign policy.
But as a proud democratic socialist, he very much supports Social Security, a strong central government capable of guaranteeing health care for everyone, regulating banks and the Wall Street plutocrats, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, restricting CO2 emissions to fight climate change and many other government actions that libertarians have long opposed.
Libertarians have a near-religious regard for a "free marketplace" without any worker protection laws, environmental regulations or other measures necessary for a civilized, equitable society. That's definitely not Bernie.
Libertarians, like the billionaire Koch brothers and the current Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson, believe in tearing government protections down.
Democrats like Mr. Sanders and Hillary Clinton believe in a good government that is strong enough to protect workers, consumers and the environment from the rich and powerful.
Jay Hilgartner, Baltimore