I've noticed this very same thing that Oliver Willis points out:

In a larger post about liberals in academia (shocking! must be the work of "the syndicate"), Ezra throws this in

on the left, most everyone is a proud Democrat, the right is fairly littered with libertarians.

I've found this to be a remarkable phenomenon. In the blogosphere, you have almost a reverse dynamic to that found in the media. Overwhelmingly liberal bloggers identify themselves directly as Democrats. Yes, there are many who see the party as the lesser of two evils, and in their hearts would prefer Dennis Kucinich or Ralph Nader, but overwhelmingly I've found bloggers on the left have no problem saying "yep, I'm a Democrat" (I obviously count myself among that group).

But among bloggers on the right, it always seems that great pains are taken to make it clear that they are "independents" or "libertarians" - these are people who usually endorse much of the GOP agenda and reliably vote for Republicans - and they don't identify as "Republican". Yes, there are some like GOPBloggers who identify with the party, but that was essentially a recent development.

What does it mean? Well, liberals like to join movements, but as anyone who has watched the rightie echo chamber in progress can testify to, so does the left. It begs the question, are Democrats simply prouder of the Democratic party and what it stands for - for all the handwringing of "where do we stand" could it be that the donkey triumphs over the pachyderm? I think so.

I can't tell you how many self-proclaimed "libertarians" I've come across over the years that after talking with them for say ten to twenty minutes, you realize they're actually Republicans in denial. However, if you ever utter such truth to them, they get insulted and wish to make perfectly clear that I am mistaken. It's as if they fully realize there's much to be ashamed about the GOP, and that they should try to resist aligning with this party, but again if you discuss things with them over a long enough period of time, they always seem to drift back towards the GOP talking points.

We've seen this same thing with Bill O'Reilly and his idiotic insistence that he's a "traditionalist" -- whatever that may be. And do any of the right-wing radio talking heads (Limbaugh, Hannity, etc.) ever admit on the air that they're for the GOP, again literally stating such? You do hear this regarding Democrats with most of the hosts on Air America Radio.

I've long ago made the translation that when someone tells me they're a libertarian, or some other slippery term (I've even heard some say "I'm not a Bush Republican, but rather a Reagan Republican" -- ultimately voting for Bush in November), for most of them they're either a self-hating Republican looking to hide, or they're simply in denial, deluded about what they truly believe and those who side with them.

Oh well, so many in this country are in such a state of denial and so sadly deluded and misled, I wonder if the collective nation will ever wake up.