Why not just become a Democrat if you're so disenchanted with the LP?

Because the Democrats are still nowhere near me on any of the issues I care about.

For all the shit I give LP, the libertarians are FAR better than the Democrats on immigration.

• The libertarians are FAR better than the Democrats on foreign policy.

• The libertarians are FAR better than the Democrats on criminal justice.

• The libertarians are FAR better than the Democrats on civil liberties.

The "moderate" wing of the Democrats that believes in free trade and better immigration laws is also the group always making excuses for war and torture and mass surveillance and draconian criminal justice. They're the ones who'd be at brunch while Hillary deported millions and blew Syrian children to bits.

The "progressive" wing of the Democrats that does much better on war and civil liberties often devolves into outright nativism on immigration and trade (much of which is being obscured now because Trump has really historically progressive views on both those issues himself and they're reacting against him). And a great many of them have utterly regressive views on economic freedom that would cost far more than their good intentions are worth. They don't understand how wealth is created and they don't want to.

You find me the Democrats who are anti-imperialist, pro-open borders, pro-heroin legalization, pro-trade, who want a social safety net but understand that you need a free economy to generate the prosperity to fund it. Find me those people and I'll talk with them. That's certainly not the Democrat Party I know.

I bag on libertarians because I hold them to a higher standard. If I were a Democrat I don't think the party or its partisans would enjoy my participation and my opinions about their history, their candidates, and their principles.