Why are libertarians associated with the right?

[dead0man]

    One party is interested in appealing to libertarians and one party is not. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which is which.

That's a much nicer version of what I was going to say.  One side ignores them and uses them from time to time.  The other side (generally) hates them.  But they hate everybody that doesn't think like them.

[dead0man]

The answer to the OP lies in (most) answers given by red avatars in this thread.  The ignorance and anger is a bit off putting.

[dead0man]

This is very interesting, angus. Thanks for going into detail on it.

I'd say that in my experience, even though the libertarians show up as very far to the "left" on their social scores, they tend to prioritize economic issues far more than social issues when it comes to advocacy and voting.

I don't know, it may lean one way or the other, but it's certainly very close.  I'd guess it actually leans more on the social side than the economic side, but I maybe biased a bit.  Gay marriage, guns and pot are just as important as free trade and less regulation.  Everything flows from the mindset that people should be able to (generally) do what they want as long as they ain't hurting nobody that doesn't want to be hurt.  It doesn't matter if that happens in the bedroom or the boardroom.

I just checked Reason Magazine's last few dozen articles linked to from Facebook.  There certainly isn't an economic bias there.  Lots of making fun of Trump and over sensitive college students.  A little Johnson, a little climate change (is that social or economic?), a little weed.  A little economics too sure, but it was countered by a little cop bashing.  I'm certainly more in the weed, guns and whores side, it's a lot more fun than the side discussing TPP and zoning.

[dead0man]

A real part of the issue here is that the system just doesn't give libertarians the opportunity or responsibility to put their money where their mouth is as far as enacting their preferred policies, so the ones who want their votes to have an electoral impact have to make a choice between left and right, and it seems like disproportionately they feel loosely attached to the right rather than to the left.

Libertarians might not be getting elected, but "libertarian" policy does pass from time to time.  Gay marriage, guns and weed are all important issues (at least they are to libertarians) heading in a libertarian direction.

[dead0man]

But we don't govern in a libertarian direction,

Do we ever govern in any specific direction for more than a moment?

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Not looking for credit, certainly didn't expect it.