Is this the "libertarian west" that Ryan Sager and other pundits speak of?

"There’s a saying in North and South Dakota politics: The voters send Republicans to the state capitol to be conservative with their money, and they send Democrats to Washington to bring back other people’s money."

Somehow, I haven't bought the argument that Republican's Senate, Gubernatorial and Congessional losses in the west in 2004 and 2006 is either recent a phenomenom (MT, CO, AZ, NM have always had Democratic Senators) or that was in motivated primarily by the recent lack of Republican fiscal discipline (although admittedly I would like Republicans to improve on that front).