Liberty in America
columnist: rtbohan

Topic: The Revolution
Libertarian Options

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Why the Libertarian Party is not the answer,but it can be part of the solution

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by rtbohan
(libertarian)
Saturday, June 28, 2008

The United States is a republic. This means that the final judge of proper government  is the people. If we want to restore the proper constitutional limits to government and create again a land of liberty, we have to do it through a grass roots political movement. And this is a difficult assignment.

Those of us who consider ourselves libertarians, whether in the Libertarian Party, the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign/Campaign for Liberty, or just as individuals, understand what is wrong with the present system, and understand what livertarianism means.  We each find the idea attractive in varying degrees and in varying aspects.  Some are supportive of the idea of economic liberty, but not so sure about social aspects, some believe in the idea of indivual rights, but distrust business.  Some accept the idea that liberty is indivisible and reciprocal.  But almost none of us has lived in a free society or under a government based on liberty. of the voters today are a great deal younger than I, so that it is possible to say that  living in freedom is an alien concept for them.  Some of us are able to conceive of a freer society through reason, and some have an idea of how it works, in both its beneficial and it threatening aspects, through a study of history.  People can support the concept of liberty through understanding the theory, but they should be aware of two things.  First,  most people are frightened of what are to them new ideas, so you will convince very few people to abandon a system under which they have lived all their lives.  Second, for those who have been convinced that a system of liberty will be better, the ideal is always appears better than reality.  A free system offers more opportunities, but it is not always pleasant.

The Paul campaign and the Libertarian Party have helped many of us to understand the ideas of the libertarian movement.  But this is not a reason to congratulate ourselves or to condemn those who oppose the idea of freedom as stupid.  A free society is a new concept for most Americans, and what they have heard about the bad old days in the schools and from the politicians has not made them receptive to libertarian ideas.  If they are to reach an understanding of the system and recognize the benefits it promises them, we have to follow the old educational rule: "Don't tell me how it works (or will work) show me how it works."

One way to do this would be a libertarian colony.  This was suggested three months ago in "Paulville". (www.paulville.org)  Paulville disappeared within days of its announcement.  Aside from my conviction--which was the same as Ron Paul's-  that it was a bad idea, it would not work as an educational tool because no one would visit it, and if it were a gated community, the government would announce that it heard a rumor that there were gun owners or child abusers in the community and wipe it out.

The other option is to get libertarians into every level of  government and begin work on repealing unconstitutional and unnecessary laws, abolishing dysfuntional programs, eliminating redundant departments and bureaus, and lowering the cost of the government and the perks of the governors. This means electing people to office.

Some Libertarians, even some associated with the Libertarian Party, seem to think that Libertarians should not be elected to office.  This year when the party was considering revising the platform to get some of its members elected to office, some argued that the party should not be interested in electing people.  If the party elected candidates, they argued, they would get caught up in the system and be as bad as the Democrats or the Republicans.  I understand the argument and I recognize the danger.  But if you are interested only in "educating" the voters, you should organize a school or a lecture society.  The purpose of political party is to get people elected to office and to enact a program, not just talk about it.

The Libertarian Party(www.lp.org)  does put a great deal of effort into the quadrenial presidential campaign, but does too little about running on the state level and less on the local level.  The party as presently constituted is not going to elect a president this century.  The Libertarian Party is an important element is publicizing the Libertarian movement, but it not a sufficient vehicle to create the awareness of liberty as more than an abstract idea or to bring about political change.

The party has done a lot of important work.  The party is on the ballont in more than half the states.  During presidential election years the position is expanded through petition drives. But the party is weak in local organiation and is a top-down organization.  If you go to the local party websites, you will find that, on the whole, there is limited informaion, most of the meetings are members-only, and to be considered for membership in the state party, the first step is to enroll in the national party.  This means that you must pay dues and become a part of the national organization before the party will even talk to you.  Under the rules of the party in my state, when I checked a few years ago, to actually participate in the party is even harder.  All decisions are made at the state convention.  To be represented at the state convention, you must belong to the party organization in your county.  About five of the almost fifty counties have party organization.  Even this is restricted by the rule that the county organization must have been in existence a full year before it can send delegates to the convention.  Members who are not represented can go and observe, for a fee.

I don't think that the rules are entirely unreasonable.  The Party is trying to maintain itself and its brand from a takeover by another political group, as happened to the Reform Party four years ago and the Farmer Labor Party of Minnesota sixty years ago, or from becoming a vehicle of fringe organiations. And political campaigns are expensive. But it is a bad situation for attracting voters or winning elections.  This is one reason that the party is so excited about attracting 3% of the voters nationwide and looking on being credited with allowing Obama to win in a few closely contested states as a major victory for libertarianism.

There will be a second libertarian party on the ballot in some states.  The party, previously a caucus in the Libertarian Party, nominated Charles Jay fo President and Thomas L. Knapp for Vice President ([link edited for length]).  The Party is running on "The World' Shortest Political Platform.  It's website is still under construction(www.bostontea.us) , but it might be a good idea to copy the address. The Party is on the ballot in Colorado and has plans to be on the ballot in several other states.  The Party has already experienced some internal difficulties with an attempt to rig the nominating process, and it is difficult to say if it has a future.  It probably will not steal the presidency from Bob Barr this year, but it is an attempt to create a more broadly libertarian political party.

At the time that Ron Paul ended his campaign for the Republican nomination in 2008 he announced the formation of the Campaign for Liberty (www.campaignforliberty.com).  The new organization announced a goal of enrolling 100,000 members by September.  At 8 a.m, June 28, the  home page was showing that 64,208 had signed on. The Campaign is maintaining the network of precinct leaders which was built by the Paul Presidential campaign, and presumably will be expanding if.  This makes it the best vehicle for spreading the libertarian message and increasing libertarian participation in government.  The question is whether the emphasis will be solely on increasing libertarian influence in the Republican Party.  The Paul campaign was as successful as it was because his candidacy attracted Democratic, Libertarian and independent supporters as well as Republicans.  While the Libertarian message of economic freedom and returning power to the state governments will find support among the fiscal consrvatives, and religious conservatives in the Republican Party the social issues will find a less warm welcome.  At this point building a libertarian presence in the Republican Party is important.  But if the Campaign for Liberty limits what it does to supporting Repubican candidates and conservative libertarian positions its benefit will be limited.

There are other aspects of spreading the word and electing libertarian candidates which have been discussed.  Gary Wood wrote on this site([link edited for length]) about establishing a libertarian PAC.  Michael McDonough wrote on Nolan Chart this week with a refinement of the idea ([link edited for length])  which I liked a little better.   Depending on its future develop, the Campaign for Liberty may fill this need.  But if it does not then these organizations might develop.

Libertarians are not inclined to join or support monolithic organizations.  But there is a pressing need to demonstrate to present day Americans that freedom works.  That can only be done by electing libertarians to office.  To the extent than any or all of these organizations can help, it is important to support them and build a political movement from the local level to the national level.

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©2008 rtbohan, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Saturday, June 28, 2008
Last modified: Saturday, July 5, 2008

The views expressed in this article are those of rtbohan only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. rtbohan is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

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