List of Libertarian Parties

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Template:Libertarianism The Libertarian Party is an American political party founded in 1971. It is one of the largest continuing third parties in the United States, claiming more than 200,000 registered voters and more than 600 people in public office, including mayors, county executives, county council members, school board members and other local officials. It has more people in office than all other third parties combined.^[1]

The stated platform of the Libertarian Party is consistent with elements of the philosophy of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, and strong civil liberties.

Platform

Key tenets of the Libertarian Party platform include the following:

Adoption of laissez-faire principles which will result in the complete separation of state and economics. This will include, among other things, enormous reduction in taxation, privatization of Social Security and welfare (for both individuals and companies), elimination of business regulation, abolition of labor regulations such as the minimum wage and the cessation of government interference in foreign trade.
Protection of property rights.
Minimal government bureaucracy. The Libertarian Party states that the government's responsibilities should be limited to the protection of individual rights from the initiation of force and fraud.
Strong civil liberties positions, including privacy protections, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and sexual freedom.
- In the area of abortion, though, there is a division in the ranks. Pro-choice Libertarians see the issue as one where the woman has a right to rule her own body, with government having no right to dictate otherwise. Pro-life Libertarians see the issue as one where the unborn child also has individual rights which should be protected by the government.
Support for the unrestricted right to the means of self-defense (such as gun rights, the right to carry mace or pepper spray, etc).
Abolition of laws against victimless crimes (prostitution, driving without a seatbelt, use of controlled substances, etc.).
Opposition to conscription.
A foreign policy of free trade and non-interventionism.
Support a fiscally responsible government

Libertarians state that their platform follows from consistent application of the principle of mutual respect for rights, and the liberty of exercise thereof, and thus are deeply supportive of the concept of individual liberty as a pre-condition for moral and stable societies. In their "Statement of Principles", they declare: "We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose." To this end, Libertarians want to reduce the size of government (eliminating many of its current functions entirely).

Libertarians reject the view of politics as a one-dimensional spectrum, divided between Democrats representing the left or center-left and Republicans representing the right or center-right.

To illustrate their view that the one-dimensional view of politics is insufficient to describe the myriad political philosophies held by the public, Libertarians introduced the Nolan chart to communicate their belief that politics is at least two-dimensional. A variation of the Nolan chart is enhanced (via a link from the main website) by a ten-question poll (five questions dealing with economic issues and five questions dealing with personal freedom issues), which it bills as "The World's Smallest Political Quiz," allowing respondents to classify their political leanings.

Among outside political watchers, some consider Libertarians to be conservative (primarily because of their support of the right to bear arms and because of their views on taxes and states' rights); while others consider them liberal because of their advocacy of a non-interventionist foreign policy, the repeal of drug prohibition, and the elimination of laws that interfere with private consensual acts (such as prostitution and gambling). In reality, Libertarians are neither conservative nor liberal; rather, they represent a unique philosophy that is all their own. It is entirely possible that the need, or the feeling that the party must be either conventionally conservative or conventionally liberal - with no matter whether these thoughts come from outside or from within - is one reason for the weakness of the Libertarians in past elections.

Within the framework of libertarian politics, the Libertarian Party's platform falls in the realm of free market minarchism. The party advocates limiting the government as much as possible, within the confines of the United States Constitution. As in any political party, there is some internal debate about the platform, and not all of the party's supporters advocate its complete or immediate implementation, but most think that the USA would benefit from most of its proposed changes.

History

The Libertarian Party was formed in the home of David Nolan on 11 December 1971, after several months of debate among members of the Committee to Form a Libertarian Party, founded July 17th. This group included John Hospers, Edward Crane, Manual Klausner, Murray Rothbard, R.A. Childs, Theodora Nathan, and Jim Dean. Prompted in part by price controls implemented by President Richard Nixon, the Libertarian Party viewed the dominant Republican and Democratic parties as having diverged from what they viewed as the libertarian principles of the American founding fathers.

Libertarian Presidential Tickets

1972: John Hospers and Theodora Nathan
    2,691 popular votes (0.003%); 1 electoral vote;
1976: Roger MacBride and David Bergland
    173,011 popular votes (0.21%)
1980: Ed Clark and David Koch
    921,299 popular votes (1.1%)
1984: David Bergland and James A. Lewis
    228,705 popular votes (0.25%)
1988: Ron Paul and Andre Marrou
    432,179 popular votes (0.47%)
1992: Andre Marrou and Nancy Lord
    291,627 popular votes (0.28%)
1996: Harry Browne and Jo Jorgensen
    485,798 popular votes (0.50%)
2000: Harry Browne and Art Olivier
    384,431 popular votes (0.36%)
2004: Michael Badnarik and Richard Campagna
    397,367 popular votes (0.34%)

By the 1972 presidential election, the party had grown to over 80 members and had attained ballot access in two states. Their presidential ticket, John Hospers and Theodora Nathan, earned fewer than 3,000 votes, but received the first and only electoral college vote for a Libertarian ticket, from Roger MacBride of Virginia, who was pledged to Richard Nixon. His was the first vote ever cast for a woman in the United States Electoral College. MacBride became the party's presidential nominee in the 1976 Presidential Election.

In the 1980 presidential contest, the Libertarian Party gained ballot access in all 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and Guam, the first time a third party accomplished this since the Socialist Party in 1916. The ticket of Ed Clark and David H. Koch spent several million dollars on this political campaign and earned more than one percent of the popular vote, the most successful Libertarian presidential campaign to date.

On December 29, 1981, the first successful election in the continental United States of a Libertarian Party candidate in a partisan race occurred as Richard P. Siano, a Boeing 707 pilot for TWA, running against both a Republican and a Democrat, was elected to the office of Kingwood Township Committeeman in western Hunterdon County, New Jersey. His election resulted from the special election held on December 29, 1981 to break a tie vote in the general election between him and the Democratic candidate. He received 63% of the votes cast in the special election. He served a three-year term of office.

In 1983, the party was divided by internal disputes; former party leaders Edward Crane and David Koch left, taking a number of their supporters with them.

In 1984, the party's presidential nominee, David Bergland, gained access to the ballot in 36 states and earned one-quarter of one percent of the popular vote.

In 1988, former Republican Congressman Ron Paul won the Libertarian nomination for president and was on the ballot in 46 states. Paul later successfully ran for Congress from Texas, once again as a Republican, an office in which he still serves.

In 1992, Andre Marrou, a Libertarian elected to the Alaska state legislature and Ron Paul's running mate in 1988, led the ticket, with attorney Nancy Lord as his Vice Presidential (VP) running mate. For the first time since the Clark campaign in 1980, the Libertarian Party made the ballot in all 50 states, DC, and Guam.

In 1994, radio personality Howard Stern embarked on a political campaign for Governor of New York, formally announcing his candidacy under the Libertarian Party ticket. Although he legally qualified for the office and campaigned for a time after his nomination, many viewed the run for office as nothing more than a publicity stunt. He subsequently withdrew his candidacy because he did not want to comply with the financial disclosure requirements for candidates.

Investment adviser Harry Browne headed the 1996 and 2000 tickets. The VP candidate in 1996 was South Carolina entrepreneur Jo Jorgensen; in 2000, Art Olivier of California was Browne's running mate. Again the Party made the ballot in all 50 states, DC and Guam.

In all of these cases, the party's presidential nominee drew in between one third and one half of one percent of the popular vote. In 2000, the Arizona Libertarian Party, which had been disaffiliated from the national organization in late 1999, but which controlled the Libertarian ballot line in that state, nominated science fiction author L. Neil Smith and newspaperman Vin Suprynowicz, rather than Browne and Olivier, as its presidential slate. Smith and Suprynowicz polled 5,775 votes (0.38%) in Arizona.

The 2004 election cycle saw the Libertarian Party's closest presidential nomination race to date. Three candidates -- gun-rights activist and software engineer Michael Badnarik, talk radio host Gary Nolan, and Hollywood producer Aaron Russo -- all came within two percent of each other on the first two ballots at the 2004 national convention in Atlanta. Badnarik was chosen as the party's presidential nominee on the third ballot after Nolan was eliminated, a comeback many saw as surprising, as Badnarik had not been viewed as a frontrunner for the nomination — many delegates were won over during the convention itself, due to Badnarik's perceived strong performance in a formal candidate debate.

The Badnarik campaign scored ballot status in 48 states (plus DC and Guam) and earned 397,367 votes. Despite less name recognition and a much smaller campaign checkbook, Badnarik polled nearly as well as independent candidate Ralph Nader.

The Libertarian Party's current national chair is Bill Redpath. Its most recent executive director was Joe Seehusen, who resigned on August 5, 2005.^[2] Communications Director Shane Cory is temporarily acting as Chief of Staff. In March of 2006, the national committee began the process of naming Shane Cory as the new Executive Director.

In mid-2005, the Libertarian National Committee voted to eliminate all dues for membership in the national Libertarian Party, effective January 1, 2006.^[3] However, this change was controversial and was de facto reversed by action of the Summer 2006 national convention in Portland, Oregon; at which the members re-established a basic $25 dues category (now called "Sustaining membership"), and further added a requirement that all National Committee officers must henceforth be at least Sustaining members (this was not required prior to the convention).

The 2006 convention also produced a significantly altered party platform. While some delegates voted for changes so the Party could appeal to a wider audience, others simply thought the entire document needed an overhaul. In addition, the delegates were not provided with a copy of the existing platform; afterwards, some stated they were reluctant to vote to retain the planks when the existing language wasn't provided for review ^[4]. Whatever the reasons, the platform was much shortened, but the overriding theme of the platform remains largely the same.

There was a push to repeal or substantially rewrite the Platform, centered around groups such as the Libertarian Reform Caucus.^[5] Naturally, not all Party members approved of the changes; believing them to be a setback to libertarianism^[6] and an abandonment of what they see as the most important purpose of the Libertarian Party.

Relationship to major parties

At the local level, the Libertarian Party often joins, and sometimes leads, trans-partisan and non-partisan issues coalitions. It emphasizes, in the words of its co-founder, David Nolan, "consensus and coalition building" on issues important to its members. It also engages in lobbying at the state, local and national levels. The Libertarian International Organization estimates that Libertarians around the country are involved in more than 500 initiatives a year.

The Libertarian Party has substantial points of disagreement with both the Democratic and the Republican parties. However, the party has historically had more influence on and closer ties with the Republican Party. For example, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich claimed to be influenced by Libertarian principles, and was praised by many Libertarians for attempting to shrink government. Analysts within the American right have used the language and social critiques of Libertarians with regard to market deregulation (for example, the frequent citing of studies by the Cato Institute). The 1988 Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Ron Paul serves as a Republican Congressman from Texas, and is also a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, a group of libertarian-minded members of that party. On the other hand, there is strong Libertarian influence on some Democrats, too; the Democratic Freedom Caucus is a group of libertarian-minded members of the Democratic Party. It could be said that libertarianism is more "liberal" on social beliefs and more "conservative" on economic beliefs.

Libertarian candidates have occasionally thrown their support behind Republican contenders. In a 2002 South Dakota election for Senate, for example, Libertarian candidate Kurt Evans suspended his campaign three weeks before Election Day and urged voters to support Republican candidate John R. Thune. The Libertarian Party supported Republican efforts to impeach Bill Clinton, although for different reasons (citing several actions they deemed to be unconstitutional). In 1992, after incumbent Georgia Senator Wyche Fowler won a plurality but failed to achieve 50% and was forced into a runoff, the Libertarian candidate publicly threw his support to Paul D. Coverdell, who then won the election.

On the other hand, the Libertarian Party has also worked towards defeating some prominent Republicans, such as Bob Barr (who has subsequently spoken at Libertarian Party functions and expressed agreement with many of the party's positions). It opposes the Republican Party on various issues of civil liberties: for example, the Libertarian Party has sharply attacked the USA PATRIOT Act for its potential for infringement of civil rights. The party has also made the repeal of drug prohibition laws one of its priorities, a position that puts it at odds with the "mainstream" of both the Democratic and Republican Parties.

Ronald Reagan said in a 1975 interview that the core of conservatism in the United States was in fact libertarianism, and since the Republican Party generally follows a conservative stance, this also implies a stronger link between the two parties.

Despite this, former Libertarian candidate Harry Browne noted that he drew approximately an equal number of Democrats and Republicans to his campaign. 2004 candidate Michael Badnarik made a similar claim. Surveys by Libertarian Citizen, an activist education group, in 2002 showed Libertarians drew equally from the left, right, and independents -- with more than 30% saying they would not have voted at all in the absence of a Libertarian candidate.

Media such as the St Petersburg Times have speculated that even one Libertarian could affect public bodies to look at different ideas. They are often strong in local appointed office, and sometimes lead the boards to which they belong. In 2005, local Florida Democrats joined a coalition with Libertarians that, after a voter forum, is calling for a reduction in ballot access restrictions.

Size and influence

Defining Measures

The Libertarian Party claims to be the largest third party in the United States â€” a nation which is overwhelmingly dominated by two major parties that typically capture more than 95% of the vote in partisan elections. Their claim is disputed by some, especially other third parties such as the Greens. There is no single objective, agreed-upon standard to compare the size of third parties, so what is presented here is a review of various measures cited in the media.

November 2006 elections

The [November 7], [2006] elections might provide one reasonable measure of minor-party strength. In that election, the median vote percentage for Libertarians who ran for US House (excluding races with only one major party nominee) was 2.04%; while the median percentage for Greens who ran for that office (again excluding races with only one major party nominee) was 1.41%. ^[7]

Presidential Candidate Performance

Libertarians point to the performance of their presidential candidates, who have often finished above most other permanently-organized third parties. In the 2004 election, Libertarian Michael Badnarik received more votes (397,367 votes) than all non-major party candidates except for Ralph Nader, who ran as an independent but accepted the endorsement and ballot lines of the nearly defunct Reform Party; received more votes than all the other third party candidates combined, more than twice as many as the Constitution Party candidate (Michael Peroutka 144,292 votes) and three times as many as Green Party candidate (David Cobb 119,852 votes). In 2000 and 1996, Libertarian Harry Browne was bested by both the Green Party and Reform Party nominees. The Libertarian candidate finished ahead of all other third party candidates in 1992, 1988, 1984, and 1980 (though it finished well behind independent candidates Ross Perot in 1992 and John Anderson in 1980). No other currently active third party has finished third in a presidential election more than once, or received an electoral college vote, as the Libertarian candidate did in 1972 from a "faithless elector" pledged to Nixon and the Republican Party.^[8]

Earning Ballot Status

Ballot access can be considered as a measure of a political party's level of motivation, size, and financial and volunteer-base strength. Despite internal bickering over whether to pursue ballot access or not, in 2004, the Libertarians earned a space on more ballots than the Greens (48+DC vs 27+DC). Historically, Libertarians have also achieved 50-state ballot access for their presidential candidate four times (in 1980, 1992, 1996, and 2000), a feat no other third party has achieved more than once.

Funding Candidates

The ability to fund a candidate is another measure of a party's size and strength. The following are the amounts spent on 2004 campaign activities for the presidential candidates, as reported by the FEC:

George W. Bush (R) $367,228,801
John Kerry (D) $326,236,288
Ralph Nader (Ref./indep.) $4,566,037
Michael Badnarik (L) $1,093,013
Michael Peroutka (Const.) $709,087
David Cobb (Green) $496,658

While these reflect only the funds raised by candidate committees directly, it is indicative of the relative fundraising strengths of the repsective political parties. For additional information about Libertarian Party finances, see the FEC references.

Party Supporters

The Libertarian Party in part measures its growth on the number of dues-paying members it attracts. The formula for allocating delegates to their national convention was based on the number of members who paid the membership dues of $25.00 per year with additional delegates given to an affiliate for the number of votes that state gave to a Party Presidential candidate. For the 2006 convention the Libertarian Party showed they had 15,505 members.

Number of Candidates

In recent elections, Libertarians have run far more candidates for office, at all levels, than all other third parties combined. In the 2004 elections, 377 Libertarian candidates vied for state legislative seats, compared with 108 Constitution Party candidates, 94 Green Party candidates, and 11 Reform Party candidates. In the 2000 elections, the party ran about 1,430 candidates at the local, state, and federal level. More than 1,600 Libertarians ran for office in the 2002 mid-term election. Accordingly, their combined vote totals have far exceeded those of other parties: in the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections, Libertarian candidates for state House of Representatives received more than a million votes â€” more than twice the votes received by all other minor parties combined.

Election Victories

Libertarians have had mixed success in electing candidates at the state and local level. Following the 2002 elections, more than 300 Libertarians held elected or appointed state and local offices. Most of these Libertarians held nonpartisan appointed positions or were elected in nonpartisan races; by comparison, in June 2005 at least 222 Greens hold elected office.^[9] Though twelve Libertarians have previously been elected to state legislatures, none hold that office currently, unlike the Greens (one in Maine), the Progressive Party (six in Vermont), the Republican Moderate Party (one in Alaska), and the Working Families Party (one in New York). Some Libertarian candidates for state office have performed relatively strongly in statewide races. In two Massachusetts Senate races (2000 and 2002), Libertarian candidates Carla Howell and Michael Cloud, who did not face serious Republican contenders (in 2002 the candidate failed to make the ballot), won a record-setting 11.9% and 19% respectively. In 2002, Ed Thompson, the brother of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, won 11% running for the same office, resulting in a seat on the state elections board for the Libertarian Party, the only such seat for a third party in the U.S.

Registration by Party

As of July 2006, the Libertarians ranked fifth in voter registration nationally ^[10]. The Constitution Party ranked third with 357,506 registrants, next to the Greens' 290,165 and the Libertarians' 235,540. However, in the opinion of Richard Winger, the editor of Ballot Access News, of the 311,481 California voters affiliated with the Constitution Party, who are actually registrants of California's American Independent Party, nearly all registered in the belief that they were registering as independents i.e. not associating with any political party. The Libertarians ranked third in fifteen states, the Greens ranked third in eight states, the Constitution Party ranked third in two states, and the Reform Party ranked third in one state. (Only 27 states allow voters to affiliate with a party; some of them prohibit voters from registering with third parties.)

If New York (where Libertarians only recently won the right to register) and California (where the American Independent Party skews the results) are excluded, Libertarians rank fourth in voter registration nationwide. ^[11]

Other Measures

Another possible measure of support for each party is the relative popularity of the organization's web site. According to Alexa Internet Traffic Reports, the Libertarian Party Website is currently the highest ranked official political party website in the United States.

Ballot Access

As of November 2006 The Libertarian Party is on the ballot in the following states. [2]

Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
South Carolina
Texas
Vermont
Wisconsin

Libertarian identity

A libertarian (Lower case "L") is a person who believes in libertarian goals; he may or may not also be an LP member.

A Libertarian (Upper case "L") is a libertarian who believes the existing political system is a proper and effective means of implementing those principles; specifically, one who is a "Libertarian" in the United States is a member of the US Libertarian Party.

Some of the small-l libertarians eschew the political process as a matter of principle, and often identify themselves as "voluntaryists." They may view democracy as "the tyranny of the majority."^[12]

Other followers of the 'libertarian' philosophy may consider the Libertarian Party tactically ineffective; or wish to distance themselves from the "big-L" Libertarian Party, which sometimes suffers from unwanted headlines generated by some members. For example, Stan Jones, a 2002 Libertarian senatorial candidate in Montana, turned his skin permanently blue from consuming colloidal silver in anticipation of medicine shortages stemming from the Year 2000 problem.^[13] Irwin Schiff, who ran for the 1996 Libertarian presidential nomination (but lost the Libertarian nomination to Harry Browne), maintains that the federal income tax is optional and voluntary for most people, in spite of a Department of Justice ruling that he owes more than $2 million (US) in taxes and penalties.^[14] (it should be noted he is no longer a member of the Libertarian Party, having allied himself with the Constitution Party).

Similarly, not all Libertarians are libertarians. Political candidates with roots in other parties (referred to by some as "Fibbertarians") have been known to register and run as Libertarians in order to take advantage of automatic ballot access or lower petition signature requirements.^[15]

Like all groups, the Libertarian Party has internal debates about strategy. Some members refer to themselves as "mainstream" or "pragmatic," while others describe themselves as "consistent" or "principled."

In the opinion of some, members who identify themselves as principled have dominated the party since the early 1980s. The departure of Ed Crane and David Koch (of the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank) is held up as an example. Crane and some of his allies resigned from the Party in 1983 when their candidates for national committee seats were defeated at the National Convention.

The debate quieted for a time, then rose again in the mid-1990s, when a "Committee for a Libertarian Majority" (CLM) was formed and met in Atlanta, Georgia, and worked up several proposals to alter many aspects of the Libertarian Party's operations. Their proposals attracted opposition in the form of another committee called PLEDGE. In the long run, CLM's proposals attracted some support at the national convention but did not prevail.

More recently, the debate has arisen anew with the formation of several "reform" groups, such as the (Libertarian Reform Caucus, Libertarian Party Reform Caucus, Real World Libertarian Caucus), all advocating revision of the party's platform and a more "politics-oriented" approach. As in the past, opposition groups have sprung up as well.

Some media outlets have incorrectly labeled Lyndon LaRouche as a Libertarian in articles about the controversy he generates.^[16] Mistakes such as this are problematic for any political party, but have a heavier impact on a smaller party which generally gets less press coverage overall.