Jul

18

An Open Letter to the Libertarian National Committee

Filed Under Libertarian Party 

An Open Letter to the Libertarian National Committee

Libertarian Party Founder David F. Nolan expresses his concerns about the current direction of the LP in a letter distributed to the members of the Libertarian National Committee.by David F. Nolan

The following letter has been distributed to the members of the Libertarian National Committee, which is meeting in St. Louis the weekend of July 18-19.

Some excerpts:

"…that it pays to be bold. Notice that the grassroots uprising sparked by the Ron Paul campaign calls itself the Ron Paul REVOLUTION. Not the "Ron Paul gradual reform movement." They’re calling for ending the Federal personal income tax, not just mouthing empty platitudes about "lower taxes" or "more freedom." (Compared to what? What we have now? Obama’s proposals?) And they are gaining adherents far more rapidly than the Libertarian Party is; the C4L currently has five to ten times as many members as we do!…"

"As I see it, the Libertarian Party has gone far astray from its original mission. Somewhere along the way, our commitment to being The Party of Principle was replaced by a shallow, opportunistic goal of "winning elections now" — any election, anywhere. Principles be damned, according to the proponents of this vision. We should back off from "scary" positions, tone down our rhetoric, find out "what voters want," and tailor our message to what they want to hear."

"I would be hard-put to come up with a statement more antithetical to our beliefs and purpose. Just for starters, "winning" is not a principle at all; it might be a goal, or a strategy for achieving our goals, but it’s not a principle. And if it were, it’s not our principle. This is pure opportunistic rubbish — exactly what you’d expect from a Republican or Democratic party hack."

http://www.nolanchart.com/article6640.html

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Comments

2 Responses to “An Open Letter to the Libertarian National Committee”

  1. bruce judelson on July 18th, 2009 1:16 pm

    opportunism is a short sighted policy. it has long term bad effects and likely short term negatives as well. holding to a true libertarian philosophy as the 1/8 bravely did helps keep us from being part of the contaminant that the rest of the political establishment (or nearly all of it) has embraced. staying focused on libertarianism is important for the Libertarian Party to be worthy of its name.

  2. Larry Targett on August 1st, 2009 4:25 pm

    The national party needs to be more cut and dry. This our plan, if you dont like it, there are other parties for you .No beating around the bush.Intestinal fortitude, balls,2004 platform or 72 platform back to basics.Like Jimmy Johnson,we are going to take this ball and run it down the field for a touchdown.Not like some oher coaches,we hope to score with different plays and maybe come out with a victory.HHmmmmm.Clear goals,not wishy washy bullshit.

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