Ron Paul has killed the Libertarian Party

The LP lost me when there was no apparent support during Badnarik's campaign. I'd much prefer a bigger tent now going forward. Perhaps an independent party to re-gather the Paul people. When Dr. Paul wins, he will need people in Congress and I do not think we should rely on the Republican Party to produce that, certainly not the LP.

A lot of Libertarians are pulling for Paul and ignoring the LP for the time being. That doesn't mean when it's all over they will keep their focus off the LP.
I think long term, the young people Dr. Paul is reaching are going to be more likely to get active with the LP or other libertarian groups.

Frankly I don't have much loyalty to parties, I am an LP member, and I'm registered undeclared in New Hampshire. I just vote for people who will try to restore liberty in the USA. This year, Ron Paul's our guy. If he doesn't get the nomination, then I vote Libertarian. Next cycle I'm back with the LP, unless another Republican(or Dem or Indpendent) like Ron Paul comes around, and that seems unlikely.

Even if the party takes a hit, the overall movement is getting a REALLY BIG shot in the arm from all this. Libertarian/Constitutionalist ideas have gotten more airtime this cycle than in any recent election, and all because of Dr. Paul.

the Libertarian party will have a new and more Prosperous Life with Ron Paul as President.

If real Libertarian philosophy were once again embraced by the GOP, I'd stick with the GOP. This is unlikely, despite Paul's advance in the public ranks. I'll probably re-register Libertarian after the primary.

most Libertarians could care less if they had a party. silly collectivists and their parties....

Dr Paul's success has brought a lot of attention to libertarian ideals- the LP is likely to benefit long-term. I can't speak for anybody else, but I have been an LP member since 1992, and only changed to Republican for Dr Paul. Unless President Paul causes a massive and lasting shift in the Republican party towards libertarianism, I'm sure I will eventually go back to my ideological "home". The LP has many very loyal members who are on hiatus at the moment, that's all.

Ron Paul says that third parties are treated unfairly and I think if he were elected would help change the rules so they have a chance. Also, he has brought much attention to other parties that if Dr. Paul is not elected will energize those parties since people are so discussed with Both the Dems, and Repub. parties.

after the election and I'm sure some will make it to the house this election. We can hope...

For America to get back on its feet, back to its roots, it is necessary for people to put Constitution and Integrity above parties and nitpicking. For example, many pro choice people support Ron Paul - because they understand where he stands and they have their priorities straight.

Anyway, the "libertarian" tag has become mostly a dead weight, associated in many peoples' minds as "the pot party" - as if that is the fundamental issue of the party as opposed to being merely a fallout from following the Constitution and making things not discussed in the Constitution a States issue.

So...good riddance to the "Libertarian Party" (to which I was registered) and lets have a warm welcome for Constitutional America and simple honesty - wherever we may find it.

While many LP members have switched over and joined the Ron Paul Revolution, like myself, I am quite certain we (speaking for the group, sorry) have any intention of voting Republican for any other candidate, EVER.

Unless of course, the Republican Party adopts the LP platform. I don't really think that's going to happen.

The LP made a mistake by not rallying behind Ron Paul from the get-go. Had they done that, their web traffic might be as high as Daily Paul's by now.

The LP needed change anyway, as frustration and bickering had overtaken the message of limited government, more freedom, and less taxes.

That is also the message that is reaching young people, and they will naturally gravitate towards the LP as time goes on.

Now it's up to the LP to make those positive changes and capitalize on the feelings spreading across the country. Get their message out, get the donations rolling in, and get quality candidates on the ballet. If they do that, the Revolution could have a great long term effect on the LP.

-dave

"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." - Ayn Rand

SHE STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN - Michael Savage in reference to Dianne Fienstein

What the libertarian party is. It has the pre-fix "lib" so people assume "liberal" I have had this discussion before with people. Due to the fact that it is not either of the big two it gets no press.

I think this is good for the Libetarian party. Many view them as unbending and difficult to work with. Their embrace of the Ron Paul campaign softens the image just a little bit.

-See you in NH 1/3 - 1/7...

The word "libertarian" is new and shiny. And we can provide liberty-defending candidates at every level of government. I think we'll fit right in to the freedom movement.

IMissLiberty

Political Philosophy is the natural home of Libertarian thought. As the science of political philosophy grows, so does libertarian thought. The science of political philosophy is getting stronger as are the rest of the "soft" sciences. Through Consilence, or, a linking of the sciences, ....phyisics to chemistry to mirco biology to general biology to nuero biology to evolutionary biology to sociology to political philosophy, each link is strengthend with harder and harder evidence and science.

Read MIT professor, Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate. Then check out Darwinian Politics by Paul Rubin. Then you will see the future of libertarian political philosophy is brighter each day. Libertarian political thought was top scientific thought at the time of 1776, and sciences are finding out today how "right on" its been.

Have fun learning. Enjoy these books. Add to the growing body of scholarly libertarian work. Get your work published in the Journal of Libertarian thought.

Treg

Both the Libertarian Party and the Constitutionalist Parties are not "done".

Don't be foolish. These two parties are were we Revolutionaries reside. Its our home when we are away from home. Its our base.

Its our intellectual home and our strategic base. We have thousands and thousands of books on every issue imaginable. We learn and grow there. We learn how to run for office there. Its our incubator for future R's & D's.

The NeoCons were clever to make two "think tanks" on each side of the R & D establishment. This way, "benevolent foreign intervention" through Madeline Halfbrights and Bill Clinton "wins", or "Security foreign intervention" via Dick Cheney and George Bush "wins".

We will do the same, with "Liberty for equality" winning on the D side, and "Liberty for Freedom" winning on the R side. Either way, Liberty wins.

My advice to all those new in the Libertarian / Constitutionalist movement; Read some basic beginner books. Here are a handful.

Libertarianism in One Lesson by David Bergland.
The Law, by Fredric Bastiat
Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazzilt
The Constitution, by Page Smith
For a New Intellectual, by Ayn Rand
Capitalism the Unknown, Ideal by Ayn Rand
Liberty Reclaimed, by Jim Peron
Defending the Undefendable, by Walter Block

And if you can find it, there is the 10 part series by Milton Freedom called "Free to Choose". It rocked this country's intellectual establishment back in 1980. What made it special was its unduplicated and original foremat. Milton presented his case through a 30 minute travel-log giving explaination and history and economics along the way. Then for the 2nd part of the show, he sat center stage with 5 or 6 other distinquished scholars surrounding him in a half circle. They then take Milton to task, objecting for this reason or that. Unlike todays Sean Hannities or Glenn Becks of the world, this was real intellectual discussion. Top socialist, industrialist, government types (donald rumsfield), and others all challenged Professor Friedman with reasoned arguments that seemed to make sense. Yet with good humor, Milton repeated their arguments and then pointed out its flaws and mistaken assumptions in their reasoning. He was simply brilliant. It was both humbling and inspiring to watch. Yes, its dated now, but its still relevant. Some smart enterprising guy should steal this great format so we can continue the Revolution in intellectual circles. The images of Hong Kong in 1980 are interesting to see, and it is interesting to see what has not changed, 27 years later... (think roads & bridges & government planning). Can anyone find it and post it up on YouTube?

For those that would like Liberty Reclaimed, its only 80 some pages, and a great primer....I will give you the email address of the author who sells it at around cost.

Perhaps we can encourage Ron Paul to post up his library reading book list.... I am sure many would love to explore the books he enjoys.

Treg

As an ex-Republican who has regularly voted Libertarian (though I never officially joined the Libertarian Party), I feel that to publish the obituary of the LP is premature and counterproductive, to put it mildly.
Why? Well, if President Paul is to accomplish any of his agenda, he's going to need support in Congress. Right? Is he going to get it from the present gang of Demublicans and Republicrats? You tell me..
On the other hand, if Libertarians are willing to set aside their Party egos, they'll have to admit that they have no prospective Presidential candidate even on the same planet with libertarian Ron Paul in name recognition, grass-roots support, organization, money...
Be it resolved, therefore, that the Ronpaulicans, the Libertarians, and the Constitutionalists form an alliance and divide up the daunting task of assaulting the ramparts of the Neocon-Unliberal establishment, much as the British, Free French and Americans cooperated during World War II.
The Presidential race will be more than enough to fully occupy the Ronpaulicans, with little time and energy left over for the almost equally critical House and Senate races. However, let them donate $$, wave signs, VOTE, and otherwise support Libertarian and Constitutionalist Congressional candidates.
Let the Libertarian-Constitutionalist team use their ballot positions in at least 47states to go after vulnerable House and Senate seats with all the energy they can muster, while endorsing Ron Paul for the Presidency.
With the coat-tails effect of a headliner libertarian-constitutionalist running for President, and the support of Ron Paul grassroots foot soldiers, they might even WIN some races, finally.
(sound good, Libertarians?....WINNING)
If we work TOGETHER (a radical idea, I know) and forget our petty personal egos, we might all WIN together. Please consider: the times are critical, losing is not a tolerable option.

I will be joining my county's Republican party after the first of the year (the start of their membership calendar.) It cost only $50 bucks and a trip to the county HQ. As a member of the party (not just registered as) you will have opportunites presented to effect change (and oversite.) If you become active in your local party a careful introduction (read covert) may be best. In my county there are people who will feel threatened if reality comes within a country mile of my most practical dream. Be polite and helpful.

I hope I don't ruffle too many feathers, but the time of money bombs has passed. Our next bombs will be voting bombs. Let's keep in mind that we'll have a nice splash in the Old Media when official Q4 numbers are published. Give what you can as you can.
Fair winds and following seas,
Cptn McSalty

I hope the Libertarian party merges with the Constitution party, then becomes a real force. I'm tired of feeling the only choices I have are between the 'lesser of two evils' or throwing my vote to the wind. I'd like to see rules made more third-party friendly, too.

....national office.

If Ron is the GOP nominee there will be 1 or 2 libertarian senators and probably 15 to 20 house members elected on such a platform next year. That being said they will likely be elected as libertarian Republicans not libertarian Libertarians.

I should note that if Ron is the nominee, and probably regardless of Ron’s nomination, in the future more Libertarians will win local elections and State Legislative seats. In several states, but not the largest ones, less than 10 thousand votes are needed to win a state house or senate seat. A few small state governorships may also be in the cards. It is also becoming very clear to many Republicans that if they run as non-libertarians and govern as big government conservatives, they will not only face Democrats in November elections but Libertarians that can cut off 5 to 10 percent of the vote.

Mark Stromberg
El Dorado Hills, CA

If the Republican Party does ultimately succeed in snuffing out Ron Paul's campaign; with all these other war-mongering, big government Republican candidates, why on earth would I NOT choose Libertarian candidates over Republicans? The ironic part, is the Republican voter base is probably a BIGGER obstacle for Ron Paul winning the presidency than the overall US population. Does anybody here think that Ron Paul would have a harder time beating somebody like Hillary Clinton in a general election, than a one on one against somebody like Huckabee, Romney, or Giuliani from the Republican voters? And that's not to mention that out of all the other Republicans elected to Congress, i.e., >250 Senators and Reps, NOT 1 of them has endorsed Ron Paul. They are all endorsing one of the other, pro-war, pro-tax & spend, candidates.

For whatever faults there are in the Libertarian Party, how can anybody say their shortcomings are greater than either of the two mainstream parties? The Republican Party leaves a lot to be desired. It might be possible to use them once in awhile to get a candidate in who has a libertarian platform .. but anyway, why do you think Bobb Barr LEFT the Republicans?

"Libertarian" is a philosophy as well as a party. Far from being dead, Paul is spearheading a resurgence in the philosophy. If the LP could get it's act together, they could benefit from Paul's popularity.