Libertarian National Convention

WASHINGTON – The Libertarian Party will hold its National Convention in St. Louis from Saturday, May 29, through Monday, May 31.

The convention will take place at the Renaissance Grand Hotel in St. Louis.

Information about the convention, including the schedule, is available at the convention website

. The convention has been titled “Gateway to Liberty” .

Additional meetings and related events will occur on May 27 and 28.

Unlike the Democratic and Republican parties, the Libertarian Party holds a national convention every two years. At this convention, delegates from around the country will be amending the party’s platform and bylaws, and will elect officers and other members to the Libertarian National Committee.

One of the highlights of the convention will be the hotly contested election to replace outgoing Chairman William Redpath. Five Libertarians have declared their candidacies in that race.

Redpath commented, “We’re seeing tremendous voter antipathy toward the Democratic and Republican parties. This is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Libertarian Party.”

Currently, there are 632 Libertarian candidates declared for the November 2 elections, including 172 candidates for U.S. Congress. A list of candidates may be viewed here.

Among the speakers at the convention will be Bob Barr, the LP’s 2008 presidential nominee.

Libertarian Party Calls Logic Behind Auto Bailout ‘Insanity’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nation’s largest third-party is calling for Congress to strike down a measure backed by the White House that would risk at least $15 billion of taxpayer dollars to bailout the American automotive industry.

Read more

Libertarian Party Replaces GOP as Party of Free Market Advocates

Republicans Responsible for Massive Growth in Government Regulation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and the support of the massive bailouts by Republican members of Congress, the Libertarian Party says it has replaced the GOP as the party of free market advocates.

“The Republican Party no longer represents advocates of capitalism and the free market,” says Libertarian Read more

The President Should Protect Our Liberties

Atlanta, GA – “Presidents have become celebrities,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president. “That may be one reason they believe they have been elected to transform the world rather than fulfill the responsibilities of their office.”

“Sen. John McCain says that he wants to inspire Americans ‘to serve a cause greater than their self-interest,’ and Sen. Barack Obama says that ‘the basic idea of empathy’ caused him to run for president,” observes Barr. “But if they want to promote selflessness and empathy, they should become ministers or motivational speakers, not politicians.”

“Obviously, there is much good in being empathetic and selfless, but that is not why we elect a president,” Barr says. “We elect a president to manage the federal government; an institution of limited powers as established by the Constitution.  That means protecting our lives and liberties from foreign threats.  It also means confronting problems that we can only solve by working together at the national level.  These are important, but limited duties,” Barr explains.

Barr says as president, he would not promise economic prosperity. “Presidents do not control the economy and could not be trusted to do so even if they had that ability. Almost every government intervention in the economy is counterproductive,” Barr notes.

“I won’t promise to ‘invest’ in new energy technologies,” Barr adds.  “That is the job of the private sector.  The government has no money of its own and has an awful record in choosing economic ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’  My job as president would be to keep government from getting in the way.”

“I would not, as president, ensure that every child has an education, make sure every American has health insurance, or provide job retraining for every worker,” says Barr. “No president can honestly make those guarantees.  And none of these are the responsibility of the federal government,” explains Barr.

“The president takes an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution,” Barr says. “Fulfilling this promise would be my priority as president.  The president’s job is not to run America, or the American economy, or any particular industry.  The president’s job is to be the chief executive of the federal government.  That job I would perform to the best of my ability.”

We don’t mind Congress shutting down

As Congress plays games, taxpayers get a break from big spending

Washington, D.C. – While Republicans threaten a government shutdown over a fight with Democrats on offshore drilling, the Libertarian Party says such a dramatic step wouldn’t be so bad.

“We don’t mind Congress shutting down,” says Andrew Davis, spokesperson for the Libertarian Party . “At least taxpayers will get a break from Congress’ spending spree. Anything that government does to decrease how active it is in passing new laws and spending taxpayer money is something the Libertarian Party fully supports.”

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Libertarian Party sends condolences to GOP

FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY

TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

Libertarian Party sends condolences to the Republican National Committee

With the rise of John McCain, LP offers sympathy for the death of small-government values within the GOP

Washington, D.C. – Following a solid McCain victory in the Super Tuesday primaries, the Libertarian Party has sent Republican headquarters a funeral wreath marking the death of limited-government values within the Republican Party.  The wreath was hand-delivered to the D.C. offices of the Republican National Committee.  “We simply felt the need to express our heartfelt sympathy for the Republican Party as they undergo this tough time within their party,” says Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis, who delivered the wreath.

“Given that it has become readily apparent that Senator McCain will soon be the presidential nominee for the Republican Party,” reads a card that accompanied the wreath addressed to RNC Chairman Mike Duncan,

 “we, the staff of the Libertarian National Committee, send our condolences to you upon the death of small-government principles within the GOP.” 

The note continues:

Libertarians encourage competition within both the free-market and politics.  Unfortunately, with the rise of John McCain and the big-spending practices of the Bush administration, the two-party system has emerged as representing only one philosophy – big-government liberalism.

With your loss, the Libertarian Party will continue to move forward to represent those American patriots who still believe in smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom.

“McCain’s Super Tuesday win marks the death of limited government values within the Republican Party, which had struggled with its principles throughout the Bush administration,” says Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian Party. “It is a day of mourning for the few remaining small-government Republicans.”

Would Thomas Jefferson celebrate Religious Freedom Day

Washington, D.C. – -  The Libertarian Party is calling President Bush’s proclamation establishing Jan. 16, 2008 as “Religious Freedom Day” an ironic twist of reality.  “Apparently there are only certain Constitutional rights President Bush finds worthy of appreciation,” says Libertarian Party Executive Director Shane Cory.

“While the President says that religious freedom should be universally accepted,” states Cory, “he’s denied the right of habeas corpus to people both in America and abroad.  Rather than focusing on religious freedom in the United States, the President should be focusing on the other Amendments in the Constitution he has apparently forgotten.”

From Bush condoning former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ denial of the writ of habeas corpus, to the Bush administration’s illegal wiretaps on American citizens, the Libertarian Party has consistently maintained Bush has violated the First, Fourth and Sixth Amendments during his time as President.

“Instead of celebrating just one part of the Constitution,” says Cory, “we should be focused on restoring all of our Constitutional rights that have been abused during the last seven years.”

“Religious Freedom Day is a large dose of historical irony,” says Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis. “The President invokes the name of Thomas Jefferson, who called for a ‘wall of separation’ between church and State and said what a person believes is no business of the government.  I’m curious to see how Bush justifies the government’s call for all people to reflect upon religious freedom against Jefferson’s call for government to butt-out altogether.”

The 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which Jefferson authored in 1779, states, “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.”  This statement, along with Jefferson’s belief that religion is a deeply personal relationship between a man and his god, indicates that Bush’s proclamation might not be well received by Jefferson, were Jefferson alive today.

The Libertarian Party believes that religious freedom is a fundamental right of the Constitution, and a part of protecting that right is to keep government out of religion.

Paul snub exposes censorship of competitive voices

 From LP.org | Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – The Libertarian Party says the decision by Fox News to cut GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul out of this weekend’s debate illustrates the culture of censorship of competitive views in mainstream politics.  “There is simply no tolerance of competing voices against the political elite of two-party politics,” says Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian Party.

“The leading GOP fundraiser for the fourth-quarter is being snubbed from the debates for nothing more than having political views outside of mainstream Republicanism,” says Cory. “The Republican establishment shuns Paul for his pro-liberty views, and will do everything it can to marginalize him.  Unfortunately, this is nothing new.  There is a long-standing culture of censorship among the political elite when it comes to competing viewpoints.”

Third party candidates, such as those from the Libertarian Party, are routinely denied participation in political debates, both locally and nationally.  The Libertarian Party claims the competition of opinion is vital for healthy and open debates, which are essential to democracy.

Despite the institutional bias against competing viewpoints, one group has taken up the charge to try to open debates to third party candidates.

“We have people dying in Iraq to promote democracy in that part of the world, and in this country, we can’t even have full, open, inclusive debates,” says Rockthedebates.org founder Bob Sullentrup. “There is something fundamentally wrong with that.”

Rockthedebates.org is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to opening up debates to all candidates.  Rockthedebates.org has asked presidential candidates if they would be open to debating a third party candidate.  Of those that have responded, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee are the only two current GOP candidates that have agreed to do so.  Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have said they are opposed to open debates.  Democrat Barack Obama has also said he is opposed to debating a third party candidate, while Hillary Clinton has been ambiguous with her answer and John Edwards has yet to respond.

“The Republican and Democratic Parties may say they are dedicated to open and democratic debates,” Cory concludes, “but their track records with limiting competition in debates shows the hypocrisy of their rhetoric.”

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