The is an ,
2006 . 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."
Official Website of the Libertarian National Committee "
The
Political Platform of the Libertarian Party reflects that group's particular brand of
Libertarianism , favoring minimally regulated, ''
Laissez-faire '' markets, strong
Civil Liberties , and
Non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.
__TOC__
Key tenets of the Libertarian Party platform include the following"
{Link without Title} ":
- Adoption of laissez-faire principles which would reduce the state's role in the economy. This would include, among other things, markedly reduced taxation, privatization of Social Security and Welfare (for individuals as well as elimination of " Corporate Welfare "), markedly reduced regulation of business, rollbacks of labor regulations, and reduction 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 .
- No government interference in reproductive rights, including access to Abortion .
- 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 what are called Victimless Crimes ( Prostitution , driving without a Seatbelt , Use Of Controlled Substances , Fraternization , Incest etc.).
- Opposition to regulations on how businesses should run themselves (i.e. smoking bans).
- Opposition to military Conscription ("the draft").
- A foreign policy of Free Trade and Non-interventionism .
- Support for a fiscally responsible government including a Hard Currency (commodity-based money supply as opposed to Fiat Currency ).
Libertarians state that their platform follows from the consistent application of their guiding principle: "mutual respect for rights." They are therefore deeply supportive of the concept of
Individual Liberty as a precondition 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). Libertarians consider themselves neither conservative nor liberal; rather, they believe they represent a unique philosophy that is all their own.
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
United States would benefit from most of its proposed changes.
The
Libertarian National Committee (LNC) is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of the national Libertarian Party and its headquarters. The members, when gathered at the bi-annual Libertarian National Convention, are the ultimate authority within the Libertarian Party; with the LNC running the party's organization in representative style. The LNC is currently chaired by
William Redpath .
The
Libertarian National Congressional Committee (LNCC) assists party candidates in state-level races; its current chairman is M. Carling of California.
Each state also has a state committee, usually consisting of statewide officers and regional representation of one kind or another. Similarly, county, town, city and ward committees, where organized, generally consist of party members elected at the local level. State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions and in some cases primaries or caucuses, and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law.
In the late nineties, the LNC began sharing national dues with the state parties, under a program called the "Unified Membership Program" or UMP
"LP will focus on membership growth, affiliate party support, and ballot access" , Libertarian Party News, February 1999. Retrieved ,
2007 . Interestingly, at about the same time the Libertarian Party was about to abandon UMP, the
Democratic National Committee adopted the idea and in 2005 DNC Chairman Dean began a program (called the "50 State Strategy") of using DNC national funds to assist all state parties and pay for full time professional staffers.
1
The Libertarian Party was formed in the home of
David Nolan on
December 11 1971 , after several months of
Debate among members of the
Committee To Form A Libertarian Party , founded
July 17 . This group included
John Hospers ,
Edward Crane ,
Manuel Klausner ,
Murray Rothbard ,
R.A. Childs ,
Theodora (Tonie) Nathan , and
Jim Dean . Prompted in part by
Price Controls and the end of the
Gold Standard 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 .
According to Ron Crickenberger, former Political Director of the LP, a search of LP records showed that the LP had elected
Miguel Gilson-De Lemos in a partisan local board race in New York even before the adoption of its first platform. Several others were also elected or appointed that year. LP leaders initially doubted they would even see 6 people elected or appointed by 2001, so this led to early optimism among some. However, in subsequent years the number of people in office seemed to be about 1% of its donor base: approximately 30 officeholders with 3,000 donors in 1981; 100 in office and 10,000 donors in 1991; and 600 and 60,000 in 2001.
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
1978 Dick Randolph became the first Libertarian elected to state office with his election to the
Alaska House of Representatives.
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 widely reported 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
Trans World Airlines , 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 ,
2006 .
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
United States House Of Representatives 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 President ial (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.
In the 2004 election cycle, the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination race was the closest to date. Three candidates -- gun-rights activist and software engineer
Michael Badnarik , talk radio host
Gary Nolan , and Hollywood producer
Aaron Russo -- 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 secured ballot status in 48 states (plus
DC and
Guam ) and earned 397,265 votes. Despite less name recognition and a much smaller campaign checkbook, Badnarik polled nearly as well as independent candidate
Ralph Nader . The Libertarian party also garnered more votes than the Green Party that year. His running mate was Richard Campagna who secured the vice presidential nod at the party's Atlanta convention with a landslide victory.
The Libertarian Party's current national chair is
Bill Redpath . Its current executive director is
Shane Cory .
Prior to the 2006 convention, there was a push to repeal or substantially rewrite the Platform, at the center of which were groups such as the ,
2006 .
Members differ as to the reasons why the changes were relatively more drastic than any platform actions at previous conventions. For instance, some delegates voted for changes so the Party could appeal to a wider audience; while others simply thought the entire document needed an overhaul. It was also pointed out that the text of the existing platform was not provided to the delegates, making many reluctant to vote to retain the planks when the existing language wasn't provided for review."
Portland and the LP Platform: The Perfect Storm ", a review by George Squyres, Platform Committee chairman. Retrieved on
November 2 ,
2006 .
Naturally, not all Party members approved of the changes; believing them to be a setback to libertarianism"
{Link without Title} ". and an abandonment of what they see as the most important purpose of the Libertarian Party.
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 . Interestingly, Barr subsequently spoke at numerous Libertarian Party functions, expressed agreement with many of the party's positions, and, perhaps ironically, in late 2006 became a Life Member of the LPLPNews, November-December 2006, page 9 and joined the Libertarian National Committee.
Libertarians oppose Republicans 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.
The Libertarian Party is the largest
Third Party in the United States -- 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.
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%.
Richard Winger article comparing the electoral strength of minor-party candidates. Over 13,400,000 votes were cast for Libertarian Party candidates in 2006. [http://lp.org/archives/2006ar.pdf]
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 . Retrieved on
July 25 ,
2006 ..
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), (in 2000 L. Neil Smith was on Arizona ballot instead of nominee
{Link without Title} ) a feat no other third party has achieved more than once.
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./Populist) $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 respective political parties. For additional information about Libertarian Party finances, see the FEC references.
One measure of size is the number of donors a group attracts. In the Libertarian Party, some donors are not necessarily "members", because the Party since its founding in 1972 has defined a "member" as being someone who agrees with the Party's membership statement. The precise language of this statement is found in the Party Bylaws
Official Bylaws of the Libertarian Party. Retrieved
May 14 ,
2007 , . There were 115,401 Americans who were on record as having signed the membership statement as of the most recent report
Report prepared 04/12/2004 for cutoff of 03/31/2004, circulated by the LNC. Retrieved
May 14 ,
2007 , .
There is another measure the Party uses internally as well. Since its founding, the Party has apportioned delegate seats to its national convention based on the number of members in each state who have paid minimum dues (with additional delegates given to state affiliates for good performance in winning more votes than normal for the Party's presidential candidate). This is the most-used number by Party activists. As of December 31, 2006, Libertarian Party reported that there were 15,505 donating members.
Historically, dues were $15 throughout the eighties; in 1991, they were increased to $25. Between February 1, 2006 and the close of the 2006 Libertarian party convention on May 31, 2006, dues were set to $0"
LNC Approves Zero Dues ", ''LP News'', September 1, 2005. Retrieved on
July 25 ,
2006 .. However, the change to $0 dues was controversial and was de facto reversed by the 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).
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 -- more than twice the votes received by all other minor parties combined.
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.Feinstein, Mike. "
Green Party Members Holding Elected Office in the United States ", June 2005. Retrieved on
July 25 ,
2006 . Though twelve Libertarians have previously been elected to state legislatures, none hold that office currently, unlike the
Constitution Party (one in
Montana ), 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.
Ballot access expert ,
2006 .. The
Constitution Party ranked third with 366,937 registrants, next to the
Greens ' 289,177 and the Libertarians' 235,500.
However, Winger says, nearly all of the 315,151 California voters affiliated with the Constitution Party are actually registrants of California's ,
2006 ..
The Libertarians ranked third in thirteen states, the Greens ranked third in five states, the Constitution Party ranked third in three states, and the Reform Party ranked third in one state (27 states allow voters to affiliate with a party; others prohibit voters from registering with third parties).
If ,
2007 .
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.
As of Sep. 3, 2007, the Libertarian Party is on the ballot in the following 26 states, far more than any other third-party.
{Link without Title}
# Alaska
# Arizona
# California
# Colorado
# Delaware
# Florida
# Georgia
# Hawaii
# Idaho
# Indiana
# Kansas
# Louisiana
# Maryland
{Link without Title}
# Michigan
# Mississippi
# Missouri
# Montana
# Nevada
# New Mexico
# North Dakota
{Link without Title}
# Oregon
# South Carolina
# Texas
# Vermont
# Wisconsin
# Wyoming
{Link without Title}
As of Sep. 6th, 2007, North Carolina is currently "on deck" to become the 27th state to receive Libertarian
Ballot Access .
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 U.S. Libertarian Party.
Some of the small-''l'' libertarians eschew the political process as a matter of principle, and often identify themselves as '',
2006 .
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, ,
2006 . (it should be noted he is no longer a member of the Libertarian Party, having allied himself with the
Constitution Party ). Hence, a significant number of “small-''l''” libertarians either belong to other parties or consider themselves independents.
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.Templar, Le. "
Tempe:The Outlaw Libertarian That Ran For Office In Arizona ", ''
Tribune '', July 3, 2005. Retrieved on
July 25 ,
2006 .
Like all groups, the Libertarian Party has endured internal debates about strategy since its inception in 1971.
The debate that has survived the longest is referred to by libertarians as the anarchist/minarchist debate. In 1974, ,
2007 A related internal discussion concerns the philosophical divide over whether the Party should aim to be mainstream and pragmatic, or whether it should focus on being consistent and 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 H. 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 preferred candidates for national committee seats lost in the elections at the national convention.
The debate quieted for a time, then arose 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. Two of their proposals (substantially altering the platform and abolishing the membership pledge) attracted a lot of attention and opposition sprang up 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.
Beginning in roughly 2004, the debate arose anew, with the formation of several "reform" groups, such as the
Libertarian Reform Caucus , the
Libertarian Party Reform Caucus (now defunct), and the
Real World Libertarian Caucus (now defunct). These groups generally advocate(d) revising the party's platform, eliminating or altering the membership statement, and focusing on a politics-oriented approach. As in the past, groups promoting a consistent interpretation of libertarian principles, such as the
LPRadicals and the
Rothbard Caucus , have emerged in response. These groups advocate a principled and consistent interpretation of libertarianism, and focusing on constant outreach with a consistent message marketed by candidates and the Party leadership.
In the early eighties,
Libertarians For Life was formed to support a change in the Party's
Pro-choice stance. To some extent, those efforts succeeded as the platform was eventually altered to acknowledge that many Libertarians consider themselves to be
Pro-life . Conversely, in 1987, another group of Party members were concerned that Dr.
Ron Paul (at the time a seeking the Party's presidential nomination) might promote his belief that all abortion (from the time of conception) should be outlawed by the states, and thereby confuse voters about the Party's actual platform stance. This group formed
Pro-Choice Libertarians to support Paul's opponent,
Russell Means , and, once the nomination went to Paul, they continued their efforts to dissuade him from making an issue of abortion.
In the fall of 2001, in response to what they saw as ambiguous statements about U.S. intervention in Afghanistan by the Libertarian National Committee, a group of Party members formed
Libertarians For Peace .
Some Libertarians concluded that libertarianism itself could not be effectively promoted through political means, and left to form a specifically non-political arm of the libertarian movement, the ,
2007
Occasionally, media outlets incorrectly label , October 19, 2004 (transcript). Retrieved on
July 25 ,
2006 . 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. However, LaRouche has never sought the Libertarian nomination for President. He has either run for office as a Democrat or with the now-defunct
U.S. Labor Party .
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