There has never been a better time for a strong third party to rise in this country. We need to seize this opportunity while there is still something left to work with. There is an underground rumble in this nation. People are tired of being stripped of their rights and freedoms while the fruits of their labors are redistributed to the lazy and illegal among us.
Ross Perot was able to make a serious run for President with the main platform of reining in government. He was able to make this run without the benefit of an established political party at his back. The Libertarian Party, being the third largest political party, and having a platform that addresses personal rights and freedoms in addition to reining in the government should have no problem with making a serious run for national offices. While it is noble to persue local offices, it is not where changes have to start. Local governments, just like the citizens at large, are being extorted then blackmailed with their own money. Most local and state governments can't afford to question the federal government for fear of losing the federal funding that they need to meet the needs of there constituents. Therefore, it is foolish to think we can make real changes from the bottom up.
If we follow the model that Perot championed we can take the next step. We can come on the scene like a wild fire. We only need 51 serious candidates. One unstoppable candidate for president and at least one house or senate candidate per state. A few well placed ads and a huge grassroots effort could launch the Libertarian Party to the fore front of American politics overnight. Give the people what they want. Get them involved. Get the word out.
Thanks for your 2 cents.
I may have seemed a little over zealous and naive with my original post. You have really good points and I didn't mean to imply that progress wasn't being made in the past. I just feel like we need to accelerate our efforts. Given the information you have provided, I agree with you that building the party at a local level is probably the best place to start. I understand that it takes alot of money to get the national exposure that is required to force fair, or at least, somewhat equal treatment from the media. The faster we can increase our numbers, both locally and nationally, the faster we can count on these required funds to be available to us. I just feel like we don't have another 30 years to work with, if we want to turn this country around. I see a government that is headed down a path of self destruction. The path to that end is getting shorter everyday.
In my opinion Perot was allowed to participate in the debates because Bush was afraid that Perot would buy more air time and be in everyones living room anyway. The only difference is that "THEY" had some control over the debate platform. So, he picked the lesser of two bad stituations.
While I cannot articulate myself as well as you two, I do however see this as a key time to shine.
With Youtube as big as it is and with Libertarians now having a virtually cost free platform, I have seen and experienced myself a deep political awakening. I believe, more times than not, that people really believe in these principles. However, they have yet to be introduced to these principles. I was one of those people who were blind to a third or even fourth and fifth party.
Ron Paul, Alex Jones, Jesse Ventura, and even (like it or not) Glenn Beck have brought a lot of attention to the Libertarian Party and have been highlighting the Libertarian principles. More so Paul, Jones, and Ventura. If it was not for listening to Alex Jones two years ago, I would still think that there could only be Democrats and Republicans in the high chairs.
I believe the internet, sending out viral videos as Ron Paul has done, would be of great benefit to the party. Also, we have to connect with the younger voters. The Libertarian social issues fit nicely into what young people want to see. Also, tackling issues such Net Neutrality. Relate to the youth some how. Get them to open the blinds to see passed that two party shade. Most older voters will stick to their republican and democrat guns. It starts with exposing high school kids to something new, then let them decide for themselves.
We see extremes in the media all of the time. They exploit extremes. They exploit the radical left and radical right. Extremes get ratings. You don't watch t.v. for the normal. You watch t.v. for the abnormal. The abnormal, though, is not the average citizen. The average citizen has it's strong morals but is more tolerant and more open than what we see on the television and hear on the radio. While a lot of America will talk about Harry Reid's comments, they will not dwell on it long. They are concerned with family and trying to provide for them.
Our ideas are not abnormal nor radical. The libertarian idea is normal and resonates with most Americans, particularly the youth. Our party name is underground, but our principles are walking on land. I would love to see the party name catch up with the principles.
You are, indeed, correct; however, the Republicans and Democrats conspire to keep us down.
Bob Barr ran his campaign as a combination of Perot's campaign style, with a toned-down version of Ron Paul's principles. His campaign manager, Russ Verne, had served as campaign manager for Perot. His web/internet team was the same group that did Ron Paul's material.
The Barr campaign was running to look as legitimate and as real as possible.
So what happened?
In 1987, the Commission on Presidential Debates, a "bi-partisan" group set up to create debates that were "fair" for Democrats and Republicans alike. This is a non-profit corporation which is run by the Republican and Democratic Parties. The CPD is a 501(c)(3), and as such, cannot endorse any candidate. However, they can limit participation in their events through the use of a consistent requirement. The current threshold to be included in a presidential debate is 15 percent support level across five national polls. You can get more information about this at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Presidential_Debates
In 1988, The League of Women Voters became frustrated with the shenanigans and back-room deals being made between candidates. The Dukakis and Bush campaigns made a number of back-room deals, which the LWV believed had corrupted the whole process. They officially stopped hosting debates, claiming that "the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter."
In 1992, George H. W. Bush insisted that Perot be included in the Presidential debates. This process is rather uncommon, but essentially, Bush (41) said that he would not participate in the debates, if Perot weren't included. Perot was indeed included in the debates, despite not polling 15% (this rule was not officially in effect at that time).
In 2008, Barr asked that McCain and/or Obama insist that he be permitted to participate, but neither candidate did so.
So what happened?
Both Perot (92) and Barr (08) were polling approximately 7% nationwide, when the first set of debates rolled around.
Perot, being permitted to participate in the debates, soared in the polls.
Barr, being excluded from the debates, saw his number shrink.
So the question is, how do we combat this?
To counter the "free media" from which we're excluded, it would take a very large amount of money. Hundreds of Millions of dollars. Seeing as most LP Presidential campaigns raise about $1M, this is not very likely.
Running a full slate of candidates might help, but again, without the money to back these candidates. Also, McCain-Feingold FEC regulations increase the level of paperwork and bureaucracy in Federal campaigns, which serve only to shut LPKY out of direct participation in Federal elections.
Personally, I believe we need to focus on the local and county level first, to build local organizations. That's what we've been doing for the past year, and it has given us great results in Louisville, and good results in Lexington and Northern Kentucky. In 2009, I'd like to work with Libertarians around the state to help them find other Libertarians in their area, so they too can form a new county affiliate for the LPKY.
Once we have good, strong county affiliates, and start getting people elected to office in races that can be won for $1000 or less, we can step up to the next level, and go for State House, then State Senate, and then US Congress. It will take a while, but we don't have the infrastructure, at this time, to properly support Federal candidates for office. I say this having been a campaign manager for a KY-4 US Congressional candidate in 2006.
So I hope this helps you understand the direction we're going. The more successful we are at the local and state levels, the more the other 2 parties will try to co-opt our stances anyway, so effective local organizations can, and will, effect politics at the state and even the national level.
Just my 2 cents.