In Praise of the Libertarian Party, by Harry Browne, 4 Jun 2004
"America is a two-party nation because the politicians have used the force of government to make it so. ... Even though the [Libertarian presidential] candidate has a slim chance of getting a million votes or more, he can do a great deal for the party and the libertarian cause ... If the Libertarian Party didn't exist, we would have to invent it ..."

Keeping Libertarians Inside the Tent: Alienation avoidance, by Randy E. Barnett, National Review Online, 22 Nov 2002
"What would it take to attract more libertarian votes ... a few suggestions ... Oppose intrusions into privacy ... Oppose intrusions upon the Bill of Rights ... Nominate more libertarian-conservative judges ... Care about federalism in the Congress ... Care more about the free market ... Back off Prohibition ..."

Libertarian Party
The American Presidential Election, Encyclopaedia Britannica

Party makes bid for Silicon Valley support, Libertarian Party News, Jan 1999
Related Topics: Milton Friedman, Daniel H. Fylstra, T. J. Rodgers

Regime Libertarians, by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., 12 Jul 2005
Related Topic: Libertarianism
"... the party that claims to represent Jeffersonian liberalism ... has proposed a realpolitik 'plan' for Iraq ... It is critical of the invasion and the lies. But ... it completely contradicts the LP platform, which is very good because it takes principled stands against all warmongering, militarism, foreign troop placements ..."

The Case For a Libertarian Political Party, by David F. Nolan, Individualist, Aug 1971
"First, third-party candidates CAN win - especially in local or nonpartisan elections. Even at the national-government level, it happens occasionally. Third-party candidates have been elected to Congress more than one hundred times in this century, and there are two 'third-party' Senators (Buckley and Byrd) in office at this very moment."

The life of the Party: An introduction, part one, by Thomas L. Knapp, Rational Review, 23 Jan 2003
"It's the stuff of folklore: in December of 1971, a few people got together in David F. Nolan's Denver apartment and founded a new political party. ... Randites, Rothbardians, anarchists, minarchists, single issue enthusiasts and advocates of various syntheses compete for the attention of Libertarians and for control of the Party's apparatus ..."

The LP's multiple personality disorder: The Life of the Party, part two, by Thomas L. Knapp, 30 Jan 2003
"An electoral party strategy is centered around winning elections ... An ideological party strategy is centered around rigorous adherence to principle and refusal to sacrifice goals for electoral gain. ... The LP's current platform is consistent with that of an ideological party. An electoral party would eschew ['educational' and 'spoiler'] campaigns for the most part, concentrating instead on winnable elections ..."

Begrudging Another Battle of Ballot-Boxing, by Kenneth R. Gregg, 23 Nov 2006
Related Topics: Politics, The State, Taxation, Voting
"... the Libertarian Party can only go so far and no more in promoting libertarianism. Libertarians are human, and political institutions direct thoughts and energies toward specific goals; not only because it is political power which is sought, but because it is the prospect of obtaining power which directs the energies of the LP."

Cast a Giant Ballot, by Clifford F. Thies, The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, Oct 1997
Related Topics: Roger Lea MacBride
"In 1971, the Libertarian Party was organized because of the argument that neither of the major parties was committed to liberty, and the naïve idea that a few people—none of whom commanded any significant resources—could do something about it. ... the ticket got 8,000 popular votes out of 77 million cast ..."

David Nolan: An Appreciation, by Thomas L. Knapp, 25 Nov 2010
Related Topics: David F. Nolan, Advocates for Self-Government
A tribute to Nolan, his chart and his involvement with the libertarian movement
"While anarchists and 'left' libertarians tend toward a negative view of electoral politics, and therefore of the Libertarian Party as such, few among us would deny the LP's value as a gateway leading from politics to anti-politics."

Former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel joins Libertarian Party ranks: Believes Democrats are out of touch with American citizens, 25 Mar 2008
Related Topics: Mike Gravel
Libertarian Party press release
"'My libertarian views, as well as my strong stance against war, the military industrial complex and American imperialism, seem not to be tolerated by Democratic Party elites who are out of touch with the average American; elites that reject the empowerment of American citizens I offered to the Democratic Party at the beginning of this presidential campaign with the National Initiative for Democracy.'"

Libertarians of Will, Intellect, and Action, by Murray N. Rothbard, 1977
Related Topics: Libertarianism, American Revolutionary War, United States Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine, The State
Keynote address to the Libertarian Party Convention
"And, on top of all this, we are the only libertarian organization that can use the established institutions of the ballot box and the political party structure to roll back the Leviathan state, to pressure from below for repeal of statist measures, decrees, and institutions."

Neither Bullets nor Ballots [PDF], by Wendy McElroy, The Voluntaryist, Oct 1982
Related Topics: Voluntaryism
First editorial, describing the two major goals of The Voluntaryist
"As Voluntaryists we reject the Libertarian Party on the same level and for the same reason we reject any other political party. The rejection ... is based on the conviction that to oppose the State one must oppose the specific instances of the State or else one's opposition is toward a vague, floating abstraction ... Political offices are the State. By becoming politicians libertarians legitimize and perpetuate the office. They legitimize and perpetuate the State."

Power Profile: Ed Crane, by Patty Reinert, The Examiner, 30 Jan 2008
Related Topics: Edward H. Crane III, Cato Institute
Biographical profile of Ed Crane, including his views on the current U.S. presidential candidates
"Crane left it all to become chairman of the Libertarian Party with the goal of making it a national force. He remembered walking into the hall at the first Libertarian Party convention in a Denver hotel in 1972 and being stunned by the collection of misfits who shared his ideals. ... 'There were all kinds of crazies there — gold bugs, Ayn Rand fanatics, anarchists — but they were good people interested in liberty.'"

Scott Horton Interviews Bob Barr, by Scott Horton, 26 Mar 2008
Related Topics: Bob Barr
"Former Congressman Bob Barr discusses the possibility of running for President on the Libertarian Party ticket, the necessity of a new political realignment of right and left to end the war in Iraq and protect the Bill of Rights, the importance of ending the current regime of torture and murder and the destruction of the rule of law which used to forbid such things and the authority of the Congress to decide on matters of war and peace."

Writings

Iraq Exit Strategy: America's Path Forward [PDF], 29 Jun 2005
Related Topics: Iraq, United States
"Our exit strategy will help to end the senseless loss of American and Iraqi lives. It will ensure that Iraq is rebuilt in an efficient and expedient manner, at the lowest possible cost to the American taxpayers. Above all else, the intent of this proposed strategy is to remove our troops from harm's way and, in the near future, return them to their families ..."

Publications

Libertarian Party News
Monthly, hard-copy

Podcasts

David Nolan: What Happened to the Libertarian Party?, by David F. Nolan, The Lew Rockwell Show, 17 Dec 2008
Lew asks David Nolan about the recent LP presidential campaign and the status of the party

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