“Many Libertarians around America are planning to go to Tea Party rallies tomorrow. I also expect lots of Republican activists and politicians to be there. But frankly, I don’t think those Republicans belong there. The people participating in these rallies are saying ‘There’s too much government spending,’ but Republicans, decade after decade, have supported massive increases in government spending. During the George W. Bush administration, Republicans in Congress supported spending trillions of dollars on foreign wars, a massive Medicare expansion, and banker bailouts. Republicans doubled the budget and doubled the federal debt. Why can’t the Republican Party just admit that it loves big government?

“If I thought there would be many Democrats at these rallies, I’d criticize them too. However, I think it’s safe to say that they’ll be few and far between.

“Many Libertarians are enthusiastic about the Tea Parties, but many are not. Many Libertarians are concerned that participating causes us to get lumped in with conservatives and Republicans. In our online poll at LP.org, 28% so far say that ‘The Tea Parties have become too Republican-flavored.’

“Libertarians are often frustrated when the press characterizes us as ‘right-wing’ or ‘conservative.’ Although we certainly support reducing government spending, which most conservatives also claim to support, we differ from right-wingers on many issues: for example, we oppose foreign interventionism, support immigrant-friendly policies, oppose overreaction to terrorism, and oppose the War on Drugs.

“Libertarians are neither left-wing nor right-wing. We’re in a different place on the political map, as illustrated by the popular World’s Smallest Political Quiz.

“Some of the people in the tax day Tea Party crowds will be right-wingers, and some will be Libertarians. For those Tea Partiers who support Libertarian principles of very limited government spending, government tolerance on social issues, and a non-interventionist foreign policy, the Libertarian Party is ready to welcome them with open arms.”

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

Schedule of Events

Saturday April 24th 2010
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM: Business meeting
Keynote Speaker will be Alexander Snitker, Candidate for US Senate.
To be a delegate one must be a registered to vote Libertarian and must sign the non aggression pledge. “I do hereby certify that I do
not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving social, economic, or political goals.”
6:30 PM to 7:30 PM: Cocktail Hour
7:30 PM to 12:00 AM: Banquet
Dr. Randall Holcombe will be the Dinner Speaker at our State Convention, Saturday April 24th.

Sunday April 25th 2010
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM: Workshops available
Building the Libertarian Party and Building Brand Name Recognition.
Mark Hinkle Candidate for LNC Chair
Building the Libertarian Party in Florida through “Strike Force”
Alex Snitker and Jote` Thompson
“The Free State Project” and other items
Adam Carroll, from New Hampshire
“Full Slate – 2012” and how we will fill the ballot
James Coakley

Speakers:

Keynote Speaker: Bob Barr

Bob Barr represented the Libertarian Party as our 2008 candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America. On November 4, 2008 he received 523,686 votes, 0.4% of the national vote. This was the second highest number of votes nationwide that a Libertarian Party presidential candidate has received. He is a former federal prosecutor and a former member of the United States House of Representatives (1995 – 2003). In the 2004 presidential election, Barr left the Republican Party and publicly endorsed our Libertarian Party presidential nominee Michael Badnarik. In 2006, he became a member of the Libertarian National Committee, serving as the Representative for Region 4 until 2008. As one of his numerous projects, Bob is currently a weekly columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Neal Boortz: For those of you who don’t know, Neal Boortz has been a Talk Show Host in Atlanta, Georgia since 1969. He is now in his 40th year of talk radio. Since 1993 Neal has been holding forth on News Talk 750 WSB, a radio station with a 50,000 watt afterburner. Since early 1999 his show has been syndicated on radio stations from Maine to California and from Alaska to Florida. The program airs live from 8:30 to 1:00 pm each weekday. The Neal Boortz Show has about five million listeners nationwide and is carried on around 230 radio stations.

Jeff Davis: A North Carolina native and descendant of the Confederacy’s President Jefferson Davis, Jeff lives in Hollywood and among other things produces ‘The Thought Zone’, a series of radio spot commentaries frequently mentioning Libertarians and championing libertarian sentiments. The accompanying website is dedicated “to the great thinkers, few of whom aspire to run for public office. The Thought Zone (is) creative commentary for the common sense mind.”

Dave Nolan: Mr. Nolan was the prime mover behind the formation of the Libertarian Party in 1971. He holds a degree in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his career has included work in publishing, advertising and marketing. Aside from his role in founding the LP, Mr. Nolan is best known as the originator of the “Nolan Chart,” a two-dimensional map that shows how different political systems relate to one another. This map has largely replaced the old left-right linear political spectrum, and is the basis for the World’s Smallest Political Quiz. Its impact on political thinking led to Mr. Nolan’s being selected for inclusion in 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 20th Century, a reference work published by the International Biographical Centre (Cambridge, England) in 2000. A recent Google search using the phrase “Nolan Chart” turned up more than 30,000 references. Mr. Nolan was a Libertarian candidate for U.S. Congress in California (2000) and Arizona (2006). He is currently chairman of the Pima County, AZ Libertarian Party.

Wayne Allyn Root: Wayne is one of the most charismatic, colorful, passionate, fiery, and outspoken political personalities in America today. Wayne was the 2008 Libertarian Party Vice Presidential nominee. A college classmate of Barack Obama at Columbia University (Class of ‘83), he is now the face and voice of Libertarian politics in the mainstream national media. The media calls him “the Anti-Obama.” Wayne calls himself a REAGAN LIBERTARIAN- modeled after his heroes Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater and Thomas Jefferson.

Mary J. Ruwart, Ph.D: Ms Ruwart is the author of the award-winning libertarian primer, Healing Our World. A free download of the 1992 version is available at her website at ruwart.com. Dr. Ruwart also wrote Short Answers to the Tough Questions, based on her popular e-zine column with the Advocates for Self-Government. Dr. Ruwart currently serves as an At-Large Representative on the Libertarian National Committee. She also serves on the Board of the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) and was elected Chairman of the ISIL in January of 2010.

Schedule:
Friday (May 28)
1:30pm to 5:00pm Libertarian National Committee Meeting
7:00pm to 10:30pm Welcome Reception

Saturday (May 29)
7:00am to 8:30am Breakfast (Mary Ruwart, Speaker)
8:45am to 12:00pm Convention Business
12:00pm to 1:30pm Award Lunch (Jeff Davis, Speaker)
1:30pm to 2:30pm Keynote Speech (Bob Barr, Speaker)
2:30pm to 5:30pm Convention Business
6:00pm to 7:00pm Torch Club Cocktail Party
7:00pm to 8:30pm National Chair Candidates Forum

Sunday (May 30)
7:00am to 8:30am Breakfast (David Nolan, Speaker)
8:45am to 12:00pm Convention Business
12:00pm to 1:30pm Lunch (Wayne Allyn Root, Speaker)
1:30pm to 5:00pm Convention Business
5:30pm to 6:30pm Pre-Banquet Cocktail Hour
6:30pm to 9:30pm Banquet Dinner (Neal Boortz, Speaker)

Monday (May 31)
8:45am to 12:00pm Convention Business
1:30pm to 5:00pm Libertarian National Committee Meeting

I know the Tea Party movement is a non-partisan one, but as a person who attends Tea Party meetings, I know the mindset of the Tea party groups are for fiscal responsibility and personal freedoms. Many of the people who go to the meetings are Independents, Libertarians and Republicans. Quite a few are Democrats that are thinking (if not already) jumping ship and changing their political affiliation. As a Libertarian, more of us need to attend these meetings and inform the people that there’s another choice than the two parties.

We see from the work being done on the health care bill, it’s a matter of one politician voting on something for a kick-back or a favor later down the road. We need to get the word out that the true Free-American political party are the Libertarians. The free market, free trade, smaller government, true liberty, personal freedom, Constitutional-abiding type of government that this country was founded on.

On Monday, January 18, 2010, the Ocala Tea party (along with some surrounding area chapters), are having a rally in Ocala. Since the day is a national holiday in observance of Martin Luther King, Everyone should be off from work and make it their business to go to this Rally. Not only for the Tea Party movement, but also for the sake of this great country. I know there are many in the Marion County area that feel the same as I do about the direction of this country and as Americans, we need to show support so the media will take notice. At the same time, we (Libertarians) need to be heard at this rally. I spoke with Alex Snitker (Libertarian candidate for the U.S. Senate) and he said that he was waiting for a reply from Mary or Butch (Tea Party Solutions), to speak at the event. Hopefully he will get the opportunity to do so.

The Tea Party movement has come so far in just a short time. Libertarians can and will do the same.

“Voters want elected officials who will cut taxes and spending, eliminate the deficit, make health care affordable and accessible, restore America’s traditional non-interventionist foreign policy and respect personal liberties.  Only Libertarians believe in all that.  On the issues people care about, the Libertarian Party is America’s only mainstream political party,” said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman.

Libertarians were the only party to oppose both the Bush and Obama bailouts and the deficit spending of both the Republican and Democrat-controlled Congresses.

“Voters are rapidly turning on Democrats, but they still remember what happened under Republicans,” said Redpath.  “They want elected officials at all levels of government to restrain spending and stay out of their lives.  They know smaller government brings more prosperity and more personal freedom.”

Politico reports that many major Democratic officials once considered “safe,” such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, New Jersey Gov. John Corzine and North Carolina Gov. Bev Purdue now all face uncertain re-election with favorability or approval ratings of less than 37 percent.  Many other major Democratic officials, including President Barack Obama, have seen a rapid collapse in public support.

Fueling the voter backlash is the Democrat’s $787 billion “stimulus” package that many see as wasteful spending, Democrat support for “bailout” interventions into the economy and news the Democrat health care reform bill will place the government in virtual control of their health care decisions.

But voters aren’t rushing to Republicans.  “There’s been no surge in GOP voter registration and little evidence that the party brand is experiencing a recovery. Last month, a New York Times/CBS poll reported that the GOP’s favorability ratings remained at a record-breaking low — 28 percent, down from a high of 59 percent in November 1994,” Politico reports.

“Americans believe freedom works best when it comes to both the economy and their personal lives.  The plummeting approval ratings of Democrats and the rock-bottom ratings of Republicans are a testament to that,” said Redpath.  “The only way to break the cycle of government sprawl and restore long-term prosperity and personal freedom is to vote Libertarian.”

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.

The Libertarian Party is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties.  You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.