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

“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.