History of the Libertarian Party (United States): Difference between revisions

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==Early history==
==Early history==
The Libertarian Party was formed in Colorado Springs in the home of [[David Nolan (Libertarian Party)|David Nolan]] on December 11, 1971, after several months of debate among members of the [[Committee to Form a Libertarian Party]], founded July 17.<ref>Bill Winter, [http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/cp3/message/9701 "1971–2001: The Libertarian Party's 30th Anniversary Year: Remembering the first three decades of America's 'Party of Principle'"] LP News</ref> The formation was prompted in part by [[price controls]] and the end of the [[Gold Standard]] implemented by President [[Richard Nixon]], the Libertarian Party viewed the dominant [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] and [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] parties as having diverged from what they viewed as the [[libertarian]] principles of the American [[Founding Fathers]]. This group included [[John Hospers]], [[Edward Crane]], Manuel Klausner, [[Murray Rothbard]], [[Roy Childs]], [[Theodora Nathan]], and [[Jim Dean]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}
The Libertarian Party was formed in Colorado Springs in the home of [[David Nolan (Libertarian Party)|David Nolan]] on December 11, 1971, after several months of debate among members of the [[Committee to Form a Libertarian Party]], founded July 17.<ref>Bill Winter, [http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/cp3/message/9701 "1971–2001: The Libertarian Party's 30th Anniversary Year: Remembering the first three decades of America's 'Party of Principle'"] LP News</ref> The formation was prompted in part by [[price controls]] and the end of the [[Gold Standard]] implemented by President [[Richard Nixon]], the Libertarian Party viewed the dominant [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] and [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] parties as having diverged from what they viewed as the [[libertarian]] principles of the American [[Founding Fathers]]. This group included [[John Hospers]], [[Edward Crane]], Manuel Klausner, [[Murray Rothbard]], [[Roy Childs]], [[Theodora Nathan]], and [[Jim Dean]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}} hehehhehehhe(:


A press conference announcing the new party was held on January 31, 1972 at the party's headquarters in [[Westminster, Colorado]]. The first national convention, attracting 89 delegates from 23 states, was held that June in Denver, Colorado. 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.{{Fact|date=September 2008}} Several others were also elected or appointed that year. Party leaders initially doubted they would even see six 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.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
A press conference announcing the new party was held on January 31, 1972 at the party's headquarters in [[Westminster, Colorado]]. The first national convention, attracting 89 delegates from 23 states, was held that June in Denver, Colorado. 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.{{Fact|date=September 2008}} Several others were also elected or appointed that year. Party leaders initially doubted they would even see six 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.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}

Revision as of 20:50, 16 December 2009

Early history

The Libertarian Party was formed in Colorado Springs 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.[1] The formation was 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. This group included John Hospers, Edward Crane, Manuel Klausner, Murray Rothbard, Roy Childs, Theodora Nathan, and Jim Dean.[citation needed] hehehhehehhe(:

A press conference announcing the new party was held on January 31, 1972 at the party's headquarters in Westminster, Colorado. The first national convention, attracting 89 delegates from 23 states, was held that June in Denver, Colorado. 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.[citation needed] Several others were also elected or appointed that year. Party leaders initially doubted they would even see six 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.[citation needed]

Libertarian Presidential Tickets

1972: John Hospers and Theodora Nathan
    3,674 popular votes (0.00%); 1 electoral vote;
1976: Roger MacBride and David Bergland
    172,553 popular votes (0.21%)
1980: Ed Clark and David Koch
    921,128 popular votes (1.06%)
1984: David Bergland and James A. Lewis
    228,111 popular votes (0.25%)
1988: Ron Paul and Andre Marrou
    431,750 popular votes (0.47%)
1992: Andre Marrou and Nancy Lord
    290,087 popular votes (0.28%)
1996: Harry Browne and Jo Jorgensen
    485,798 popular votes (0.50%)
2000: Harry Browne and Art Olivier
    384,516 popular votes (0.36%)
2004: Michael Badnarik and Richard Campagna
    397,265 popular votes (0.32%)
2008: Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root
    523,686 popular votes (0.40%)

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 presidential ticket, from Roger MacBride of Virginia, who was pledged to Richard Nixon. His was also 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 to win state-level office with his election to the Alaska House of Representatives.[citation needed]

1980s

In the 1980 presidential contest, the Libertarian Party gained ballot access in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., 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 with almost one million votes, 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.[citation needed]

In 1983, the party was divided by internal disputes; former party leaders Edward Crane and David H. Koch left, taking a number of their supporters with them.[citation needed] 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 1987, Doug Anderson became the first Libertarian elected to office in a major city, elected to the Denver Election Commission (later, in 2005, Anderson was elected to the Lakewood, Colorado city council).[2]

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 He ran in the Republican primaries in 2008 and currently is sponsoring HR 1207 in the House of Representatives, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve.

1990s

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 Presidential (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 presidential tickets. The VP candidate in 1996 was South Carolina entrepreneur Jo Jorgensen; in 2000, Art Olivier of California was Browne's running mate. In 1996 the Party again made the ballot in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Guam. The party's presidential ticket made the ballot in 49 states, DC and Guam in 2000.

2000s

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 front-runner 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.

In the November 2006 mid-term 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%.[3] Over 13,400,000 votes were cast for Libertarian Party candidates in 2006.[4]

2007 elections

In the 2007 general elections, Libertarian Party candidates won 14 elective offices, including an election for mayor of Avis, Pennsylvania.[5]

2008 Presidential nominating process

Several candidates sought to become the party's 2008 presidential nominee. Ron Paul, who had been the party's 1988 nominee and was seeking the 2008 Presidential nomination of the Republican Party, was mentioned as a possible nominee as well, but he officially denied any intent to run under a third-party banner. On December 12, 2007, the Party adopted a resolution requesting Paul to run on the Libertarian ticket if he did not win the Republican Party nomination.[6] On March 25, 2008, Mike Gravel changed from the Democratic Party to the Libertarian Party. On May 12, 2008, ten days before the 2008 Libertarian National Convention, Bob Barr, a former Republican U.S. Congressman, announced that he would seek the nomination.[7]

At the time of the 2008 Libertarian National Convention there were eight candidates for consideration at the convention: Bob Barr, Mike Gravel, Mike Jingozian, Steve Kubby, George Phillies, Wayne Allyn Root, Mary Ruwart, and Christine Smith. On May 25, after six ballots, the Libertarian Party chose Barr as their official nominee for president, and Root as his running mate.

References

  1. ^ Bill Winter, "1971–2001: The Libertarian Party's 30th Anniversary Year: Remembering the first three decades of America's 'Party of Principle'" LP News
  2. ^ Lakewood City Council page showing Council members. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
  3. ^ Richard Winger article comparing the electoral strength of minor-party candidates.
  4. ^ http://lp.org/archives/2006ar.pdf
  5. ^ Official Website of the Libertarian National Committee
  6. ^ Libertarians want Paul backLibertarian Party resolution as reported by SmallGovTimes.com. 12-12-2007.
  7. ^ "Barr launches Libertarian White House bid"