David Nolan (politician)
David Nolan | |
|---|---|
 Nolan at the 2008 Libertarian Party national convention | |
| Born | David Fraser Nolan November 23, 1943 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 2010 (aged 66) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, politician |
| Known for | Founding the Libertarian Party Inventing the Nolan Chart |
| Political party | Libertarian |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Nolan |
David Fraser Nolan (/ˈnoʊlən/; November 23, 1943 – November 21, 2010[1]) was an American activist and politician. He was one of the founders of the Libertarian Party of the United States, having hosted the meeting in 1971 at which the Party was founded.[2][3] Nolan subsequently served the party in a number of roles including National Chair, editor of the party newsletter, chairman of the By-laws Committee, chairman of the Judicial Committee, and Chairman of the Platform Committee.
He is also known as the inventor of the Nolan Chart,[4] an attempt to improve on the left versus right political taxonomy by separating the issues of economic freedom and social freedom and presenting them on a two-dimensional plane instead of the traditional line. Decades after its introduction, it continues to be popular, with millions of copies having been distributed, including by the group Advocates for Self-Government as "The World's Smallest Political Quiz".
Early life and education
Nolan was born on November 23, 1943, in Washington, D. C., and grew up in Maryland.[5] During high school, he was influenced by Ayn Rand and Robert Heinlein and their libertarianism. He enrolled at MIT, graduating with a BS in political science in 1965.[6]
Career
Nolan was a member of Young Americans for Freedom in 1969 when more than 300 libertarians organized to take control of the organization from conservatives. Many walked out after a physical confrontation sparked by the burning of a draft card in protest to a conservative proposal against draft resistance. While sympathizing with the radicals, Nolan remained with the organization.[7]
President Richard Nixon's 1971 imposition of wage and price controls, as well as his closing of the foreign gold window, were the final straws for Nolan and his group that had initiated a Committee the previous July Committee to Form a Libertarian Party and joined forces with a previous demonstration Libertarian Party project and non-partisan political efforts of the now International Society for Individual Liberty. The group organized among a number of libertarians, including The Society for Individual Liberty, which had been formed by dissident members of Young Americans for Freedom and European libertarians. They officially founded the Libertarian Party on December 11, 1971.[6]
He ran unsuccessfully as a Libertarian for the United States House of Representatives in Arizona's 8th congressional district election, 2006 and received 1.9% of the vote. He also ran as the Libertarian candidate in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Arizona, and received 63,000 votes,[8] 4.7% of the total.
In the last few years of his life, especially after much of the Libertarian Party's platform was deleted in an organized "no confidence" effort by "reformers" in 2006, Nolan was sharply critical of the direction the party had taken, accusing party leaders of abandoning its radical roots and being "absorbed with minutia" and too focused on winning elections. "They're afraid to say anything that might scare people, because that might keep people from voting for them," he told Lew Rockwell in a December 2008 radio interview. "It's become a very timid organization in the last six or eight years."[9]
In 2009, Nolan publicly endorsed the Free State Project,[10] an attempt to move 20,000 Libertarians to New Hampshire to experience "Liberty in their Lifetimes".
Nolan died of a stroke in Tucson, Arizona on November 21, 2010.[11][12]
See also
- Geolibertarianism
- Libertarianism in the United States
- Libertarian Party (United States)
- Political spectrum
References
- ^ "Libertarian co-founder David Nolan died in Tucson". fox11az.com. November 22, 2010. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Douglas Martin, David Nolan, 66, Is Dead; Started Libertarian Party. The New York Times, November 22, 2010.
- ^ Bill Winter, "1971–2001: The Libertarian Party's 30th Anniversary Year: Remembering the first three decades of America's 'Party of Principle'" LP News
- ^ Doherty, Brian. "Radicals for Capitalism" p. 32. PublicAffairs.
- ^ Emma Brown (November 24, 2010). "Co-founder of national Libertarian Party." The Washington Post. Washingtonpost Newsweek Interactive. Retrieved January 13, 2013 from HighBeam Research
- ^ a b Brian Doherty (journalist) Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement, PublicAffairs, 2007, 389–394.
- ^ Rebecca E. Klatch, A Generation Divided: The New Left, the New Right, and the 1960s, University of California Press, 1999 ISBN 0-520-21714-4, 215–237.
- ^ Clayton R. Norman David Nolan, a founder of Libertarian Party, dies, Arizona Daily Star, November 22, 2010.
- ^ Lew Rockwell Show "David Nolan: What Happened to the Libertarian Party"
- ^ David Nolan endorsement of the Free State Project
- ^ Dylan Smith, David Nolan, Libertarian founder, dies at 66, TucsonSentinel.com, November 21, 2010.
- ^ "OUR VIEW: Great defender of freedom passes on (poll)." The Gazette. Colorado Springs, CO. November 23, 2010. Newswire by the Orange County Register. Retrieved January 13, 2013 from HighBeam Research
External links
- "David Nolan – Libertarian Celebrity"
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- The Libertarian Vote, by David Boaz and David Kirby. Cato Institute policy analysis paper 580, October 18, 2006.
- David Nolan for Senate 2010 Senate candidacy page
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
