What is a Libertarian?
Let's start with Webster's definition:
Libertarian:
A person who upholds the principles of individual
liberty especially of thought and action. Capitalized:
a member of a political party advocating libertarian
principles.
Libertarians believe in, and pursue, personal
freedom while maintaining personal responsibility.
The Libertarian Party itself serves a much larger
pro-liberty community with the specific mission of
electing Libertarians to public office.
Libertarians strongly oppose any government
interfering in their personal, family and business
decisions. Essentially, we believe all Americans
should be free to live their lives and pursue their
interests as they see fit as long as they do no harm
to another.
In a nutshell, we are advocates for a smaller
government, lower taxes and more freedom.
Are Libertarians liberal or conservative?
Libertarians are neither. Unlike liberals or
conservatives, Libertarians advocate a high degree
of both personal and economic liberty. For
example, Libertarians advocate freedom in economic
matters, so we're in favor of lowering taxes,
slashing bureaucratic regulation of business, and
charitable -- rather than government -- welfare. But
Libertarians are also socially tolerant. We
won't demand laws or restrictions on other people
who we may not agree because of personal actions or
lifestyles.
Think of us as a group of people with a "live and
let live" mentality and a balanced checkbook.
In a sense, Libertarians “borrow” from both sides to
come up with a logical and consistent whole -- but
without the exceptions and broken promises of
Republican and Democratic politicians. That's why we
call ourselves the Party of Principle.
How large is the Libertarian Party?
In terms of political activity (i.e. number of
candidates, access to the ballot, and elected office
holders), the Libertarian Party is the third-largest
political party in America. We’re active in all 50
states and have more than 200,000 registered
voters.
What kind of offices do Libertarians run for and
hold?
Around the nation there are Libertarian mayors,
county executives, county council members and even a
Libertarian sheriff! Libertarians also serve on
school boards and in hundreds of local offices. In
2006 alone, over 13.4 million votes were cast for
Libertarian candidates around the nation.
While we are most successful at the local level for
now, we run candidates at all levels of government,
even President of the United States.
Our elected Libertarians are hard at work saving you
money and protecting your civil liberties. In fact,
Libertarians saved Americans over $2.2 billion in
2004 alone.
What kind of people join the Libertarian Party?
People like you. People who used to be Republicans,
Democrats, and independents – from all walks of
life. They joined us because they realize that we’re
the only political party working for their
best interests.
Those who join us realize that, unlike the two major
parties, we place the interests of our nation ABOVE
the interests of our political party. While the
Republican and Democratic parties exist to maintain
their own power, we exist to grasp power for the
benefit of you and millions of other Americans
across our nation.
How can I become a Libertarian?
For the reasonable fee of $25 per year, you can
become a Sustaining Member of the Libertarian Party
and a real, card-carrying Libertarian.
After you join, you will receive our monthly
publication, LP News, along with regular
updates on our national activities.
More importantly, if you join our political party
and become a Libertarian, you will stand with
thousands of other Americans who are proudly
committed to bringing about true freedom within our
nation.
Visit http://www.lp.org
to learn more about the Libertarian Party, or visit
http://www.rootforamerica.com to learn more
about the Libertarian front-runner Wayne Allyn Root.
