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Libertarians in Denver to pick nominee

By Bill Gallo, Special To The News

Published May 22, 2008 at 9 p.m.

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Three months before the bickering Democrats come to town, the Libertarian Party opened its own five-day national convention Thursday at the Sheraton Denver.

Hoping to capitalize on what they see as voter dissatisfaction with the "business as usual" politics of Republicans and Democrats, 1,000 Libertarian delegates on Sunday will select their presidential nominee - most likely former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr or former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel. Twelve other candidates are also in the mix.

"Anything is possible," former Democratic presidential candidate Gravel said to supporters in the party he joined two months ago. "Particularly, when the nation is headed for a perfect storm."

So, who are these upstarts? What do they stand for?

Founded in December 1971 in the Colorado Springs living room of longtime political activist and Ayn Rand disciple David Nolan, the Libertarian Party was in part a reaction to Nixon-era price controls and the end of the Gold Standard. Today it vies with the environment-focused Greens for the title of largest third party in the United States.

The "LP" claims a current membership of 250,000 thanks to a reported 25 percent growth spurt in 2007. About 180 Libertarians hold elected office, ranging from local water board members to Washington state Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders.

The party is now headquartered in Washington, D.C., but its first home was in suburban Westminster.

"This is a watershed year for Libertarians," said party spokesman Andrew Davis. "It's the perfect opportunity for us to step in and catch disaffected voters who are leaving the two major parties in droves. They are looking for a new home, and we are providing it."

Libertarians bill themselves as "The Party of Principle," and their principles are an intriguing, if sometimes bewildering, medley of conservative, leftist and contrarian dogma. No less a deep thinker than William F. Buckley once observed that seeking consensus among Libertarians "is like herding cats."

In general, they embrace laissez-faire markets, limited government, reduced taxes, personal freedoms (including privacy, gay rights and unfettered gun ownership), strict enforcement of immigration laws and a noninterventionist foreign policy.

Comments

  • May 24, 2008

    10:13 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    GuyBarnett writes:

    No libertarian should be called an "Ayn Rand disciple". Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism are essentially different from libertarianism. While libertarianism is a "mish mash" of contradicting positions, Objectivism is a complete (and consistent) philosophical system. For more information about Ayn Rand and her philosophy please see: www.aynrand.org

  • May 25, 2008

    8:28 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Professor8 writes:

    What's so mysterious and complicated about "Libertarians oppose the initiation of force and fraud."? All the rest comes from that.