Third Party Watch reports that the Libertarian Party National Committee just unanimously passed a resolution, which reads, in part, “In the event that Republican primary voters select a candidate other than Congressman Paul in February of 2008, the Libertarian National Committee invites Congressman Paul to seek the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, to be decided in Denver, Colorado, during the Memorial Day weekend of 2008.”
Third Party Watch has an eyewitness reporter at this meeting, which has been going on this weekend in Charleston, South Carolina. The Paul resolution was authored by former Congressman Bob Barr.
About time – earlier in the year LNC appreared angry in the LP newsletter that Michael Badnarik had came out and endoresed REPUBLICAN Ron Paul – now it seems they are just making the logical motions – ask Ron to cross party lines and run under the umbrella of the Libertarians – a good idea!!
Excellent! This will definitely get the Republican establishment thinking about the potential repercussions of continuing to follow the neo-CON agenda. Either they get back to a true conservative/small gov’t agenda or split the party. I’ll vote for Ron Paul no matter who the Republicans nominate.
Even if Ron Paul does win the Republican nomination, could not the Libertarian party also nominate him? He would be a coalition candidate.
I know several states have sore loser laws which prohibite a candidate who runs in a primary for one party from appearing on the general election ballot of another party, but I’m not sure if this applies to presidential elections. If anyone has any insite into the matter it would be much appreciated.
John Anderson ran in 18 Republican presidential primaries in 1980, but he appeared on the ballot as an independent in all 50 states.
The Libertarian Party National Committee has ignored the LP Platform by this invitation. Paul’s proposed legislation in 2007: H.J.RES.46, H.R.300, H.R.1094 and H.R.2597 are oppositional to it.
This makes as much sense as when the LP proclaimed Bob Barr to be a libertarian. Barr voted for The Patriot bill before he was against it, and was a primary author of the homophobic Protection of Marriage legislation.
Th LP has become a brutal parody of libertarianism.
Id Ron wins the republican nomination, will the Libertarians then throw support at him and nominate no one? If any votes for libertarians don’t go to Ron that would be a shame
Of course the Libertarians want him to run on their ticket. So does the Constitution Party. Any minority party would give its right arm to attach their name to Ron Paul at this point. If he decides for whatever reason to go to the effort of running a 3rd Party campaign at this point, I think he would be wisest to run as an absolute independent, unaligned with any party. He has the grass roots support to get on the ballot in every state.
I will vote for Ron Paul no matter what party affiliation he choses to run under. I am voting for less government, less taxes, and liberty. Most importantly I will be voting for Ron Paul because he is the only true voice of our Constitution and the people. He will restore this country, and that is what we need right now. We need our troops home, and we need to take care of our country and stop all this rediculous spending. He is the only one making sense.
I’m looking for Ron Paul to be the nominee of the Libertarian, Constitution and Reform parties. I call it “The Triple Threat”.
This is stunning! The Republican Liberty Caucus has been pushing for the Libertarian Party to drop its silly rule against endorsing Republicans for years. This is a huge victory for the RLC strategy!
And it also means that if Ron Paul runs on the LP ticket for President, he’ll have to drop his Congressional race as a Republican.
He’d never win reelection on the Libertarian line here in South Texas. He’s gonna have a hard time winning reelection against Chris Peden in the GOP primary.
Wow! This is such a huge development on so many levels.
You know, it even opens up the possibility of the Libertarian Party endorsing Rudy Giuliani in the general election against Hillary Clinton and throwing the election to the Republicans for ’08!!
The LP had better get its ass moving on ballot access… Remember, this is perhaps the BIGGEST reason Paul isn’t looking at a third-party run.
I would vote for Ron Paul as a libertarian candidate. Afterall, there is no difference between the democrats and republicans, so if I don’t get to vote for him, I lose anyway.
I’m in it for the long haul.
Also…
DONDEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
lol dondero, do you really think libertarians or any 3rd party people are going to support Rudy? Obviously they changed the rule for 1 person – Ron Paul, and not because he was a republican, but because of what he stands for. If you think the libertarian party is ever going to endorse someone like guilliani, then you are just plain out nuts.
And for the record, Ron Paul has been a member of both the libertarian and republican party the entire time. I’m pretty sure he is the only member of congress who has been a member of 2 parties at the same time. So don’t really know where you are pulling out this he can’t run as a republican bit from. Probably the same place the rest of your comments come from.
John Campbell- I don’t know what the Reform Party adds to the equation any more but I like the idea of Dr. Paul becoming a coalition candidate of the Libertarians and Constitutionalists and any other minor parties that are not too far out on the fringe. I also like the suggestion that he run as an independent candidate with endorsements from all minor parties who find him attractive and the understanding that they NOT nominate someone on their own line or nominate him on their party line. My first choice is that he win the GOP nomination but I find that prospect unlikely.
No. No. No.
This is not a good idea. This will give the MSM incentive to consistently label Dr. Paul as the “Libertarian” (note capital “L”) candidate. This will be a reason to further marginalize him and further deny him access to debates. “This is a *Republican* debate for Republicans only, Mr. Paul — sorry… In related news, Ron Paul, the Libertarian Party candidate for President said…”
While the LP can do as they like, Dr. Paul should distance himself from their actions, and make it clear that he has no intention of accepting their nomination, doesn’t endorse the party’s platform, and that he is running as a Republican.
If Dr. Paul actually gets enough delegates to win the GOP nomination, then the most the LP should do, is nominate NOTA, and save up their money for the 2010 Congressional races.
By all means, continue with ballot access efforts in case Dr. Paul doesn’t win the nomination, but don’t officially endorse.
If Ron Paul doesn’t get the nomination, then run a 100% Libertarian, and push the Libertarian brand. Don’t let the LP become a junior league of the Republican party in the same way the Green Party has become the farm league for the Democrats.
Furthermore, it will lead to brand pollution on both sides – The LP will get mis-labeled pro-life, closed borders and Ron Paul will get labeled pro-choice, open borders, depending on the mainstream media pundit, the intended audience, and who (RP, or the LP) they are trying to destroy at that moment.
While I agree that Dr. Paul is the best hope for a near term turn around of this nation’s slouch toward socialism, the LP needs to retain it’s position as the best hope for a long term turnaround.
To endorse, or nominate, Ron Paul would drive away some fraction of the LP for no gain. All LP members are individuals and fully capable of leaving (and rejoining) the LP and/or the Ron Paul campaign depending on their perceived self interest. The LP as a group brings nothing more to the equation than the sum of all it’s individual members. Yet the LP stands to lose members, and perceived self-sufficiency without being able to offer anything of value to Dr. Paul.
For his part, Dr. Paul needs to continue to be seen as a “real Republican” in order to peel GOP base votes away from Romney, Huckabee, or Giuliani. If the average GOP voter can be made to think that a vote for Ron Paul is a vote for the LP, then they may be less likely to vote for Ron Paul, for fear of strengthing the LP.
I fear that more harm than good will come to both if this happens.
Later.
And be ignored by the major media more than he already is? No way….
A letter I sent out to LNC reps regarding this issue:
The LP is in direct competition for votes, money and resources with the Republican Party and every other party. The Republican National Committee could never support a non Republican candidate because it is irresponsible and renders your own party irrelevant. There is no doubt that many Republicans supported Joseph Lieberman in Connecticut. However, the RNC never endorsed Sen. Lieberman in the way that the LNC has endorsed Dr. Paul, because it is obvious that it is irresponsible and damaging to your own party. This is especially damaging in the case of our own party, because we in the LP are often viewed as “Republican-lite”, and just another offshoot of the Republican Party. Even though that misconception is untrue, this resolution feeds the stereotype that we are all disgruntled Republicans.
In the end, no matter how you spin it, one aspect is plain face that cannot be disputed. The LNC, with candidates of its own in the race, passed a resolution asking the candidate of a different political party to seek our nomination. That is an endorsement of that candidacy. Therefore, the LNC has endorsed a Republican candidate over Libertarian candidates. Again, let me reiterate: this has nothing to do with any specific candidate. This is about the LNC endorsing Republicans.
This action by the LNC sets a dangerous precedent. The LNC is now openly showing support for a candidate of a different political party while the Libertarian Party has LP candidates in the race. Who the member happens to be is completely irrelevant. It doesn’t matter how “libertarian” people believe a candidate to be. A case is now being made among Republicans that the LNC should now endorse Rudy Giuliani because of his social liberalism and economic conservatism. That would be wrong, but the resolution passed today has set that precedent. A precedent has now been set that affirms that the LNC will support Republican candidates over Libertarian candidates. For anyone to suggest that the resolution passed by the LNC is anything but an endorsement of a Republican candidate is indefensible and incompetent. This resolution is a complete endorsement. You are essentially begging Ron Paul to run as a Libertarian because many Libertarians share his opinions. Either way you cut it, it’s still an obvious endorsement.
The more serious resolution is the second resolution passed in respect to a candidate of a different party. The second resolution is a slap in the face to people, like myself, who have contributed financially to the Libertarian Party. The LNC has now made it official that it will use money donated to the Libertarian Party to help Republicans. The use of BallotBase for Republican volunteers in New Hampshire, paid for the LP members, shows a lack of regard and competence in political matters. This gross misconduct with our finances, such as giving resources to Republican volunteers which have been paid for by LP members for LP candidates to use, shows a complete lack of fiduciary responsibility.
I want the LNC to support LP candidates. I want to be part of an organization that support its own candidates. You have set the precedent to support Republicans even when there are LP candidates in the race.
I have been in contact with many other LP members who are just as outraged as I am. I take comfort in the fact that there are judicial avenues to approach. Have a great day.
I am ashamed of the Libertarian Party. Paul has moved away from libertarian principles to adopt a xenophobic, antiimmigration position totally contrary to his own from the past and from the LP position. The LP is so dominated by people willing to cut out principles for just one victory that they are whoring after anyone. I ran for LP office numerous time and was heavily involved. Not only have I quit the party but I’m ashamed of it and will never support it again. I can only conclude the lure of power is so corrupting that libertarians must forgo political action for educational efforts alone. The whores on the National committee are the final straw for me.
Please note that “ccp” above, who proudly denounces Ron Paul and the LP, uses a generic name and signed in using a fake email address.
Thanks, Eric. I hate that when people do that on my websites.
It should also be made clear that this is not an endorsement. The LNC doesn’t not have that authority and didn’t violate organization bylaws (to the best of my knowledge) with the resolution. Such an endorsement, IAW organizational rules, is prohibited. However, they clearly have the authority to “recruit” candidates. The way I read the resolution, they acted IAW the rules.
Luther, the LP *can* nominate Ron Paul in convention, even if he doesn’t seek it. They would first have to change some bylaws. Richard will probably have better details, but my understanding is that it would not be legally binding in some states unless Dr. Paul accepted the nomination. As a party insider, I’ll strongly suggest that the votes are there to accomplish this.
If you look at dictionary.com, the first listed definition for “endorsement” is “approval or sanction”.
Was the resolution passed by the LNC officially and legally an endorsement? No.
However, in every other sense, its an “endorsement”
Finally the Libertarian National Committee has taken an action that reflects the views of an overwhelming majority of Libertarians. Of course the people who put party above principle will complain, and people who have specific disagreements with Paul will complain.
But most Libertarians are excited over a campaign that is finally getting the message of freedom, capitalism and peace out to mainstream Americans.
For more info go to http://www.libertariansforpaul.com
The LP should have waited until after February 5th, to see how Ron Paul does in the Republican primaries. He’s been deflecting this question for months, and now he has to deal with it again.
I’m looking for Ron Paul to be the nominee of the Republican Party. He’s already polling at 5-8% nationally, and with voter turnout in the primaries less than 20% (10% in each party?), that’s more than enough votes to win.
If you like Ron Paul, register Republican and make it happen.
Eric Dondero said “You know, it even opens up the possibility of the Libertarian Party endorsing Rudy Giuliani in the general election against Hillary Clinton and throwing the election to the Republicans for ‘08!!”
BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Since Dr. Paul has pledged to remain in the race until he loses support, and since Paul has declined to actively seek the Libertarinan nomination, the LNC should clear the way for Libertarian delegates to nominate him, if such a path is not already open. If he is on the ticket, he will get the Libertarian vote regardless of his intentions. A Paul ticket would give a boost to the Libertarian Party without forcing him to give up his Republican support.
Judge Andrew Napolitano should also be on the ballot, since he would be a popular choice for VP.