The Libertarian Party (LP) is a party in the United States that advocates for civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and a reduction in government size and scope. The party was founded on December 11, 1971, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after discussions in David F. Nolan’s home in Westminster, Colorado, in August 1971.In this blog we are going to tell you about The Libertarian Party (LP), so read this blog carefully to get the complete information.
Complaints about the Nixon administration, the Vietnam War, induction, and the introduction of fiat money were among the factors that spurred the formation of the party.
In opposition to the Democratic Party’s liberal principles and progressivism as well as the Republican Party’s conservatism, the party generally pursues a classical liberal programme.
According to Gary Johnson, the party’s presidential contender in 2012 and 2016, the Libertarian Party is more ideologically liberal than Democrats and more economically conservative than Republicans.
Its budgetary policies include lowering taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), reducing the national debt, letting people opt out of Social Security, and eliminating the welfare state, in part through the use of private charities.
Supporting the ban on the restriction of illicit drugs, supporting prison reform, promoting same-sex marriage, eliminating capital punishment, and supporting gun ownership rights are among its cultural policy positions.
The Libertarian Party is the third-largest political party in the US.
By voter registration, it is the third-largest political party in the United States as of 2021. The Libertarian Party won a seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives in the 2020 election, giving them their first state legislative victory since 2000.
As of November 2021, 354 Libertarians were serving in elected positions, 215 of which were partisan and 139 of which were non-partisan. In the 31 states that record Libertarian registration figures, as well as Washington, D.C., there are 693,634 Libertarian voters.
Tonie Nathan of the Libertarian Party received the first electoral vote for a woman in the 1972 United States presidential election, thanks to a disgruntled elector who voted for the Libertarian ticket instead of President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew.
Justin Amash, the first Libertarian in Congress, joined the Libertarian Party in 2020 and departed the United States House of Representatives in 2021 after declining to run for re-election.
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The First Libertarian National Convention
In June 1972, the first Libertarian National Convention was held. Dick Randolph of Alaska was elected as the first Libertarian state representative in 1978.
After the American Independent Party and the Conservative Party of New York continued to decline after the 1980 federal elections, the Libertarian Party became the third-largest party for the first time.
In 1994, over 40 Libertarians were voted into office, which was a new high for the party. The party’s membership and voter registration skyrocketed in 1995.
Presidential Election
In 1996, the Libertarian Party became the first third party allowed to run in both presidential elections in all 50 states. By the conclusion of 2009, 146 Libertarians had been elected to positions of power.
Tonie Nathan was the first female candidate to obtain an electoral vote in the United States, standing as the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election with John Hospers as the presidential candidate.
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and his running mate, former judge Jim Gray, garnered the most votes of any Libertarian candidate at the time in the 2012 election, receiving more than 1.2 million votes.
In 2016, he was re-nominated for president, this time with William Weld, a former Massachusetts governor, as his running partner. With almost 4.4 million votes, Johnson/Weld set a new Libertarian record for a presidential ticket.
Great Political Success by the Libertarian Party
Both Johnson and Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein got much more media attention in 2016 than third-party candidates typically do, with polls suggesting that both candidates may have gained support since the last election, particularly among younger voters.
In state legislatures as well as other local posts, the Libertarian Party has achieved great political success. Between 1978 and 1984, libertarians won four votes in the Alaska House of Representatives, and four more in the New Hampshire General Court in 1992.
In 1998, Neil Randall, a Libertarian, was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives on both the Libertarian and Republican lines.
Steve Vaillancourt was elected to the New Hampshire General Court in 2000 as a Libertarian candidate. Daniel P. Gordon, a state representative from Rhode Island, was ejected from the Republican Party in 2011 and joined the Libertarian Party.
The Republican Party and the Libertarian Party
In January 2018, Aubrey Dunn Jr., the New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands, switched from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party, making him the first Libertarian statewide office holder in history.
After leaving the Republican Party and spending time as an independent, Representative Justin Amash of Michigan became the first Libertarian member of Congress in April 2020.
In reaction to the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Amash and Ayanna Pressley of the Democratic Party proposed the Ending Qualified Immunity Act in June 2020. The bill was the first in the history of the United States Congress to receive support from members of the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties.
Name of the Libertarian Party
The party’s name was changed from “New Liberty Party” to “Libertarian Party” in 1972. There is no such thing as a free lunch, or “TANSTAAFL,” which Robert A. Heinlein popularized in his 1966 book The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and has been referred to as “a manifesto for a libertarian revolution,” became the first official slogan of the Libertarian Party. Later, the slogan of the Libertarian Party changed to “The Party of Principle”.
The “Libersign,” which consists of an upward-pointing arrow passing through the letters “TANSTAAFL,” was also approved as a party emblem in 1972. By the end of the decade, Lady Liberty took its place until 2015, when the “Torch Eagle” logo was adopted.
Many state libertarian parties made the Liberty Penguin (“LP”) their official mascot in the 1990s. The Libertarian porcupine, another mascot, was created by Kevin Breen in March 2006 and was modeled on the Free State Project’s (FSP) emblem.
Beliefs of the Libertarian Party
Libertarians contend that the government is largely to blame for societal ills. Libertarians think that people should be allowed to use their individual and natural rights under a small, limited central government to deal with these issues. The Libertarian Party is a synthesis of right- and left-wing politics. The Libertarian Party generally supports more left-leaning social policies than the Democrats. They also tilt more to the right by being more fiscally conservative. Based on the idea that the government should exist to protect these freedoms, the Libertarian Party advocates for individual and economic liberty. The Libertarian Party supports the following ideals, among others:
- Personal Liberty
Libertarians believe that every person has the right to do what they want to do in their life and there should be no governmental interference in anyone’s life.
- Economic Liberty
The Libertarian Party supports a free market without interference from the government. Government should only serve to safeguard property rights, resolve conflicts, and offer a framework for commerce.
- Securing Liberty
According to the Libertarian Party, the sole purpose of the state should be to protect the rights of its people.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a libertarian in simple words?
Ans. According to libertarianism, the government should have less influence over the lives of its citizens. It is predicated on the notion of complete freedom. Libertarians contend that giving people more freedom of choice is generally preferable.
2. Who is the libertarian movement’s founder?
Ans. Around the late 1870s and early 1880s, the individualist anarchist Benjamin Tucker popularized the term “libertarian” in the United States.
3. Who is the Chairperson of the Libertarian Party?
Ans. The present chairperson of the Libertarian Party is Angela McArdle.
4. Are libertarians left or right?
Ans. Although modern libertarianism developed in the United States in the middle of the 20th century, it was originally a form of left-wing politics. As a result, libertarianism is now frequently associated with right-wing politics.
5. What is the liberal ideology?
Ans. The principles of individual rights, freedom, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law form the foundation of liberalism, a political and moral philosophy. Liberals have a wide range of opinions depending on how they understand these fundamental principles.
