The Libertarian Reform Caucus (www.reformthelp.org) now has over 1100 members. That’s enough people to fill all 1051 delegate slots at the 2008 national LP convention in Denver.

The Libertarian Reform Caucus is made up of individuals who believe that America needs a real libertarian party, a party that promotes liberty while being conscious of political reality, a party designed to win elections and begin rolling back excess government now.

To accomplish that, Reform Caucus members think the party needs a platform that unites libertarians instead of dividing them, is silent in areas where there is significant disagreement between party members, inspires rather than scares voters, and creates a "big-tent" party for all libertarian-leaning voters who want to call for incremental steps toward liberty rather than immediate abolition of the state.

We have a membership roughly 5 times the size of the Restoration Caucus, whose 200 members want the party to restore the 18,000-word 62-plank 2004 platform, with its calls for personal secession and extra-terrestrial homesteading. The 1100 to 200 membership ratio seems to be fairly representative of the opinion ratios of the libertarian world as a whole, as indicated by a recent survey.

It seems there is a large majority of party members who want to move forward into the dawning era of Libertarian Party relevance and big-tent inclusiveness, rather than backwards to discredited small-pond exclusiveness.

Our Latest Platform Proposal

With the efforts of our members on the LP Platform Committee, the Committee has adopted recommendations for a new platform that recyles language from previous LP platforms to eloquently and elegantly describe what the Bylaws mean by "a libertarian direction" in public policy, stating for each issue a timeless principle that is consistent with both incremental reform and radical ultimate goals.

We also have two earlier proposals:

Short Platform A, with one short sentence per plank.
Short Platform B, with one longer sentence per plank.

If you wish to comment on these proposals, please do so through our Yahoo group, and don't forget to send the PlatCom your feedback at PlatformFeedback@lp.org.

Recent Proposals

Members are also invited to submit proposed changes in the Libertarian Party platform and bylaws. Then, the entire caucus gets to debate and vote on these changes. Here are the most recent proposals:

New Format:

2007-11-12 Short Platform A Healthcare.

2007-10-21 New Bylaws Proposals Party Slogan.

2007-10-12 Short Platform A Environment.

2007-10-12 Short Platform A Corporate Welfare.

2007-10-12 Short Platform A Voting System.

2007-10-12 Short Platform B Healthcare.

2007-10-12 Short Platform B Election System.

Current Format:

2007-07-01 Taxation Proposal 8. This proposal is a basic rethinking of the Libertarian position on taxation designed to bring about a living wage for families and for the transfer of most functions from the government to private hands.

2007-06-17 Women's Rights and Abortion Proposal 4. This proposes a bright line solution for the problem of the legal status of the fetus and an ecomomic solution to make abortion less desireable.

2007-01-24 Freedom of Association and Government Discrimination Proposal 1. This is a first attempt at including the unpopular issue of affirmative action with the rights of buisness.

2007-01-24 Health Care Proposal 4. A Libertarian Solution for Health Care that focuses on the freedom of everyone, not just those who do not want universal health care.

2007-01-24 Subsidies Proposal 1. This is a more moderate proposal aimed at more short term goals.

2007-01-24 Immigration Proposal 1. This is essentially the same as the current plank with one major (in my opinion) difference.

2006-07-02 Immigration Say Nothing. This is essentially the same as the current plank with one major (in my opinion) difference.

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Theory: Natural Rights, Controversial Issues Marketing Selling

Platform: New Format, Based on 2006, Based on Old Planks

Bylaws Caucus Party Strategy

Upcoming Events

REMEMBER TO DOWNLOAD LRC FLYERS AND BUSINESS CARDS TO TAKE WITH YOU!

April 11-13th, separate state LP conventions in New Mexico, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

April 18-20th, separate state LP conventions in Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington.

April 25-26th, separate state LP conventions in Indiana and New York.

May 22nd-26th, National LP Convention in Denver!! Make sure you get seated as a delegate by your state party, come to Denver, and vote for party reform! Only delegates who actually show up get to vote.

New Site Features

For new format platform and bylaws proposals, you can add new options without editor supervision. You can also edit your already posted proposals, but be forewarned: when you do so, old votes are erased. If you just edit the Author's comments, or even the blurb and title, the old votes are kept. But if you change content, the old votes are no longer valid, so they are erased.

Recent Essays

2007-09-03 Natural Rights: The Complete Set by Carl Milsted. Libertarian theory is based on an incomplete theory of natural rights. A more complete theory results in a society that is more palatable to liberals, conservatives and environmentalists, while still resulting in major cuts in government.

2007-07-01 Attack or Die by Durham Ellis. Perhaps it is time to open up another front.

2007-07-01 Bertrand Russell on Dogmatism. by Tim Crowley. Have our Libertarian Ideals degenerated into Dogma? These quotes could have been used by Purists against 'the cult of the omnipotent state' thirty five years ago. But perhaps by now, they could also be used by Inclusive, Pragmatic Libertarians toward the Purists?

2007-06-21 Toward a Compromise on Abortion by Michael Bindner. The who, what, why, what and how of a compromise on the abortion questoin.

2007-05-20 Party of Principle – the Inherent Contradiction by Carl Milsted. Since the creation of the Libertarian Reform Caucus, I've been called “unprincipled” repeatedly. So be it. It's time to put an end to “The Party of Principle.” It's about freedom!

2007-04-17 The lifting of U.S embargo to Cuba must be conditioned on the lifting of the rigid blockade of the Cuban Communist Party by Lillian Simmons. The lifting of U.S embargo to Cuba must be conditioned on the lifting of the rigid blockade of the Cuban Communist Party against the Cuban People.

2007-04-17 A True Purple Revolution? by Devin Ray Freeman. Libery lacks a color.

2007-04-15 Consistency in Branding the LP by Mike Smitley. It is important in marketing any widespread organization or company that the organization's brand and message are consistently conveyed at all levels.

2007-04-15 Platform Phrasing with Frank Luntz as your guide. by Tim Crowley. Pollster Frank Luntz has identified several phrases for the 21st Century in his new book "Words That Work". Here are the ones that I could write down, along with a few of my own ideas.

2007-04-10 Greatest Hits LP Platform by Brian Holtz. Medium platform format which uses language from earlier versions of the LP Platform. The goals are to declare our common ground instead of our battle lines, to use timeless statements of principle that are consistent with both incremental reform and radical ultimate goals, and to avoid new phrasing in favor of language from current and prior platforms, including the original 1972 Denver Platform.

2007-04-03 Radicalism by Michael McNeil. All party's leaders are radical. So what is it about the Libertarian Party's leaders that makes them so unelectable?

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