Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to be a Libertarian Party member to join the caucus?
2. Does joining the caucus commit me to join the Libertarian Party at some time in the future?
3. This web site is complicated! How do I get around?
4. Are the votes on this web site binding?
5. What do you intend to do if the other delegates at the convention reject your ideas?
6. Why do you ask people their party status in the signup form?
7. Isn’t the LP analogous to the Socialist Party in the 1920 and 1930s, which took the more extreme positions which then moved the Republicans and Democrats toward socialism and away from liberty?  Maybe it’s OK that the LP is “radical.”
8. I am attracted to the LP’s “Party of Principle” positioning.  Is the LRC rejecting the LP’s “principled” approach?
9. What are your chances of success?
10. What can I do to help?
11. How do you intend to reach the broader libertarian movement?
    

1. Do I need to be a Libertarian Party member to join the caucus?

No. The caucus is open to all libertarians who want to have an effective political party that represents the libertarian philosophy. It is our hope to recruit heavily from outside the party. There are many freedom-lovers who would support the party if it were more effective. It is our hope that our efforts will encourage them to join the party and make it not only bigger, but better.

2. Does joining the caucus commit me to join the Libertarian Party at some time in the future?

No. However, we do encourage it! But if you don’t think the party is worth joining unless the platform is reformed, you can wait and see what the prospects of the caucus are for these needed reforms.

3. This web site is complicated! How do I get around?

Actually, you can get to any page in three clicks or less. We have a three level hierarchy; think chapter, section and page. The menu across the top lists the “chapters.” The left sidebar lists the “sections.” And the right sidebar lists the “pages.” We opted for 3-deep because this site needs to hold a large amount of material.

4. Are the votes on this web site binding?

This is to be determined. Those who make it to the convention may make up their minds then, or they may opt to push what has been voted for on the web site. Advisory or binding, your votes will make a difference regardless!

5. What do you intend to do if the other delegates at the convention reject your ideas?

Good question! We have several options. We could keep going another two years, recruit some more members and try at the next convention. Or, we could give up and go our separate ways. Or, we could launch a PAC to promote our kind of candidates within the LP – or even other parties. We could even consider starting a new political party. Hopefully, we won’t have to make this decision!

We believe that the Libertarian Party is worthy of reforming, and that the sorts of platform and strategy approaches we propose have the support of many LP members and the broader libertarian movement. The founders of the LRC believe that the fastest, most effective means is to begin electing Libertarians to public office, which, in turn, is the optimum way to begin moving the country in a libertarian direction.  The Libertarian Party has a reasonably solid organizational infrastructure; with reform, we believe it could become a real force in American politics.

6. Why do you ask people their party status in the signup form?

We need some idea of how many people we have that could become delegates, as well as how many we are potentially recruiting into the party. Even those who are unwilling to join the party until after the caucus succeeds have a role to play: we can present this list of potential party members to the convention delegates as an argument for making changes to the platform.
We may also break down some of the vote tallies by party status in the future.

7.Isn’t the LP analogous to the Socialist Party in the 1920 and 1930s, which took the more extreme positions which then moved the Republicans and Democrats toward socialism and away from liberty?  Maybe it’s OK that the LP is “radical.”

Perhaps.  The big difference between the Socialist Party and the LP is that the Socialists were effective.  The country has adopted many of their philosophies in a “creeping” way.  Not so with the LP.  In the 30 years since the LP was founded, the government just keeps getting bigger.  We believe that’s because the LP takes positions that are simply too far outside the mainstream espousing very long term goals rather than realistic shorter term measures that get the country moving in a freer direction.  In other words, it’s a question of relevance, and the LP has made itself irrelevant.  We intend to change that.

8.    I am attracted to the LP’s “Party of Principle” positioning.  Is the LRC rejecting the LP’s “principled” approach?

 No!  The "libertarian philosophy" only says one thing:  coercion is inappropriate.  Nothing in that statement suggests anything about how fast coercion is undone.  The current LP platform and strategy imply a massive, immediate undoing of the State, which most voters simply do not support and cannot even imagine.  Our premise is that many voters could support more incremental steps to roll back the State.  We’re for smaller government -- across the board -- and feel very comfortable that that is a principled approach.  More importantly, we believe that voters are ready for such an approach…now!  The alternative is to allow the State to continue to grow.  As libertarians, we prefer shrinking government to letting it grow, and we believe those are the two choices.

9. What are your chances of success?

Better than you might think! While those who insist on pursuing the radical Rothbard approach to politics are quite vocal, there are a large number of highly active Libertarians who understand that this approach is not working. When the LNC put together a Strategic Planning Team back in 2001, that team overwhelmingly voted to work on reforming the platform. Indeed, this caucus is an outgrowth of that decision in that one of the founders of this caucus was on that team. Further, there are a large number of former party members and small-l libertarians who understand what needs to be done; they likely outnumber the existing party membership. We intend to recruit many of them.

10. What can I do to help?

Join us! Recruit others! Link to the web site. Leaflet your state LP convention. Leaflet other libertarian-related events. Talk about us on libertarian message boards. For more ideas, and printable fliers, look under the “Caucus” heading of the top menu.

11. How do you intend to reach the broader libertarian movement?

We are in the process of forming a PAC/527 so we can raise money and advertise in the broader libertarian press. The current hold-up is figuring out what we have to do to be able to legally raise money for this purpose. If you have experience in campaign finance law and would like to help, please let us know.

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