Over at Hit and Run, David Weigel writes about the outcome of the recent Libertarian Party convention. Not surprisingly, it seems that, once again, the efforts of those seeking to turn the LP in to something other than a fringe party have come to naught:
Specifically, David laments the failure of a group calling itself the Libertarian Reform Caucus to effect real change in the Libertarian Party.
The LRC adovates ideas that I think make entirely good sense:
Fringe politics does not work in the United States. A political party must appeal to a plurality of voters (effectively, at least 40%) in some districts in order to win elections. Since districts vary, such a party could get away with appealing to less nationwide, but it must at least appeal to 20-30%.
In other words, for the Libertarian Party to be effective, it must appeal to the top 20-30% of freedom-lovers. Appealing to the tiny minority of freedom-lovers who want no government at all, or something very close to that, is a recipe for failure.
The platform and message of the Libertarian Party is extreme, sacrificing practicality and political appeal in favor of philosophical consistency with a single axiom. As such, the party currently appeals only to a tiny fraction of the voting public.
The Libertarian Reform Caucus is working to reform the Libertarian Party, to turn it into an effective tool for increasing liberty.
The fact that candidates that support the LRC agenda were rejected by Libertarian Party members only serves to demonstrate how out-of-touch the Libertarian Party is with reality.
Update: A brief report on the LP Convention from Brian Doherty at Hit & Run.
