Andy Wolf, chair of the Libertarian Party of LaPorte County (Indiana) has published an Open Letter to Ron Paul Republicans on his county web site. Here it is:
"Dear Ron Paul Republicans,
Since Ron Paul announced his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination in March, 2007, you have been most exciting to watch. Your energy, intellect, and devotion have helped to bring liberty to the forefront of national debate. Your ability to organize, raise funds, and act for Dr. Paul should be used as a template for successful political action. You deserve hearty congratulations for what you have accomplished.
Despite your tremendous effort, though, Dr. Paul is not going to be the Republican nominee. And while this is disappointing, you have committed yourself to continuing the Ron Paul Revolution. You have devoted yourself to electing liberty-friendly candidates and infusing your ideals into public policy. Again, kudos to you.
If you believe, however, that you can accomplish your goals within the Republican Party, you are deluding yourselves. From your work with Dr. Paul, you have seen that the Republican establishment will not allow this to happen. The GOP has established itself as the party of strict restraints on personal freedom, unbridled spending, and imperialism. The party leadership does not want the liberty message to get out, and they will go to great lengths to ensure that it does not. The GOP machine has stifled debate, changed the rules of the game, and depicted you and your fellow revolutionaries as loons, all to drown your message.
The Libertarian Party, on the other hand, has embraced you. Libertarians from both coasts and all places in-between have given you our support. We have opened our doors to you and lent you our members to help you broadcast your message. We have gone to your meet ups, purchased your campaign materials, and recommended you to our friends. Libertarians did this not only because of Dr. Paul's pedigree as a Libertarian, but also because the liberty message is stronger than party boundaries and because the media attention that surrounded Dr. Paul's message emphasized liberty to the nation. Libertarians shared their campaign experiences with you and encouraged you to keep up the fight. And many Libertarians even swallowed their distaste for the primary process and voted for Dr. Paul to help you with your numbers.
In spite of our support, though, you ignore us. You refuse to acknowledge that Libertarians share your beliefs. Don't pretend that the Libertarian Party does not exist. Don't pretend that you are the standard bearers for liberty. Don't pretend that you are the only ones beating the drum for the liberty movement. The Libertarian Party has been doing this for a long time.
If you truly want to continue the Revolution by electing liberty-friendly candidates and shaping public policy, reflect on your options. If you want a monstrous organization that is dominated by factions that hate your message and that doesn't want you as a member, stay where you're at.
On the other hand, do you want a large network of individuals who believe in non-intervention, personal freedom, and property rights? That's the LP. Do you want such an organization to have the infrastructure in place to get people elected? It does.
You are correct that the Revolution should continue. Libertarians, though, are not going to help you try to change the Republican Party from within. We have better things to do. We have hundreds of Libertarian candidates in local and state races to support. You're welcome to join us, but be quick about it. The liberty train has already left the station. You just have to hop on before it starts rolling too fast.
Andy Wolf
Chair, Libertarian Party of LaPorte County"
No comments:
Post a Comment