Libertarian Party Page

The Libertarian Party is the largest political party outside the two-party duopoly. See the Democracy Chronicles Third Party Central, Green Party, and Justice Party pages. From our Libertarian archives:

libertarian party memes by DC’s adrian tawfik

Libertarian Party Key Figures

Ron Paul and Rand Paul

Ron and Rand Paul are a father son political revolution. Ron Paul has spent decades pushing libertarianism into the forefront of the national conversation. Ron Paul was the 1988 Libertarian Party Presidential nominee and ran for the Republican Party Presidential nomination in both 2008 and 2012. His libertarian language has had a major impact on the national conversation ever since.

Rand is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party, and the son of Republican former U.S. Representative and presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas. Rand Paul is the first United States senator to have served simultaneously with a parent in the United States House of Representatives. As a supporter of the Tea Party movement, Rand has been vocal in advocating for term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and the Read the Bills Act, in addition to the widespread reduction of federal spending and taxation. He has gained prominence for his independent positions often clashing with both Republicans and Democrats on issues like minority voting, the size of the military, and government spending.

Gary Johnson

Johnson, who has been referred to as the ‘most fiscally conservative Governor’ in the country, was the Republican Governor of New Mexico from 1995-2003. Governor Johnson brings a distinctly business-like mentality to governing, believing that decisions should be made based on cost-benefit analysis rather than strict ideology. An avid skier, adventurer, and bicyclist, he has reached the highest peak on four of the seven continents, including Mt. Everest.

In 2009, after becoming increasingly concerned with the country’s out-of-control national debt and precarious financial situation, the Governor formed the OUR America Initiative, a 501c(4) non-profit that promotes fiscal responsibility, civil liberties, and rational public policy. He traveled to more than 30 states and spoke to over 150 conservative and libertarian groups during his time as Honorary Chairman. He has two grown children- a daughter Seah and a son Erik and currently resides in a house he built himself in Taos, New Mexico.

Bob Barr

Bob Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, and now practices law in Atlanta, Georgia. Bob is Chairman of Liberty Guard, Inc. a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting individual liberty. He also heads a consulting firm, Liberty Strategies, Inc., also headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Bob is a registered Mediator and Arbitrator and teaches constitutional law at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and constitutional policy at Kennesaw State University.

He serves on the Board of Advisors for two major law reviews, at Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Texas School of Law. Bob serves on the Board of Directors for the National Rifle Association and the Interactive College of Technology headquartered in Atlanta. He is a national officer for Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, and in 2011 served as a member of the Cobb County Citizens Oversight Committee comprehensively evaluating county services and budgets.

Bill Weld

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld was the Libertarian candidate for vice president of the United States in 2016. He was elected Governor in 1990 and reelected in 1994 with 71% of the vote. During his terms. He served as Assistant US Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in Washington, and as US Attorney for Massachusetts, earning national recognition for his work fighting public corruption and white-collar crime. As Governor, Bill led sixteen official trade missions to Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. He also served as national co-chair of the Privatization Council, which pioneered public-private partnerships, particularly in the area of infrastructure.

John Stossel

American consumer reporter, investigative journalist, author and libertarian columnist. In October 2009, Stossel left his long-time home on ABC News to join the Fox Business Channel and Fox News Channel. He hosts a weekly news show on Fox Business, Stossel, which debuted on December 10, 2009.

The show airs in prime time every Thursday, repeating on both Saturdays and Sundays. Stossel also regularly provides analysis, appearing on various Fox News shows, including weekly appearances on The O’Reilly Factor, in addition to writing the Fox News Blog, “John Stossel’s Take”. Since February 2011, Stossel has also become a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. Stossel’s reporting style, which is a blend of commentary and reporting, reflects a libertarian political philosophy and his views on economics are largely supportive of the free market.

Libertarianism, laissez-faire, pro-civil rights, anti-war

The Libertarian Party is a national American political party that reflects the ideas of libertarianism and small government. Although there is not an explicitly-labeled “left” or “right” designation of the party, many members, such as Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson, say they are more socially liberal than the Democrats, but more fiscally conservative than the Republicans. The party has generally promoted a classical liberal platform, in contrast to the modern liberal and progressive platform of the Democrats and the more conservative platform of the Republicans.

According to widely cited statistics, there are 330,811 voters registered as Libertarian Party members across the 30 states where voters can self identify by party. By this count the Libertarian Party is the third-largest party by membership in the United States and it is the third-largest political party in the United States in terms of the popular vote in the country’s elections and number of candidates run per election. Due to this, it has been labelled by some as the United States’ third-largest political party. It is also identified by many as the fastest growing political party in the United States.

You can also take a look at their Facebook and Twitter pages but some really great information can be found by taking a look at the Party platform. From the platform:

As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. Consequently, we defend each person’s right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without interference from government or any authoritarian power. These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.

Libertarianism In the United Kingdom

The Libertarian Party in the United Kingdom is a political movement concerned with the pursuit of propertarian libertarian ideals in the United Kingdom. While not as prominent as libertarianism in the United States, after the 1980s and the economic liberalism of the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, the libertarian movement became more prominent in British politics In the Conservative Party, there is a faction of libertarians based around Thatcherism.

From our Third Party Archives: