Libertarian Party Takes Off in Delaware
Jun 8th, 2010 by Timothy Pancoast
While recent events with the economic crash and the rise of Tea Party movements have shaken up the Democrat and Republican Parties they have had a number of other effects. One of those other occurences is a growth spurt among third parties. The following is a guest post by Will McVay, chairman of the Kent County Region of the Libertarian Party and Libertarian candidate for the 32nd District.
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Three months ago, there was no Kent County Chair of the Delaware Libertarian Party. Three months ago, there were only three or four people at the most coming to the monthly Kent County Libertarian meetings at the Touchdown Lounge in south Dover. Three months ago, there had never been more than one or two candidates fighting a quixotic campaign against the Democratic and Republican dominance of the Delaware political scene.
But this year is not like every other year. This year, Democrats in Washington have expanded the budget and scope of the US Government to unprecedented levels. This year, the Republican party is fractured by eight years of George W. Bush and a similarly out of control level of government spending and interference in the everyday lives of US citizens and Delaware residents.
This year, the Libertarian Party, and the libertarian movement, is exploding.
Now, the Kent County Libertarian meetings have grown too large for the single room in the Touchdown Lounge which we used to meet in. We have established a county level party finance committee with the State of Delaware and opened a bank account to handle fundraising and support for Kent County candidates. We are inviting candidates from every party to come to our meetings and try to convince us that they are worthy of the Libertarian vote.
We are also running our own candidates. We’ve been called spoilers. We’ve been told we don’t stand a chance of winning and only detract from the (insert party name) party’s chances, or that we’re “stealing” their votes. The votes belong to the people. John Quincy Adams said that you should, “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” We will show the two parties the votes they are missing out on. We will show them the government we want. We will show them the politicians we want. And they will listen, or they will lose.
We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this, anymore!
If you’re mad too, then look into the Delaware Libertarian Party and the candidates that we have nominated for public office in the state of Delaware. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. Do something different, and vote for freedom. Thank you.
The Delaware Libertarians have nominated the following candidates for the 2010:
Jim Rash for US Senate:
http://www.jimrash.com/
Brent Wangen for US House:
http://www.wangen2010.com/
Matthew Flebbe for DE House District #6: http://www.flebbefordelaware.com/
Scott Gesty for DE House District #7: http://www.gesty4statehouse.com/
James Christiana for DE House District #12
George Barnett for DE House District #15
Will McVay for DE House District #32:
http://wmcvay-de32.blogspot.com/
Joseph O’Leary for New Castle Sheriff
Jesse McVay for Kent County Recorder of Deeds
Timothy Webb for Kent County Levy Court District #2
National Libertarian Party: http://www.lp.org/
Libertarian Party of Delaware: http://www.de.lp.org/about
Kent County Libertarian Party Forums: http://kcdelibs.forumotion.com/forum.htm
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Thanks for posting this, Tim! If anyone is interested in more information, please contact me at mcvay.will@gmail.com or join us at our next monthly meeting on June 15th, 7pm, Uno Chicago Grill near the mall.
Indeed…always vote on principle first. You’ll be a happier person for it.
I’d like to see Delaware’s Constitution Party merge with the LP. I know CP members don’t like to hear that, but the fact is that the platforms of the two parties are nearly the same, the Constitution is a libertarian document, and it would solve the problem of the CP not having enough members for ballot access. While Libertarian campaigns for statewide and federal offices might be regarded as symbolic, there is a very real possibility that within the next few elections, Libertarian candidates will begin running for and winning local offices.
It would be a loss. The Constitution Party was started to be a true constitutionalist party not a Libertarian one. It does not have losing stands on legalizing every vice. It is more mainstream. It is pro-life and pro-family.
It is a far better party than the Libertarians in my view. Libertarianism is like over ripen fruit. It is good stuff but allowed to go past its prime. I would rather have a Libertarian than a Democrat socialist every day of the week.
Ho-hum. The ‘Libertarians’ will garner their usual marginal support.
No problem, Will.
Rick, I can’t say if their support will still be marginal in all races, but if it is, my observations suggest that the margin is growing. I attended one of the Libertarian Party meetings in Kent and I was a little supprized that its attendance rivaled and perhaps exceeded some of the Kent County Republican meetings I attended earlier this year.
Chris and David, what I have seen is that while the various third parties are remaining separate and distinct there is a lot of communication between them. Members of the Constitution, Libertarian, and Independent Parties have been in frequent communication durring this year’s campagin and while there is a rivalry still between them it is a friendly one.
Ditto, Que Pasa.
Like I said, the Constitution is a libertarian document. True conservatism–which seems all but extinct–consists of allowing others to live their lives as they see fit, so long as they are not violating the rights of anyone else. While conservatives usually get bent out of shape about libertarians’ willingness to decriminalize marijuana, the fact is that conservatives have used the same logic–”the government does not own my body”–to argue against mandatory health insurance, among other things. And, to be sure, the Constitution does not prohibit any “vices,” save those that cause harm to others.
Some might agree with the Constitution Party’s platform more, and some might prefer the Libertarian Party, but the fact is that, in Delaware, the Constitution Party does not have ballot access. Yes, it was kicked off the ballot as a result of unfair and possibly unconstitutional legislation, but nonetheless it was kicked off. The Libertarian Party, however, has ballot access. Ideally, there could be a large number of similar parties which would enjoy productive competition, but I would prefer voters have the option of supporting one strong third party, rather than two weak parties. I plan to explore this possibility further, perhaps with an op-ed for a Delaware newspaper.