I see myself as a risk taker. If some promising idea does not work, I take the lumps, and look for other opportunities. I think Libertarians (BIG "L") might be at a fork on the road right now. Either take a chance on Johnson/Weld or remain invisible. Remember when the S.F. Library listed the LPSF as the "Liberation Party," basically because they never heard of the Libertarian Party? OK, your choice, but maybe you should watch this video if you have not done so already.
After watching this ad they still aren't going to know if it's the Liberation or Libertarian party because the only mentions of political parties were Democrats and Republicans.
Still....good ad I guess depending on what they were selling.
Ha! You were supposed to know who they were given all the publicity they are getting by selling what a lot of people really want (low taxes, gov out of their bedrooms, less bureaucracy, smaller gov) as opposed to selling...what?
It’s spelled L-I-B-E-R-T-A-R-I-A-N and it belongs on all our products.
Otherwise to use an analogy from consumer product marketing….they are not selling the BRAND, they are simply riding on our distribution system. Sort of like their own private label. Except usually when products get to market on someone else’s distribution system “In All 50 States”, the host organization, in this case the LP, would get PAID.
Paid in visibility in this case. Is this an ideal situation? No. Are these perfect Libertarian candidates? No. Has the Libertarian Party grown as a viable third party in its 40 years in existence? No. Is the two party system something Libertarians like? No. Is insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Yes. Does the question boil down to having a viable political party vs a clique of insiders? Yes.
When the Republican Party was starting to get stronger in the deep south in the early 1970's, Republican candidates down there used exactly the same strategy. They downplayed their party affiliation, knowing that 100 years of southern hatred for Lincoln made the Republican brand poisonous.
And in 1952, Dwight Eisenhower petitioned to get on the ballot as an independent candidate in both South Carolina and Mississippi, for the same reasons.
Richard Winger 415-922-9779 PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147
Gary and Bill are the LP as far as the average voter is concerned. First time most ever heard there is a third party out there running candidates besides the Greens.
As an aside. My own Facebook (not the LPSF's) is filled with all sorts of people, but many of them Libertarians. Judging by their posts, the battle lines are formed and are ready for action. Either the war obliterates what little progress the LP has made with the general public and kills the party, changes the LP into a strong but very different party, or the party reaffirms "principles" and continues as is as a one percenter. We will see! We live in exciting times.
Oooooo. I was thinking that but did not dare say it. 40 years of perceived Darwinian zeitgeist and folks behaving strangely at conventions might merit a special campaign approach.