Marcy,
Thanks. I'm all for reform. That's why I started the Grassroots Libertarians Caucus. But "reform" implies moving in a positive direction. I don't believe what the "ReformTheLP" people are proposing would take us in a positive direction, therefore I don't think it should be called reform, and am glad to see you using the term in quotes.
They claim ideology is holding the Libertarian Party back, but they have no real evidence for this claim. How is ideology to blame for falling membership numbers? Here are a few likelier causes:
- Upending the party's membership system by first planning to double national dues, and then abolishing them entirely, based on a foolish desire to "be like the major parties"
- An expensive, dysfunctional piece of database/membership software
- Very little attempt to build a strong connection with younger voters (consequently older activists die or burn out and don't get replaced)
- Arrogant, friction-causing leadership in the largest state affiliate (California)
- A failure by the party to make itself more relevant by waging an aggressive post-9/11 campaign in defense of civil liberties (as I just read again somewhere recently, the ACLU has seen a big jump in membership over the past few years while ours declined)
Do these problems stem from having an unpopular ideology? No, just from having poor leadership.
Yours in liberty,
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