Republicans - It's time to come home to the LP

Dear friend,

Late Friday evening, Ron Paul sent out a message to his many supporters
stating that he had a "nearly zero" chance of winning the Republican
nomination in a brokered convention. Dr. Paul also stated loud and
clear that "there will be no third party run."

Many of our own members, maybe even you, have been enthusiastic
supporters of Dr. Paul's campaign over the past year. Many thousands
have given their time, money and their passion to support the efforts of
Ron Paul's presidential campaign.

The efforts of these thousands of supporters were noble, but in the end,
Republicans rejected Dr. Paul's message of peace, prosperity and
freedom.

The GOP will more than likely move forward with the nomination of a
compromising politician who does not cherish the merits of liberty and
shows little interest in shrinking the size and power of government.

This leaves the Republican Party right where it started and where it has
been for many, many years -- a party without principle. With its
partner on the left, both parties continue to represent a compromising
beast that continually thirsts for more power at the expense of our
liberty, our property and our privacy.

In stark contrast, the Libertarian Party stands firm. Our values are
unwavering. Our commitment is unstoppable.

This is not because we hold a strong partisan loyalty to our party
structure, it's because we have trust and love for liberty in its purest
form. Our party serves as the vessel to affect change within our
nation. And unlike the GOP, we don't need to change the party from
within and regain our principles, as they have never been lost.

The Libertarian Party is the last remaining stronghold for liberty in
American politics.

Unfortunately, the Ron Paul campaign has unintentionally taken a toll on
our party. Many of our members have changed their voter registration to
vote for Ron Paul in a primary while others have allowed their support
to lapse as they gave all that they could for a candidate that
represented their values.

Early on, I made the decision to not interfere or discourage this
activity. I felt it was wrong for me to place our party above such an
incredible opportunity for liberty that existed with Dr. Paul's run for
the White House.

But today, it's time to come home.

If you have switched your party registration, allowed your membership to
lapse or have put off your decision to join the LP, I now ask that you
reverse course and renew your support for our principled party.

In spite of the events of this past year, we were still able to make
significant gains in membership with a 28 percent increase while we
moved onto a firm financial footing. We did this while seeing
inspiring electoral success by winning 20 percent of our races.

This proves that Americans are waking up to liberty and a historic
opportunity for growth exists for the LP in 2008. However, in order to
take advantage of this time, we need every last man and woman back in
our party.

It's time to come home.

Liberty is alive in America today but it is suppressed by the
significance and power of the two-party system. Partisanship, combined
with ignorance, is destroying our nation by taking away our freedoms and
even the lives of those we love through wars of aggression.

The two-party system must be beaten back and destroyed.

Fighting from within either the Republican or Democratic structure does
nothing to accomplish this goal and only increases our many problems as
time, energy and money is wasted to change a monstrosity that is corrupt
beyond repair.

Why fight to move your own party in the direction of freedom when you
can fight each day to move your nation in the direction of freedom?

It's time to come home.

Liberty is something that can be everything to one man and nothing to
another. Some accept that, while they are born free, they do not live
free. They go about their existence either in resignation that they
cannot change their personal destiny or they have grown comfortable in
their shackles.

Libertarians are different.

Our hearts burn for freedom. We wake each morning, intent on moving our
nation in the direction of liberty.

Our passion cannot be diminished or compromised through party labels or
the actions of cunning men. Libertarians working through the
Libertarian Party will continually challenge those who mean to enslave
us through taxation, fear and warfare.

It's time to come home.

Among the many opportunities that exist for our movement, one of the
most important is reaching out to the thousands of men and women whose
passions have been ignited by the Ron Paul campaign.

All Libertarians must put out a welcome mat to these Americans as they
continue to learn more about liberty but are now politically homeless.
Most importantly, we must tolerate the minor differences that we may
have and accept the differing stages of development of our political
thought.

Many of you will be receiving a letter in the mail with the intent of
welcoming Ron Paul and his supporters into our party. While that letter
was written before the rush of recent events, it is vital that you
respond to signal your support for giving these supporters a home within
our party.

It's time to come home and to offer a home to those whose minds have
been opened to liberty.

Take action today:

To renew your membership, go to www.lp.org/renew
<http://announce.lp.org/t/4404/53604/84/0/>

To join the Libertarian Party, go to www.lp.org/join
<http://announce.lp.org/t/4404/53604/85/0/>

To donate, go to www.lp.org/donate
<http://announce.lp.org/t/4404/53604/86/0/>

To change your voter registration to Libertarian, contact your state
party, by visiting www.lp.org/states
<http://announce.lp.org/t/4404/53604/87/0/>

Also, do not hesitate to contact me or any other member of our staff by
calling 1-800-Elect- Us.

Please take action after you finish reading this message.

In closing, I would like to give the following words to those who
stubbornly continue their fight to change the corrupt and destructive
Republican or Democrat parties from within.

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in
peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the
hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may
posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams, 1776

Our founding fathers did not hope to change the tyranny of British rule
from within. They faced their challenge head on. They did not waver,
even in spite of the very real possibility that they would lose their
very lives against an overwhelming power. They stood together, and
eventually they won their freedom.

It is up to us -- we passionate Libertarians -- to reclaim our liberty.

With respect and sincerity,

Shane Cory
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee