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ADVISORY FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
News from the National LP headquarters for
members & supporters of the Libertarian Party
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Watergate Office Building
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
Website: www.LP.org
Email: pressreleases@hq.LP.org
For information about the party: (800) ELECT-US
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January 2, 2002
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Media comments about the Libertarian Party in 2001
WASHINGTON, DC -- "The sweetest of all sounds is praise," wrote
the ancient Greek philosopher Xenophon.
In 2001, the Libertarian Party heard that "sweetest of all
sounds" from journalists, columnists, political pundits, and
commentators -- who praised the party for its impact on national
politics, for its growing success, and for the quality of its ideas.
Here is a sampling of those media comments about the Libertarian
Party and libertarianism, collected from newspapers, magazines, talk
show hosts, and Internet sites during 2001:
"Libertarian thinking [is] by far the most resourceful and
imaginative strand of political [philosophy] extant today."
-- James Ridgeway, The Village Voice, January 30, 2001
"The most underappreciated political phenomenon of the last two
election cycles [is that] in both 1998 and 2000, a Republican candidate
for the Senate lost to a Democrat by a margin far less than a
Libertarian's vote total. To some extent, Senate Republicans have only
their spendaholic ways to blame for this predicament. They blanched at
President Bush's proposal that the federal budget grow 4%, and have
forced the White House to accept a 5% increase that will almost
certainly increase later this year when 'emergency' spending bills come
up. When the GOP is a full participant in this predictable process, it
isn't hard to see why Libertarians believe there isn't just a single
party of big government in Washington."
-- John J. Miller, Investor's Business Daily, May 9, 2001
"It's hard not to like the libertarians, even though they seem a
bit revolutionary. They don't like government, or at least don't like
its tentacles creeping into every part of their lives. Their lean and
mean government philosophy makes some sense. They seem to know a lot
about government for people who don't like government."
-- Mike Cason, Montgomery Advertiser (Alabama), August 19, 2001
"Libertarians are flying high...as they look forward to next
year's elections."
-- Rick Klein, The Boston Globe, February 25, 2001
"Republicans are running scared. As long as [the Republican
Party] continues to advocate big government policies, it will continue
to see its members turn to the Libertarian Party."
-- Clovis News Journal (New Mexico), May 2, 2001
"[Libertarians] are intelligent, dedicated, energetic, and
disciplined. They should not be underestimated."
-- Peter B. Young, Metrowest Daily News (Framingham,
Massachusetts), March 6, 2001
"Libertarians, while on the wrong side of some issues...are
closer to the ideals of Thomas Jefferson than are any Democrats, who
claim Jefferson as their spiritual forefather. The Libertarian Party is
unwavering in the belief first espoused by Jefferson that the
government that governs least, governs best. It is a different world
than it was 200 years ago, but the political game has not changed all
that much. It may take 10 or 20 years for Libertarians to become a true
force -- and it may never happen -- but there is something heartening
about a political movement that puts people first and seems to actually
believe what it says it stands for."
--The Enterprise (Boston, Massachusetts), February 27, 2001
"The most underreported political phenomenon of the last two
election cycles: Libertarian Party candidates are seriously hurting
Republicans. While much has been said about Ralph Nader arguably
keeping Al Gore out of the White House, hardly anybody has noticed how
Libertarians have put Republicans on the brink of losing the Senate. In
this age of Senate power sharing and a razor-thin GOP House majority,
Republicans can't ignore the Libertarians. If they do, it may cost them
dearly."
-- National Review Online, March 19, 2001
"Are you going to continue lending your support to the Republican
Party? Or are you ready to take a stand for limited taxation,
Constitutionally correct limited government, personal responsibility,
and freedom? One absolutely great way to show the Republican Party that
you are completely fed up would be for you to make the plunge and join
the Libertarian Party. Send a copy of your check to the Republicans.
Tell them that you might be willing to revisit them if they ever adopt
the cause of liberty and freedom."
-- Neal Boortz, (syndicated radio talk show host), May 7, 2001
"Libertarians, as a rule, want less government, not more. They
favor tax cuts, less onerous regulation, and limited government
activism. But unlike conservatives, they are consistent in their
principles, and don't think the government should be telling people how
to conduct their private lives."
-- Syndicated columnist Stephen Miller, May 25, 2001
"Libertarians are moral idealists. Libertarians believe that
through man's ingenuity, a free market and a free society can make the
world a better place, and that the government mostly gets in the way."
-- Darrell E. McGuire, North County Times (Escondido,
California), April 6, 2001
"Libertarians still have a rich vein to mine for votes.
Libertarians may also be able to claim the moral high ground on one of
their signature issues: Criticism of the nation's costly, long-running
war on drugs."
-- John Gregg, MetroWest Daily News, February 22, 1001
"[In Massachusetts, Carla] Howell, the surprisingly strong
Libertarian U.S. Senate nominee last year, is going for governor in
2002. It's Round Two in the Libertarian's drive -- not as wildly
unlikely as it once seemed -- to become the state's second leading
party and kick the Republicans back to dinosaur status."
-- Wayne Woodlief, The Boston Herald (Massachusetts), March 11,
2001
"Forget about the Republicans and Democrats, another party is
creeping into government works. The [Libertarian] party believes that
individual freedom coupled with individual responsibility form the
basis of a benevolent community, country, and world."
-- Ryan Harris, The Bradley Weekly (Cleveland, Tennessee), June
5, 2001
"Libertarians want less, and they intend to fight for it. Less
government, that is. Imagine, for example, less government bureaucracy
and red tape...lower taxes...more freedom. [Libertarians] want
government to butt out, for the most part, except where it is needed to
protect us from physical danger of some sort."
-- Gregg Herrington, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington),
February 11, 2001
"Not so widely known is the Libertarian Party's influence on last
November's election. The Libertarians' showing has prompted Republican
strategists to key much of their 2002 congressional campaign to limited
government themes that appeal to Libertarians."
-- The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia), May 26, 2001
"It's important for both critics and supporters to note the
remarkable historical achievements of the [Libertarian Party]. The LP
has established itself as America's most successful third party. Many
others have tried since the LP was founded -- and failed, despite
better name recognition, celebrity candidates, easier issues, more
money. The LP more than any other single organization pulled the word
'libertarian' into the public vocabulary -- and in doing so has changed
the face of American politics, by letting Americans know there is an
alternative to liberal and conservative ideology. LP candidates and
spokespersons have taken libertarian ideas to many millions. The LP has
elected hundreds of candidates to office. The LP more than any other
organization has smashed the Iron Curtain of discriminatory ballot
access laws that have choked alternative politics in America for half a
century. The LP has served as the training ground for legions of
activists who have gone on to become leaders in think tanks,
publications, organizations, etc. In these and many other ways, the LP
has had, and continues to have, a profound effect on both the
libertarian movement and American politics."
-- Sharon Harris, The Libertarian Communicator, Summer 2001
"[The Libertarian Party is] known for its emphasis on limited
government and opposition to taxation. The Libertarian presence [on]
local boards will help to restrain the irresponsible spending that
leads to local tax hikes."
-- J.L. Babbitt, TaxNews (Chicago, Illinois), Summer 2001
"I've been what they call a 'small L libertarian' ever since I
was old enough to realize that we were given free will and the
challenge to learn how to use it. I had what I considered an incredible
epiphany when I realized that this came from God, who seemed to regard
free will so highly he allowed his son to be killed rather than force
people to do the right thing. To me, this meant that everyone had free
will, and it was not my job to force them to do things my way. As I
became interested in politics, this also meant that it was not my job
to use government power to force people to do things my way."
-- Margaret Mathers, Daily Times (Farmington, New Mexico), July
22, 2001
"Libertarians believe the answer to America's political problems
is the same commitment to freedom that has earned America its
greatness: a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it
brings; a dedication to civil liberties and personal freedom that marks
this country above all others; and a foreign policy of non-
intervention, peace and free trade as prescribed by America's
founders."
-- David Pierre, Silver City Sun-News (New Mexico), August 28,
2001
"You may disagree with what they say, but [Libertarians] are
offering opinions a sizable portion of the electorate agrees with. They
certainly deserve a place on the ballot."
-- The Huntsville Times (Alabama), July 29, 2001
"Young Libertarians have so much more energy and verve than
pretty much anybody else these days, young conservatives included."
-- Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online, June 22, 2001
"[Libertarians] believe that government should run the way it is
supposed to -- by the Constitution. Currently, there are 415
Libertarians in public office, elective and appointive. The party has
candidates in every office imaginable. The numbers are staggering, but
why then has the media focused more on Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan and
not on the Libertarian Party?"
-- Joey Dauben, Focus Daily News (DeSoto, Texas), October 23,
2001
"Big Government America...desperately needs some Libertarianism
antibodies in its system."
-- Bob Ewegen, The Denver Post, November 17, 2001
"I believe in personal responsibility and limited government. I
do not believe the Founding Fathers intended the government to be some
vast beneficent safety net that would take care of citizens from cradle
to grave. The truth is that America's most important instrument of
social justice stares back at each of us in the mirror every morning.
We have grown accustomed to thinking it's government's job to take care
of our neighbors and brothers and sisters and parents. But it's not.
It's my job, and it's your job. And the sooner we realize that and get
to work, the better our society will become and the faster everyone
will realize we've been looking for justice in the wrong places."
-- Warren Bluhm, The Green Bay News Chronicle (Wisconsin), August
2, 2001
"[Libertarians are] spicing up the political debate."
-- Roger Chesley, The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia),
October 13, 2001
"Libertarians have quietly become America's best organized and
most significant third party. Unlike flash-in-the-pan parties organized
around cults of personality like Ross Perot's and Ralph Nader's,
Libertarians have organized at the grass roots for the long haul. They
are fast approaching the point where they may force the major parties
to reckon with Libertarian ideas. The growing Libertarian presence may
spell problems for the Republican Party if it can't wean itself away
from the religious right's insistence on sticking its nose into our
private lives the way Democrats intrude in our economic affairs."
-- Bob Ewegen, The Denver Post, November 24, 2001
"[The Libertarian Party] has grown into the nation's third-
largest political organization."
-- The Indianapolis Star, February 9, 2001
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