The Libertarian Problem

Over at Reason Hit & Run I found a link to how Reason Magazines staffers are going to vote in the upcoming election (Like Back to the Future, this post requires the reader to time travel). Reason Magazine for those (most) of you who aren't familiar with it is a "Libertarian" magazine. So here's what I found looking at the intents and party affiliations of the staff of a national magazine espousing the Libertarian cause and ideals.

9 Total people.

0 People call themselves "Libertarian." One "Big fan of the Libertarian party." One, "none officially." One, "former Libertarian, but disenfranchised due to State Law," now "unaffiliated." I know that some states don't require you to list any party affiliation on your voter card, but having lived in one of those states I assure you that people call themselves Republican or Democrat with much gusto and glee.

1 Republican

2 Don't vote

1 Will vote for the Libertarian for Senate because its, "My way of voting for a divided federal government without voting for a Democrat." And with his vote for Congress, "Ditto." Good to be specific that the Libertarian is not the preferred choice, nor is this a long term commitment. Just a protest vote.

2 Libertarian candidates will receive one vote each. To be fair, I do not know the total number of LP candidates who were eligible to receive votes in the various staffer districts.

All in all a very poor showing. I'm not trying to say being a Libertarian should be a requirement for working at Reason, call it a magazine Establishment Clause, but my bet is that if you poll the staff at the Weekly Standard you would find a lot of Republicans ("official" or not) and if you polled the staff at The Nation I would expect to find a lot of Democrats ("official" or not). My point is that if the LP ever, and I mean e-ver, wants to be taken seriously, it must get support from those who are at the front.

The reasons the LP is not taken seriously are:

One, most folks view it as a bunch of freaks. That's just bad pr.

Two, most folks think its just an extension of the GOP. The, "I'm from the Libertarian Wing of the Republican Party" line. If you have your own wing in the GOP, you can hardly be considered an independent, or stand-alone party. You would never hear, "I'm from the Democratic wing of the Republican Party" and there's a reason for that. The Reason staff votes don't do a thing to change this perception.

Three, apparently even those who are steeped in in, ie the staffers of a "Libertarian" Magazine, don't want to claim it. If that's the case, how can we expect anyone else to?

Until the LP can get serious enough to stand alone, have "Libertarian" national magazines own it, and challenge others to do the same, the LP party will flounder with 200,000 members and looking for moral victories in having more votes than the difference between the Dem and GOP, AKA "The REAL Parties" winners in elections. Being satisfied with distant third means we will always be distant third.