Mecklenburg Libertarian Party Draws Record Crowd
On Wednesday February 22nd the Libertarian Party of Mecklenburg County (LPMeck) held its annual county convention at the Fox & Hound in uptown Charlotte. The event drew over 50 people, making it the most successful and popular convention in the local Party’s history.
Lee Wrights, a presidential candidate for the LP noted that the attendance was larger than many of the state conventions he has attended. Tim Doran, Mecklenburg Party Chairman, believed such high attendance was “an indication of both the strength of the LP message of free markets and individual liberty through limited government and a growing rejection by voters of the two major parties.”
The cast of speakers also included Barbara Howe, Thomas Hill, Curtis Campbell, Alex Monohan and was headlined by popular Charlotte radio host Keith Larson.
There were two candidate announcements made:
Barbara Howe announced her intention to file as a Libertarian Candidate for Governor of North Carolina. Howe has previously run for NC Governor and has also twice served as Chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina (LPNC). She stressed the importance for voters to come out and vote for a candidate that won’t abandon her principles and help LPNC maintain ballot access by attaining 2% of the vote.
Curtis Campbell a local resident of Mecklenburg County announced his candidacy for Congress in District 9, a seat previously held by Republican Sue Myrick. Campbell, a registered nurse is currently pursuing a degree in Economics and believes that the current congress lacks both the knowledge and fortitude to make the tough economic choices necessary to help our country.
Lee Wrights, a candidate seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for President spoke on the eve of his cross country tour of LP State conventions. Wrights gave a rousing and impassioned speech about his campaign’s message of liberty and peace. He declared, “There is the War in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya. The War on Drugs, Poverty, and Terror. I am tired of war and I am tired of the failures and uselessness of these wars. I am at NOT at War.” He also pushed for voters to join him in his Million Vote March in which he hopes to see a million votes cast for the LP presidential candidate.
It was Keith Larson of WBT radio that provided many of the lighter moments of the evening with his take on current news events that focused on the often humorous yet tragic failures of government interventions. While declaring himself an independent, he admitted the he has voted for the LP presidential candidate in the last two elections because he doesn’t believe in the third party “wasted vote” myth. While often ironic and satirical, he did offer a serious word of advice for libertarians, “You have to think about the presentation and packaging of your message. That matters, especially in influencing independent voters.”
The evening was rounded out by Alex Monohan of the Coalition to Protect NC Families discussing the negative implications that NC Amendment One would have for the LGBT community and single people of all sexual orientations. Amendment One seeks to define marriage in the NC constitution.
50 people? Really? Record crowd? We could get that many people into a Mini. The Libertarian party is a waste of time. The opportunity was there in 2010 and the Libs didn’t even recognize it. They have no message, no organization, no grass roots efforts and no funding.
Thanks for your response.
While I have personally chosen to participate primarily within the Republican Party, I certainly lean much more libertarian in my views.
I think there is a role of equal importance to be played both by people such as myself within the GOP as well as those who chose to participate within a third party structure. They serve to keep issues on the table that may otherwise go unnoticed and provide an outlet for frustration at the system.
Clearly, with the rise of the Tea Party Movement, Occupy, and even just the overwhelming increase of people registering Independent, there is a large disconnect between the people and the leadership of the two major parties. The Libertarian Party is an alternative.
As for the turnout, it was closer to 60, but I didn’t get an exact count so just said “over 50” to be accurate. The recent GOP precinct meetings drew a little over 300. Bigger? Absolutely, but not so overwhelmingly different as to make the Libertarian efforts insignificant. The growth in attendence is the bigger story.
As for “no message”, I strongly disagree. In fact, I think the Libertarian Party has the strongest and most consistant message of any Party system in the US. Their grassroots are also strong, but sadly due to rediculous ballot access laws, for so long the grassroots has had to waste its time on collecting signatures just for the ability to participate in elections rather than spending that time on fund raising and message dissemination.
As a tea partier, I’m tired of Parties being the “end all be all” of the political system. I am much more interested in ideas than blind following.
I’m excited that the process is beginning for the tea party, the libertarian party, elements of the Republican Party, and any other willing group to start working together more often to drive an issue oriented agenda here in Char-Meck. Where we agree, we should be teaming up to accomplish great things. Where we disagree, so be it. Life wouldn’t be any fun if we were all exactly the same. 🙂
Well said, Christian!
What I like about people that affiliate themselves with the Libertarian Party is the fact that they’ve had to make a thoughtful and intellectual decision to join. I don’t agree with every position that the LP holds – but, I admire the members’ devotion and passion to their issues.
I think members of the Republican Party would be well served if they took a lesson.
I made a thoughtful and intellectual decision over 12 years ago to dump all sheeple parties and become an Independent.
As a member of LP, I can absolutely refute the point that we did not recognize an opportunity in 2010, that we have no message, no organization, grass roots efforts or funding. The LP has continuously stayed on the ballot in NC for the past three decades which costs upwards of $125,000 in petitioning costs to do per election cycle. All we have is grass roots efforts, organization and a strong message of freedom and liberty for all and our continued presence on the political scene is evidence of that.
Rick,
It is easy to dismiss the LP based on its history, but it is also short-sited. The youth of this country lean firmly libertarian (socially liberal and financially conservative) and the Ron Paul (libertarian) republicans are the most active and passionate of all youth voters. Combine this with a growing discontent with the two major parties and it is obvious that we are in the early stages of a libertarian moment. The fact that word libertarian is now mainstream and readily understood is a huge indication of how pervasive libertarian thought has become in this country.
For Mr. Rick,
I am quite satisfied with about 50 out of 750. The republicans had 300 out of a million and a half.
The bulk of voters these days consider themselves ‘independent’ because they are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Which is exactly the message of the Libertarian Party. The numbers are merely a matter of education and getting that message out. Since we are the fastest growing party in the country, while the two old standbys are shrinking, I’d say that message is starting to resonate. The Libertarian Party has been growing by about 8 voters per week in Meck Co – a bit more than the 2 major parties are losing.
Organization? We are a complete structure in the eyes of the IRS, FEC, and SBOE. We have a complete allotment of officers in all our positions. We have a complete web presence, down to the county level. We have independent education organizations, like the Advocates for Self Government. What more organization is required? Maybe a billionaire sugar-daddy to tell us what to do, like a Soros or the Koch brothers?
If you don’t consider participating in regular meetings, helping with charity events, making phone calls, placing candidate signs, and networking through any and all means as a grass-roots effort, then I can’t really reply to that critique.
I, like every Libertarian Treasurer, file our reports with the IRS and SBOE on the required schedules – if we have no funding, please tell the IRS and SBOE to quit bothering me with filing notices. The Meck LP has about 25% more in our bank account than the Meck GOP did a few years ago.
I appologize for the inaccuracy. Meck GOP has about 602,000 registered.
LPMeck = 6.6% participation.
LP GOP = 0.05% participation.
You had your argument on numbers, too bad you had to exaggerate – comparing Republican turnout to county population and Libertarian turnout to ?? just makes people question your premise. For readers that “care”, my numbers show 325 Libertarian voters with 50 showing up. Republicans had apx 146,000 voters with 300 showing up.
Personally I think the best thing we (both Lib and Rep) can do is get rid of party vote. At least try and make people think …
You are right, I should have left the previous rebuttals stand on their own. I will blame my knee-jerk reaction on the frustration of fighting voter apathy, my frustration with the obstacles placed on third parties by self-serving politicians, and my disgust for anonymous critics, even though that is a poor excuse.
The takeaway from the article should be that the LP is experiencing record interest and participation. The reason most commonly given is that people are disillusioned by the two party system and are looking for alternatives, whether from the Tea Party, Occupy, or LP participation. People should take notice of that trend that is showing up all over this country. I am sorry if I have distracted from that main point.
The participation and membership has also increased due to the LP Chair’s willingness to be inclusive with anyone willing to promote freedom and market-based solutions. The Chair prefers to partner with like-minded groups to deal with specific issues rather than sink into normal party politics. In that, he is trying to abandon the baggage of party labels, like you suggest.
Nor did I mean to denigrate the Meck GOP in any way. They provide an excellent structure for conservatives to voice their collective opinion and get candidates in office. Their record for doing that cannot be questioned. Anyone who cares to look at the public records can see they can raise millions of dollars at the drop of the hat and the LP cannot – one of the many reasons they are so successful. It is one of the reasons the LP looks to mimic some of their fund-raising strategies. I merely point out participation rates in the county conventions to illustrate how difficult it is for even one of the major parties to overcome voter apathy. The fact that our new members are actually active, rather than just registering, confirms the article’s gist that the LP is on the verge of explosive growth.
The numbers of registered voters in each party I took from Meck BOE reports. While some may be dated, I believe they are correct enough to make a point.
Finally, the opinions expressed in these posts are purely my own and are not meant in any way to reflect the opinions of the LPMeck Exec Committee nor the members of LPMeck.
There are approximately 1200 Libertarian Voters in Mecklenburg County. I can’t attest to the GOP, but that number is pretty accurate for the LP. I have gone through the voter lists many times in the last two months.
There are many many more I’ll wager who keep their R registration who are true Libertarians.
I almost guarantee that Rick won’t respond to any of the 5 posts made in response to his flippant comment, which was the equivalent of driving up next to a group of people, flipping them off, and then speeding away.
Great rebuttals everyone. It’s worth noting that Libertarians are notorious “non-joiners” – they care little about being in a cliche and instead are independent-minded with beliefs arrived at intellectually – not as a result of crowd think. Which is why the right-wingers in the Republican party hate Libertarians so much – we have actual convictions that cannot be swayed with money or entree to the “in” crowd. As the the mother of young citizens just barely at or soon arriving at voting age, I can tell you EVERY SINGLE PERSON I know under age 30 is libertarian in belief if not (yet) by identity. If Republicans fail to recognize this THEY will be the “third party” within a generation if not sooner. .
i’ll wager sooner based upon the numerous testimonals of the younger serfs.
groucho said it best;
“I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.”
Groucho Marx
My comments are not flippant. The 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate got 0.4% of the vote. The last Libertarian elected to state office was in 2000. Meanwhile, the country is being demolished by the Democrats and Republicans. Show me the Libs plans to change the country in an expeditious manner. Time to save the USA from economic ruin is short.
I cannot waste my vote against Obama in 2012. I cannot waste my vote against our state senators in 2014 and 2016. Libs have to think outside the box and energize the african americans and young people in massive numbers (good luck with that) or the party will remain a sideshow.
As for your comparison to the republican turnout, any small group will have a higher percentage turnout It’s a meaningless exercise to compare percentages.
When November rolls around, nothing in local, state or federal government will have changed. Meanwhile the country accelerates towards a cliff.
So your plan is to waste your vote by voting for the other party that by your own admission is hurtling us toward economic ruin? Could you elaborate on the logic behind that?
Same logic as putting up candidates who have 0 chance of winning. I am reduced to choosing candidates who will take longer to destroy the country. That strategy might allow enough time for a third party to offer a viable alternative.
It’s not the same logic. Your logic leads you down a path where you continue to vote for the lesser of two evils until it is too late. My logic is the only way you get to a viable third party. You actually have to vote for them. Basic democracy in action.
Voting for the lesser of two evils assures that you will continue to have to make that choice going forward. Voting against the two parties shows that you don’t support them. With a vote for the LP, you the either make the LP more viable or you force the two parties to make changes to accommodate you and the other votes against them. The ONLY thing politicians understand is votes. They don’t care if you hold your nose and vote for them, they only care that you voted for them. A vote for them vindicates them and their behavior. If you abstain, they assume it’s apathy. A vote against them is the ONLY way to change things.
50 people? That is the same number of Democrats that would be coming to Charlotte in August – if they had to pay their own way..
How many Libertarians would show up if the city gave them $37 million to be here?
Losers… These people are wasting time and energy…