This is a difficult letter to write. But I feel the need to tell you the truth. Your third party strategy is not working. You are not making progress with the voters.
Democrats and Republicans do not hold a candle to the Libertarians when it comes to being philosophically consistent on the issues and the dedication Libertarians have for what they believe in. But many Libertarians have moved beyond the mere debating of public issues. During this past election, I had the chance to spend half of Election Day with volunteers on the Ed Coleman campaign. I was greatly impressed with Coleman's election day organization, including the number of people who volunteered as well as the energy they brought to the task. There was probably not a single Republican or Democratic council candidate who came close to the organization that Libertarians put together for Coleman on Election Day.
Libertarian At-Large Councilor Coleman faced off head-to-head with Republican Councilor Jack Sandlin. In an at-large race, well-known community activist Bill Levin threw his hat in the ring as a Libertarian candidate. In the mayor's race, Libertarian Chris Bowen challenged Mayor Ballard and Democratic challenger Melina Kennedy.
All were excellent tests of the willingness of the voters to move beyond the two parties and consider the Libertarian alternative. Coleman finished with nearly 24% of the vote, the best showing of any Libertarian candidate in Indianapolis history, but far below winning. Meanwhile Levin, a colorful character who is more connected than just about anyone, ran only marginally ahead of other Libertarian at-large candidates who were not well known. Bowen meanwhile obtained just under 1.5% of the mayoral vote.
It is a tough thing for Libertarians to hear, I'm sure. But I'll say it anyway...the Libertarians are not making progress in getting voters to abandon their commitment to the two party system. The Libertarians are getting the same baseline vote they received 35 years ago. It hasn't changed.
I know the Libertarian arguments all too well when it comes to my GOP affiliation. Libertarians point out quite correctly the scores of Republicans who are not living up to the principles the GOP claims to stand for, a fact I have repeatedly pointed out on this blog. To Libertarians this represents a collective failure, an indictment of the Republican Party. To me, these are individual failures, an indictment of Republicans who wear the GOP uniform while betraying party principles.
It comes down to whether you are more likely to effect change working from the outside, as a third party, or from the insider, working within the two party system, in my case, the Republican Party. While Libertarians suggest the Republican Party is never going to change and it is futile to try, they fail to recognize their own futility when it comes to winning elections or even so much as getting an increasingly larger percentage of the vote. The bottom line is, until Libertarians actually make a dent in the public's commitment to the two party system, the argument that a frustrated Republican wanting change would be better off giving up his party and becoming a Libertarian, fails.
Most people pick their party identification by replicating that of their parents. My parents though were Democrats. I chose to become a Republican because of the principles the GOP represents. Do Republican elected officials fail to live up to those principles? Absolutely. Do I want those officials to be more conservative, even more libertarian, in how they act in office? Absolutely. Do I want smaller government and more individual liberty? Absolutely.
My hope is to be a driving force for change, in particular within the Republican Party. Will I fall short of effectuating that change? Quite likely. But at the end of the day, at least I am in the game plugging away. Libertarians are not. They are outside of the fence, watching while the two parties play the game. Marion County GOP leadership love it when frustrated Republicans become Libertarians because they have taken themselves out of the game and are not a threat anymore.
It does not have to be that way. The Libertarians I have met over the year are intelligent, committed, and even better organized than the local Republicans and Democratic parties. If Libertarians suddenly announced they were going to be active in the Republican Party (I pick the GOP because most Libertarians clearly lean that direction in the absence of a third party), they would be instant players in the political scene and quite possibly come to dominate GOP. But instead they have chosen a third party strategy that is clearly not working.
Like it or not, my Libertarian friends, people aren't budging from the two party system. It is time to rethink the Libertarian strategy and to get in the game.
Sincerely,
Paul K. Ogden
Republican