First Look 2008: Concerning Libertarian Presidential Campaigns

[Note: This is the second in a series of "First Look 2008" articles on the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential prospects]

First, an obviosity: The Libertarian Party will almost certainly nominate a candidate to stand for election to the presidency of the United States in the November 2008 election.

It may seem that this should go without saying, but in the LP's case it doesn't. Unlike the delegates of other political parties, Libertarian national convention delegates are not bound in their casting of votes by primaries or caucuses; all delegates are free to vote for "None of the Above," and a few usually do. A segment of LP members consider a presidential campaign to be a waste of time at this stage in the party's growth. It's conceivable that NOTA could win a majority of delegate votes, or that the party's bylaws could be amended to eliminate the nomination of a presidential slate from the agenda altogether.

Conceivable, yes. Likely, no. Even among those who prefer an LP focus on local rather than national politics for the moment, the presidential campaign has its attractions as a public relations party membership recruitment, or "voter education" tool. The Libertarian Party has nominated a presidential ticket for each of the nine presidential elections since its founding. It is almost certain to do so in the tenth such election cycle.

If we're going to nominate a presidential candidate, it behooves us to discuss what we want to accomplish by doing so, and what kind of candidate will best serve our purposes. Within the context of an out-of-power, "third party" opposition, three purposes tend to compete for delegate "market share."

Electoral Victory: The obvious and natural goal of nominating a candidate for office is to bring about the election of that candidate to that office. Most Libertarians understand that this is probably not an achievable goal in the near term, that barring some cataclysmic political sea change which the party hasn't the wherewithal to bring about through its own efforts, a Libertarian presidency will come at the end of a "long march" up through the ranks of local, county, state, and federal government. That does not mean, however, that the LP can or should nominate an "unelectable" candidate. If we're going to run a candidate, that candidate should be someone plausibly ready, willing, and able to do the job. After all, if the cataclysmic political sea change comes, it could come between the LP's nominating convention and the election — and if it doesn't, we still don't gain by representing ourselves to voters as a party which waits until victory is nigh to begin running serious candidates.

Article Author: Thomas L. Knapp

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