They do this because although they rate incumbents, the Libertarian Party makes no effort to determine which incumbents deserve to be opposed and which ones deserve to be supported or to control which races they run candidates in. To some degree this is because most of their candidates are just paper candidates who aren't even campaigning. They just sign up and get nominated with no oversight or even basic assessment of their qualifications. This is a terribly misconceived strategy which degrades the quality of the Libertarian Party brand and can lead to the defeat of sitting libertarian Republicans in hotly contested races where the 1 or 2 percent vote for a Libertarian Party candidate can do real damage.
It's actually rather bizarre that the Libertarian Party in Texas would do all the hard work of rating candidates and then release the ratings too late in the election to be much use and without making any effort to use them as the basis of how they target their efforts. If they focused on running just a few well funded candidates against the worst legislators and didn't waste so much time and money on unelectable challengers to Republicans with libertarian voting records, they might actually win some races and earn some respect.
As things stand now, the release of these ratings just shows what a sad joke and what an obstacle to the advancement of libertarian ideals the Libertarian Party is in Texas. Their misguided efforts are likely to reduce the number of libertarians in office in Texas largely out of an irrational obsession with party labels.
Article comments
1 - Andy Marsh
Dave - Did you ever think that some people are just sick and tired of ANYTHING and anyone with an (R) or a (D) next to it?
You honestly sound like Scarborough...he can't stand the fact that people in places like Delaware wouldn't vote in a RINO. He said they should've just so a republican could get elected in DE. Personally, I say...EFF that! There are tooooo many politicians out there, most of them, in both parties, that will say whatever it is they think the present crowd wants to hear...
When a politicians answer to, "can you prove the money came from overseas?" is, "Can you prove it didn't?" then I say the game is up. Time to just blow the whole fucking place to smithereens!!!
People are fed up with ALL OF IT! Yes, we're throwing the baby out with the bathwater...time for a new baby too!
I'm going to the pols in November to vote for people that ARE NOT in power now. I honestly don't give a shit what letter comes after their name!
2 - Gordon Trenchard
My point is that like you I don't care what letter is after the name either, but the Libertarian Party clearly does care about party I'D above principle.
3 - Sue Lange
I'm not up on the entire libertarian platform, but a quick check shows Riddle, Weber, and Anderson to be anti-choice. That doesn't seem to fit the description of libertarianism. Am I wrong about that?
4 - Dave Nalle
The Libertarian Party holds a strictly neutral position on abortion and has pretty much since it was founded. In Texas most Libertarians are pro-life.
Dave
5 - El Bicho
So how did Andy know this was Dave?