^{See also: Summary of the Libertarian Party Platform}

Michael Badnarik, a leading voice in the U.S. Libertarian Party. Public domain photo by Seth Ilys; image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

During the 2006 Mississippi U.S. Senate election, I had difficulty choosing between the Republican and Democratic candidates. As I always try to do, I gave the third party candidate--Harold M. Taylor of the Mississippi Libertarian Party--a look. What I discovered was that he was to the right of both candidates on immigration, and at least as far right as either of them were on abortion and lesbian and gay rights. His libertarianism, as it was conveyed to me, was defined mainly by his commitment to state's rights and his vision of a small government. Very much a Ron Paul libertarian.

Ron Paul himself ran for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination in 1988, and got it. His socially conservative positions on issues like abortion and immigration were not shared by his chief opponent, Russell Means, but they were no obstacle to his candidacy. It has generally been understood that the Libertarian Party's base of support draws to a great extent on Republican demographics--almost exclusively white men concerned primarily about low taxes, state autonomy, and border security. Goldwater Republicans, in other words. Read more...