The second ran from the Civil War to the advent of the New Deal. This means that the next eight to 12 years are likely to be supremely important for the Libertarian Party. Whatever paradigm is adopted in these next few years is likely to remain dominant for another 70-75 years. In order to succeed, we must do several things. First, we must refine and distill our message .
Most people have a limited interest in politics, and an even more limited attention span.
If we insist that every prospective member of the party be in absolute agreement with every microscopic detail of every stand we take, we will never be more than a debating society. It's a tough balancing act, and I don't have a final solution. Facing political reality The second thing we must do in order to succeed is realize that no Libertarian will be elected president until long after we have a significant presence in Congress and the various state legislatures. Given a choice between 5 million votes for our national ticket and 20 Libertarians in the next Congress, I'd choose the latter in a flash. Furthermore, our chances of electing some U.S. Representatives are far better than our chances of getting 5 percent of the presidential vote. . . especially if Perot, Buchanan, Ralph Nader, Goofy, and Gumby are all fighting for a slice of that pie.