Wednesday, July 04, 2018

A Strategic Note for the Libertarian Party

The 2018 platform of the Libertarian Party now states, vis a vis "Free Trade and Migration":

We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders.

It used to say some other stuff. That other stuff is gone now and I'll try to remember to never mention it again.

The party now has a powerful tool to do the thing a political party needs to do, which is:

Find an unrepresented constituency whose goals agree with your principles and go after that constituency instead of trying to poach people who don't agree with you from your competitors by compromising your principles.

America has two "major parties" which oppose immigration freedom. Its third largest party now gives full-throated support to immigration freedom.

The Republicans and Democrats are Coke and Pepsi.

For a decade or more, the Libertarian Party has contented itself with being a slightly different variety of cola.

Now we're Dr. Pepper. Or maybe even a nice craft IPA. Or whatever. We are finally positioned to go after the people who don't already have a party offering them what they want on this issue. Let's do that, hard.

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