IPFS News Link • Politics: Libertarian Campaigns
The Libertarian Party Won't Let Ron Paul Speak at Their National Convention
• Liberty HangoutWith the 2018 Libertarian Party National Convention rapidly approaching, the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus thought that it would be wise to invite Ron Paul, the father of the liberty movement, to the convention. To the shock of any principled libertarian, the leadership of the Libertarian Party rejected Ron Paul, who was their presidential nominee 30 years ago.
Interestingly enough, the Libertarian Party would not have had to pay a dime to host Ron Paul. The Libertarian Party Mises Caucus was willing to pay the speaking fees for Ron Paul, incurring no costs to the LNC. In addition to Paul, the Mises Caucus also sought to bring Judge Andrew Napolitano to the convention. The Libertarian Party rejected these heroes. If one rejects someone like Ron Paul, it is safe to assume that they are not libertarians by any stretch of the imagination.
Here we see Daniel Hayes, the Convention Coordinator for the Libertarian Party, explicitly reject Ron Paul, claiming the former congressman has no idea what the party stands for. Hayes is also a Member-At-Large for the LNC. He is supposed to represent the entirety of the LP's membership. This is not where libertarians stand, but perhaps the "Libertarian" Party hates Ron Paul and true libertarianism now.
In the article that Hayes is triggered over enough to reject Ron Paul, Paul outlines the failings of the Libertarian Party in 2016. "Unfortunately the Libertarian Party has failed to live up to what should have been its role as an ideological alternative to Washington's one-party system. As was quite obvious in the 2016 presidential election, the Libertarians yielded to prevailing attitudes on war, welfare, the Federal Reserve, and more. In believing that winning was more important than standing for something, they ended up achieving neither."
Nothing Ron Paul said was false. The Libertarian Party sold out when they nominated people like Gary Johnson and Bill Weld. If Hayes thinks he is above criticism, he ought not to hold a public position in any political party. In the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus's official statement regarding the Libertarian Party's rejection of Ron Paul, Michael Heise, founder of the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus said "You would think that Ron would be a valued source of advice and that his followers and audience at the Ron Paul Liberty Report would be a prime recruiting ground for the Libertarian Party."
But it seems that the Libertarian Party is more interested in getting cozy with Mike Shipley, founder of the Socialist Caucus of the Libertarian Party. Is anyone really surprised that the people rejecting Ron Paul are openly associating with communists who reject private property? Here we have Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the Libertarian Party, showing his affection for the communists who have hijacked libertarianism.
This isn't the first time the LP attacked true libertarians. Think about the time they equated Ron and Rand Paul with the Bushes and the Clintons.