On Where the Party Ends by Nick Sarwark
It’s time for the Libertarian Party to become intolerant of bigotry as the Republican Party embraces it.
One of the unsung heroes of the Libertarian Party is Keith Thompson. He is a brilliant graphic artist who distills libertarian values into powerful images for the Libertarian Party of Louisiana. Keith Thompson does some great work for the Libertarian Party of Louisiana.
In the song “Your Racist Friend” from They Might Be Giants, the hook goes like this: “This is where the party ends, I can’t sit here listening to you / you and your racist friend”
The whole album, “Flood,” is incredible, but that one song has stuck with me for the simple truth that when you tolerate bigotry, it only empowers the bigots. “I know politics bores you / but I feel like a hypocrite, talking to you and your racist friend”
The Libertarian Party has always attracted people who appreciate the party’s support for free speech primarily because they appreciate the freedom to use hateful speech.[1]
The Libertarian Party used to have a platform plank rejecting bigotry as “irrational and repugnant.” When Angela McArdle of the Mises Caucus was elected Chair in 2022 at the national convention, the MAGA-packed convention also deleted that plank of the party platform, specifically to make the party more attractive to bigots.
The results have been predictable.
Revenue dropped. Membership dropped. Experienced staff resigned or were fired. Operations were cut. The headquarters building was abandoned in favor of a Texas post office box.
Angela McCardle is out as the Libertarian Party’s LNC chair. She resigned on January 25, 2025, as an investigation began into accusations that she used Freedom Calls LLC to funnel funds from the Libertarian Party.
And the Chair embezzled a bunch of money.
Turns out that rejecting bigots not only keeps them out of your party, it also keeps good people supporting your party.
At this point, I have no official position in the Libertarian Party other than being a Lifetime Member.
From that position, the solution is clear. We need to reconstruct the platform plank, not in its original form, but as something better.
My proposal for the 2026 convention to adopt into the platform is simple:
“The Libertarian Party rejects bigotry. Bigots are not welcome in the Libertarian Party.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are libertarian values. Racism, sexism, and bigotry aren’t.
Our platform should be clear, especially when a competing political party is supporting ethnic cleansing and putting white supremacists in positions of government power.
Yours truly,
Nick
P.S. Another great anti-racist song, before the band broke up, is “Let’s Face It” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
“be racist, be sexist, be bigots, be sure / we won’t stand for your hate”
It’s worth a listen.
[1]
The ACLU also has this issue, but not as much, because the ACLU clearly condemns the racist speech that they defend in court.
This makes sense re: bigotry. But DEI, as practiced? How is that in line with libertarian values?
DEI is practiced a number of different ways. Costco has maintained their DEI program and I believe that Bechtel, the construction company headquartered in San Francisco has kept theirs as well.
Sure, if a business chooses to practice (in whatever form) DEI, that strikes me as a voluntary decision, and therefore not inconsistent with my understanding of libertarian values. I would think libertarians would be neutral on whether a business adopts DEI.
If government coerces businesses to practice DEI, that would NOT be libertarian, at least as I understand the philosophy in most of its disparate schools of thought.
If a private company wants to take the extra efforts to ensure that minority groups are included in hiring, employment and retention, more power to them. It’s their company and their decision-making. If a private company wants to hire only white people, in a libertarian world that would be their call as well, but they would have to suffer the consequences of public disdain, boycotts, etc.
I agree with you. DEI appears to be reverse discrimination dressed up real pretty.
Join us at Liberal Party USA
You don’t have to fight anymore.
Unfortunately, people associate the word liberal with progressivism (lots of government intervention), not classical liberalism (very limited government intervention).
I know the argument, you have to teach people what liberal originally meant.
But IMO, that takes up too much energy and resources unnecessarily.
You’re fighting uphill from the start.
Classical Liberal Party USA would have been better, IMO
It would have caused a lot of people to go and Google Classical Liberal when they saw it.
People see Liberal Party USA and they think you’re a liberal in the modern sense. Collectivism, Socialism and Big Government.
One man’s opinion….doesn’t mean anything.
I completely agree with you, Joseph. There are certainly better party names than Liberal.
I used to be on Twitter, no longer…it’s toxic.
But when I was, and they were forming the Liberal Party USA, I made my opinion clear. Even suggested the “Classical Liberal Party USA” or the “Freedom Party” multiple times.
I had a dialogue with them on this issue, but I forget what was said.
Apparently, there is an “American Freedom Party” already in existence, so “Freedom Party” was a nonstarter, but “Classical Liberal Party USA” would have been exponentially better.
Oh well.
I’m still registered as a Libertarian, but would have considered joining the “Classical Liberal Party USA”.
The “Liberal Party USA”…not happening.
I don’t want to have to explain to everyone ad nauseam the original meaning of, or the multiple definitions of, the word “liberal” and how it was co-oped by left wing progressives.
I am also still registered as a Libertarian. I completely agree that having to explain the difference between classical liberal and contemporary liberal renders this effort DOA. I guess we shall see what happens.
I use Independent Libertarian, when asked these days.
Yes the name isn’t perfect.
But I get to spend my time actually advancing liberty as opposed to what I was doing in the LP for the past 4 years. Putting most of my time into fighting my fellow Libertarians.
What kind of life do you want?
What do you want to spend your life doing?
How do your vaule your time and what does a victory look like?
The problem is that the “Liberal” Party has no mechanism to join! Go to the website. It was explained on their Facebook page that they’ll happily take your money but there’s no way to join the national party – you can only join an affiliated *state* party – there’s no such thing as national membership in their party. So, if you’re in a state that doesn’t have an affiliate party, you’re SOL. Of course, they give the requisite boilerplate that if you’re in a state that doesn’t have an affiliate party, then go start one! Frankly, Scarlett, that’s a little bit daunting for the average political volunteer, so all they’re accomplishing is scaring people away.
I support free speech. If someone wants to be a racist bigot, then fine. It’s their life. I am, of course, free to call them a racist bigot.
I don’t think a platform plank denouncing racism has any place in a LP platform unless it is specifically tied to government action. “We denounce the government when it engages in racist or bigoted actions, such as…” Just tossing in a bunch of random stuff that we disapprove of, just to look PC, is silly.
Why should a private organization that has historically opposed bigotry within it’s ranks not say so? Private individuals and groups have the right to favor or oppose whatever they wish. Denouncing only state actions that are bigoted or racist when you have a cadre of racists and bigots in your party 1) dilutes your message, and b) probably won’t ever be done because of all the racists and bigots in your group.
I disagree. The idea is to repel bigots, NOT act PC. But before the female individual rights plank got sawn off by nazi infiltrators, there was no need. Females with individual rights keep nazis where nazis belong. Our Original 1972 plank got the mostest votes fustest. THAT is why so many infiltraitors ganged up to elide it.
Something like this should also be in the platform. We should also work to repeal all laws whose roots are in the history of racism, some of these laws are zoning laws, occupational licensing laws, business permit laws, and the drug laws.
Mr. Sarwark is a poet.
It begins at the end /
The end is the beginning /
The challenge is not
Of Sisyphus / It is eternal.
There is NOTHING Libertarian or Classical Liberal about the MC’s love of Trump, Musk or RFK 2.0. including their anti-immigrant racists BS. The former Chair & her MC supporters including many still on the LNC all kissed the Orange Ass (literally & figuratively). This leaves a nasty depends diaper smell that makes it almost impossible for anyone to continue supporting (financially & otherwise) the LP in its current state. They for sure need to take any legal action possible to acknowledge the wrongs that have been done – & to prevent it from happening again including a rule not to allow any other non “L” presidential candidate speak at their convention including anyone seeking the nomination from any other party. Period. Re-instating or adding an improved anti-racist platform plant will of course help. The current LNC aside from taking the legal actions above should also inequivalently state they do not condone racism.
Well said and I agree.
The frustrating thing is….Mises Caucus people don’t see or understand any of this.
They still think inviting the authoritarian Republican POTUS candidate to speak at convention was/is actually a good idea.
I had high hopes for Nekhaila to right the ship…but he’s not capable or willing.