I’ve long been a small-l libertarian and 90% of the time a Big-L libertarian because they’re the best option for liberty. That isn’t to say that an average libertarian like me didn’t have problems with the LP.

If you read my first post here, I made an argument of principles versus pragmatism and took many in the LP to task for their poor and inconsistent messaging. You can guess how I feel about the present state of the party post-Mises Caucus takeover.

To briefly recap, at the end of May 2022, the Mises Caucus (hereafter known as MC) took over the party…sweeping all the top spots. Many were caught off-guard, but those in the party warned of the possibility. What most of us didn’t know is how hard right the party would turn.

We found out soon enough when the MC removed “bigotry is irrational and repugnant” from the plank. That was the first sign of things to come, and it drove many people from the LP, including myself. Why would they remove that from the plank? What could possibly be the goal? You can postulate that they’re openly courting racists, but I don’t know if that was really the goal. I think it’s far more insidious than that.

The MC Messaging Problem

If anyone has paid attention to the LPN, MC-friendly state affiliates, and MC members’ social media, the messaging most often is not libertarian. They are fully invested in fighting the culture war. If challenged, they block rather than engage in rational discourse because they don’t have a rational response.

This flawed messaging was ramped up with the ongoing war in Ukraine. The position of the LPN and MC is irrational. As a libertarian, it is possible to condemn Russia and defend Ukraine’s independence while being anti-war, anti-aid, and anti-foreign entanglements. That is not the message being sent by the MC. It supports Russia and assails Ukraine. Hell, at one point, they were defending the totalitarian theocracy in Iran. In what kind of upside-down libertarian world do we defend aggression? They’re repeating Fox News talking points. Why?

I think everyone knows why. They aren’t libertarians. They’re Trump supporters cosplaying as libertarians.

The point is, none of that matters.

The Epiphany

In the months following the MC takeover of the LPN, I probably went through all the stages of grief. I got active on Twitter, calling out the MC, and was subsequently blocked by a number of those on the National Committee, the MC, and one of the state affiliates. I raged on for a few months until I had an epiphany.

We lost to a group that behaves like irresponsible cringe edgelord teens. A group that supported 2 MAGA candidates over libertarian ones. We lost to THEM? A group that repeats Russian propaganda. We lost to THEM? A group that lost control of the LPN Twitter account. We lost to THEM? A group that has told people if they don’t like it to GTFO. We lost to THEM?

Their goal was to destroy the party. Look at their actions. They thrive on conflict and chaos. They’re running the fewest candidates in decades, which is the point of a political party. Donors have left, and they’re bleeding money. They want us to leave the party. I’ve donated and voted libertarian for nearly 30 years, only to give up because some children want me out? Oh, hell no.

The Realization

After I had that epiphany and some time to reflect, I came to a few realizations.

First, I had been sucked into their negative energy and playing their game. There’s nothing to be gained by raging away on my keyboard other than raising my blood pressure. If I call them out now, I do so with a rational libertarian response; not for me, but for anyone that reads and thinks their messaging is libertarian.

Secondly, many of us are angry. The rational libertarians, from ancaps to pragmatists, are a far larger coalition than I thought.

Thirdly, I and others like myself are partially to blame for this happening. My activity at the party has come and gone over the years. I took the party for granted. As much as I had a problem with the endless struggle between hardliners and pragmatists within the LP, we all ultimately came together for the same end goal, dramatically reducing government power and increasing liberty. With the LP ripped away, many of us felt adrift.

Finally, whatever damage is being done can be undone. The MC is tanking the party…that’s true. It doesn’t bode well for the few midterm candidates they’ve supported. We’ve all seen the messaging on social media. But we’re acutely aware because we follow all the children. To put things into perspective, the LPN Twitter account has 250k followers…that’s about 1/10 of the Democratic National and GOP accounts. Gary Johnson had the highest recognition at nearly 20%. A majority of Americans still don’t know anything about the LP or what it stands for. The truth of the matter is that libertarianism is still fringe, but we have an opportunity to change that.

What now?

I’m done sitting on the sidelines. While I’ve always been active on social media, that is not fully supporting the party. To that end, I have re-upped my state and national memberships and attended my first county meeting in years.

One thing is sure; if we’re on the outside and do nothing, we can’t affect change. We can take the anger and disgust and turn it into positive energy to flip it right back on them. Suppose all of the disenfranchised libertarians come back and bring new people with similar libertarian mindsets and put energy into those types of people. In that case, we can return the party to the adults in 2024. I’ve chosen to stand up for libertarianism and against authoritarianism. We have a plan. I hope you will join me in that cause and on Reddit at r/libertarian911.