For Immediate Release Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Libertarian presidential nominee hails LP-inspired ‘tea parties’
WASHINGTON – Bob Barr, the 2008 Libertarian presidential nominee and former Republican congressman, urged Americans gathered at ‘tax day tea parties’ Wednesday to continue their fight against government growth and to join Libertarian Party, the Party of Principle.
‘If the protests are simply a one day event it will have no impact on Washington,’ said Barr in a press conference held at the Libertarian National Committee’s Watergate offices in Washington, D.C. ‘It is incumbent on the people who are out there today to stay involved. There has to be a sustained effort. Otherwise the tide of government will wash right over us as if nothing happened.’
‘There are a lot of Libertarians not only involved with the ‘tea party’ movement, but of course it was Libertarians who started the whole notion of organizing ourselves as freedom-loving men and women for an April 15 event,’ said Barr.
Barr applauded anti-tax activists for successfully using the Internet and social networking websites to organize thousands of nationwide events, just as the Obama presidential campaign did in 2008.
‘The Internet is being used much as the gazettes and flyers were being used in the pre-Revolutionary War period to spread the word of freedom and organize the citizens,’ said Barr. ‘That is, to educate the citizenry as to what is going on in the government, as a medium to organize the citizenry to become involved, to have a common purpose.’
‘Whenever the citizenry makes their voice heard in opposition to oppressive government programs and excessive government spending which is hurting the populace in this county, it’s a good thing,’ said Barr.
Barr concluded: ‘It’s important for people to realize just what government is doing to them. The national debt right now, and it grows by millions of dollars every single day, is approaching $11.5 trillion dollars. Every man, woman and child in this country, not just taxpayers, but every man women and child, owes, because of that debt, approximately $40,000. That’s money coming out their pocket, it comes out of their businesses, it is dramatically limiting the freedom people have in this country to do what they want to do with their lives. And that’s power the government is taking from them.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org .
The Libertarian Party is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org . The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
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