Dear Libertarian,
Yesterday, our chair Nicholas Sarwark, our executive director Wes Benedict, and I were sitting at the airport in Kansas City, waiting to fly home after this weekend’s national committee meeting.
We were talking about politics, race, and how the Libertarian Party wants to help all people live better, freer, more prosperous lives. We talked about the war on drugs and how it is ruining the lives of so many. We talked about removing regulations that prevent entrepreneurs from starting businesses and how these regulations particularly hurt lower income folks who don’t have the resources to overcome those hurdles. We talked about our Libertarian belief that all people are created equal, no exceptions.
I noticed, as we talked, multiple airport employees were lingering near our table, listening to our conversation. As we got up to leave, Marcus* stopped by our table. Marcus is a young African-American man, who works at this airport. He said that he really liked what we were saying and thought it was inspirational. He wanted to know where we work.
Nick told him about the Libertarian Party and that we stand for “all rights, of all people, all the time.”
Marcus told us about his eagerness to go to school and build a better life for himself and his sister. He talked about how smart his sister is and that her dream is to own a home and have a family. He said that America is big enough and prosperous enough for everyone to succeed and asked what we thought was the reason that so many struggle so hard to find the American dream.
Nick told Marcus that the Libertarian Party seeks to help all people by removing government interference into their lives … by removing regulations that make it much harder to find a job, or create jobs, or buy a home. Nick said that we Libertarians want each person to be free to decide the details of his or her own life without government interference. He explained that we all benefit greatly from removing that government interference because college becomes more affordable, homes become more affordable, jobs become more available, people can start more businesses, and so on.
Marcus told us about his own struggles and thanked us for doing what we are doing. He said he wants to see us be very successful with our work. I gave him my phone number and this morning he called me, asking how he can become involved in the Libertarian Party.
Friends, we have a real call to action. There are millions like Marcus that feel like they have no voice in our current system. They feel that the deck is stacked against them. They know that our justice system is unfair and broken. They know that things are out of wack in so many ways and they want it fixed.
The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) met in Kansas City this weekend and made critical decisions on behalf of our party as we plan for big things in 2018. It was a very productive meeting.
The night before the meeting, we held a fundraising event at the home of a couple of Libertarian activists and leaders. At this event, we raised $67,800 towards our work to prepare for 2018! We think this is a new record for Libertarian fundraising at a small house party like this.
This happened because many Libertarians like you are eager to see our party grow as rapidly as possible and they are investing to help make that happen. Many thanks to all who gave in person and online.
We have so many incredible opportunities in front of us right now. The R Party is floundering. The D Party is weak. There is a large swath of Americans who don’t feel like either represents them or their values and who are looking for more options…better options.
The Libertarian Party is growing rapidly and we are laying a firm foundation for 2018 by pursuing ballot access in all 50 states plus DC, by recruiting candidates across America, and by building the infrastructure needed to help our candidates and state parties reach for the stars.
If you’d like to invest in that critical work, please do so now. We can’t wait until 3 months before election day to make this happen. What we do now has incredible ramifications for the 2018 elections.
So don’t delay. Think of the millions of folks, like our young friend at the airport, who are hungry for our ideas and for us to speak up for them.
Please help us make that happen.
Lauren Daugherty
Head of Development
*To protect the privacy of this person, we’ve changed his name for this publication.
