1. My congratulations to the Libertarians on your growth!

   I still say one of two things are going to happen;

   1. The Republican Party will one day become a libertarian party, and therefore no need of the Libertarian Party.

   2. The Republican Party will implode as did the Whig Party, and the Libertarian Party will replace it as the 2nd major party.

2. I’m hoping that the number two possibility also happens to the Democrats, who are then replaced by the Green Party. While nationally that doesn’t seem to appear likely at the moment, the election in New York showed that the potential for the Democrats to get shunted aside by the Greens exists, should the Democrats continue to lean heavily on neoliberal candidates and politicians.
   Still, even if the Libertarians and Greens succeed in doing this, the neoconservative/neoliberal elements of the Democratic/Republican parties would probably band together to form a sort of plutocratic party for the wealthy.

3. “…the neoconservative/neoliberal elements of the Democratic/Republican parties would probably band together to form a sort of plutocratic party for the wealthy.”

   This might happen, but to be successful, you have to have voters who will vote for you. Don’t think there are enough “plutocratic wealthy” voters to support such a party to victory.

   But who knows?

4. So, what will the total be for the major minor parties, substracting the states where they have automatic (or lowered) thresholds thanks to party status? That seems a more likely scenario than somebody trying to pull a Ross Perot.

5. I highly doubt the CP registration numbers will rise as much as the LP one. Granted they are likely to still increase in Nevada- where CP uses the attractive ‘Independent American’ title, but in other states that do registration numbers where the CP is on with the national party’s name- any numerical increase there will only be a tiny ripple, however.

6. Cody Quirk makes a good point about registration in the Constitution(al)Party.

   While there are millions of Americans who call themselves (along with and among other labels) “constitutionalist,” this is a political term which is not in vogue today even though it has been used politically for over 154 years. The Libertarian Party has been fighting in the trenches at least since 1972 and have make the label “libertarian” better known and understood.

   The Constitution(al) Party on the other hand, by the very fact they fail to use the word “constitution” in the proper context as they do, have failed at educating and awakening the average voter to what being a “constitutionalist” is. Simply put, the Constitution(al) Party has not done as good a marketing job as have the Libertarians.

   And, as Cody points out, the words “Independent” and “American” have a lot of appeal, even though both words can mean different things, depending on the context it is being used. This is why the American Independent Party in California and the Nevada Independent Party have drawn more party registrations than Constitution(al).

   When the Constitution(al) Party changed from its former name of U.S. Taxpayers Party, they hurt their chances by not just making the change to U.S. Independence Party. Such name would have had more appeal than Constitution(al) Party. The very word “independence” resonates with many Americans, even if for different reasons.

   But as Cody has pointed out in an article which can be linked to from another reply he made yesterday, once can see there are many problems within the Constitution(al) Party and its name being used properly is only one of them.

7. We’re not “constitutionalists,” we are constitutionists. Here is the link to our national party newsletter: http://www.constitutionparty.com/newsroom/newsletter/

   Here in West Virginia, our 3-letter party designation is CST which we are marketing to voters as ConSTitutional, ChriSTian, and ConServaTive. We are getting a very good response with this message.

8. Actually it has little of anything to do with the Republican Party. I don’t think they are any more libertarian than the Democrats, and they are significantly less libertarian than the Greens.

9. Jeff, you’re fooling yourself if you think the “CST” is going to make any major breakthroughs in WV, or even national politics; the base you’re trying to reach out to and build on is GOP loyalist and also in decline.

10. Cody, You are incorrect. The GOP base is stagnant, not on the decline. Here is the link to WVa voter registration which shows it at a constant 30% for the past twenty years: http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/history/Pages/Voter_Registration_History.aspx . We knocked on a lot of doors these past several months and met many wonderful people who are registered to vote, but rarely turn out. These folks are the disenfranchised Kennedy-era “blue dog” Democrats who are salt of the earth but registered “D” out of family tradition. Stay tuned.

11. Well, I guess I am imagining when I hear television commentators talk about so and so Republican being “libertarian.”

    Never implied the Republican Party was libertarian. But believe it will eventually become such to survive.

    Still believe, if such happens, the Libertarian Party will have a choose. To accomplish nothing by running 3rd party Libertarian against libertarian Republican – or – work for legislative changes in all states not currently operating as such, the ability to co-nominate those libertarian Republicans, and to run 3rd party Libertarian only when Republican nominee is non-libertarian.

12. Jeff Becker:

    I’ve been on your website many times. Still, there is NO such thing as a “Constitutionist.” You are either a “Constitutional” or a “Constitutionalist.”

    Even my automatic spellcheck does not recognize the word “Constitutionist.”

13. Jeff Becker:

    “We knocked on a lot of doors these past several months and met many wonderful people who are registered to vote, but rarely turn out. These folks are the disenfranchised Kennedy-era “blue dog Democrats…”

    How wonderful are they to you when you tell them you are against Social Security and Medicare?

14. I’m talking about the Religious Right folks that the CP has been reaching out to since 1992, and haven’t succeeded since then.

    However when we also include the Tea Party base as well- even they are in decline too, since fewer and fewer voters are supportive of the Tea Party, as it has been shown in recent polls.

    So what percentage of such people you’ve talked to join/register with your party, Jeff?

    Better yet, what percentage of these voters that give you a sympathetic ear are young, or under the age of 50?

15. Jeff, could you also explain to me why your WV candidate for U.S. Senate, Phil Hudok, got LAST place in the recent U.S. Senate race?
    Heck, he didn’t even get 1% of the vote!
    Your legislative candidates also didn’t do so hot in their races either.

    So tell me again how the CPWV is growing by leaps and bounds?

    And ironically, even in your state, the LP is still running circles around your party.

16. The media’s bogus “libertarian Republicans” are not even close to libertarian, nor are they anywhere close to taking over the Republican Party. And if they did, they still wouldn’t be anywhere close to being libertarian. The only reason they have gained even as much traction as they have or anything close to it is in an effort by the establishment to divert people from voting for actual Libertarians (or actual libertarians, for that matter).

    I strongly disagree that we accomplish nothing by running losing campaigns. It’s only that pressure which forces establishment parties to make real changes, a process which alt parties have been an important part of throughout US history.

17. “It’s only that pressure which forces establishment parties to make real changes…”

    Here I am in absolute agreement. And I assume the national Libertarian leaders takes this position. But back last year when the Libertarian held the balance of power in popular votes in Virginia’s gubernatorial election, Libertarians denied they took votes away from the Republicans – as conservatives and the media claimed.

    Again, earlier this month, the GOP narrowly lost the U.S. Senate race in Virginia, with the Libertarian holding the balance of power with popular vote. And, again, Libertarians leaders claiming Libertarian votes can about equally from both major parties.

    How then, if you keep denying the “vote-taking” scenario, are you going to accomplish the “…pressure which forces establishment parties to make real changes…?” Common sense would presume, that if the GOP feels their party voters are being swayed to the Libertarian fold, then the GOP must start acting “libertarian” in order to keep them in the fold.”

    In politics, a victory can be won by state of facts, or by state of mind.

18. There are some who say the Whigs still control the Republican party. The Whigs just morphed into Republicans.

19. Cody Quirk:

    You are right, the Constitution(al) Party and its candidates cannot go around the State of West Virginia (or any state) using a “cartoon theme” for getting their message out.

    Voters expect their candidates to look and act professional, regardless of message and of political party. I remember when Dr. John Grady of the old American Party ran for U.S. Senate in 1974 from Florida. Initially, people didn’t pay much attention to him, but he ran on the theme of “Washington Needs A Doctor.” With he being a physician by profession, it resonated with the voters and he wound up with 13% of the vote, and many, of course the conservatives in the GOP, blamed him for taking away voters from the Republican candidate and allowing the Democratic nominee to win with a plurality. The truth was Dr. Grady ran stronger (percentage-wise) in Democratic North Florida counties, and a number of his votes came from former Democratic presidential candidate George Wallace supporters.

    The Constitution(al) party is a successor (via several party name changes) of the old American Party. The American Party might not have had the ideal message in 1974, but they did earn the respect of being serious. So serious, that the GOP convinced Dr. Grady into seeking the Republican nomination in the 1976 Election, which he won handily, and polled over a million votes in that race against a popular incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator.

    The Constitution(al) Party would do well to go back in history and learn from the pages of its predecessor party – the American Party.

20. In how many states can you register by party? In Illinois it used to be you were a registered Democrat or Republican based on what ballot you requested in the primary. Only by skipping the next primary could you change parties or become “independent”.

    Now, anyone can vote in any primary in any elections and you are not registered as anything. I voted in several Green Party primaries, but was not a “registered” Green.

    There should be some way to show your party or independent) affiliation outside the electoral system. Perhaps just filling out a card to show a preference that would include parties without ballot status.

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