Libertarian Party Convention Live: Barr 1st on 4 ballots taken so far, tied the last 2

1st Ballot Total Votes 631 Bob Barr 153 Mary Ruwart 152 Wayne Allen Root 123 Mike Gravel 71 George Phillies 49 Steve Kubby 41 Michael Jingozian 23 (Eliminated) Christine Smith 6 (Eliminated) Write-In's Ron Paul 10 None of the Above 2

2nd Ballot Total votes 630 Bob Barr 188 33% Mary Ruwart 162 Wayne Allen Root 138 Mike Gravel 73 George Phillies 36 Steve Kubby 32 (Eliminated) None of the above 1

Bob Barr 186 Mary Ruwart 186 Wayne Allen Root 146 Mike Gravel 78 George Phillies 31 (Eliminated) Write in 10 None of Above 2

Bob Barr 202 Mary Ruwart 202 Wayne Allen Root 149 Mike Gravel 76 (Eliminated) None of the Above 2

I'm curious, who gets invited to the Libertarian convention and why do these people get to vote? Anybody know?

They have state conventions where each county is authorized a certain number of representatives. Anyone that has been an LP member for a year or more is allowed to vote although they may only attend as a nonvoting member if they have been a member less than a year.

In actuality counties may share representative slots so that persons showing up at-large can vote in place of others that did not show up at the convention.

Additionally, rules may be suspended to allow even recent party members to vote in most state conventions.

The national convention works much the same way as the state convention with only a little more control of individual credentials.

The State convention nominates and votes on the persons it will send to the national convention.

The LP posts their bylaws online and also votes on changes to the bylaws at each convention.

Sex good, I would like to refer you tosome coments i made some months ago.

View results from: Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
[lib-er-tair-ee-uhn]
–noun
1. a person who advocates liberty, esp. with regard to thought or conduct.
2. a person who maintains the doctrine of free will.
–adjective
3. advocating liberty or conforming to principles of liberty.
4. maintaining the doctrine of free will.

[Origin: 1780–90; libert(y) + -arian

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

You say "BTW, libertarianism doesn't make sense," yet Our Founding Fathers were libertarian. That is where I got the idea.

From Wikipedia:
The term libertarianism refers to a political philosophy maintaining that all persons are the absolute owners of their own lives, and should be free to do whatever they wish with their persons or property, provided they allow others the same liberty and avoid harming others by abusing their liberty.

Doesn't that sound like the Golden Rule applied to Adults? "Your freedom ends where my nose begins."

Would you care to parse that statement and tell me I'm not the absolute owner of my life? That I should not be free to own my property?
If I had to tag myself, I would say I am a Goldwater libertarian objectivist Republican.

I'm not at all out of line with the values of this forum. Look at these words from the Republican Liberty Caucus:

Liberty Compact: A Candidate's Pledge
The Liberty Compact is a written pledge inspired by the words of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) in his book, "Conscience of a Conservative," which promotes the belief that government isn't the solution, but all too often, the problem. The pledge reads as follows:
"I, (insert name), pledge to the citizens of the State of (insert state) and to the American people, that as their elected representative I will work to: Restore liberty, not restrict it; shrink government, not expand it; reduce taxes, not raise them; abolish programs, not create them; promote the freedom and independence of citizens, not the interference of government in their lives; and observe the limited, enumerated powers of our Constitution, not ignore them."

I seem to remember in 1964, Barry Goldwater was the political founder of our modern day Conservative movement when he wrested control of the Republican Party from the liberal Rockefeller Republicans and paved the way for every Republican President since.

While I no longer wish to have anything to do with the Islamist lackey appearers of the LP, my fiscal and social beliefs are still very much "small ell" libertarian in keeping with our Founding Fathers.

“Except that the presidential nominee is the presumptive leader of the party, and that is McCain, and that won’t usher in a conservative movement at the leadership level. McCain is still giving conservatives the middle-finger salute.

How did the last conservative movement get ushered in? Carter as a disasterous president.

So, if you want an historical movement to usher in a conservative movement, you need a really, really bad Democratic president.”

That’s only one of many ways.
The Contract With America also ushered in a post-Reagan conservative movement under Newt Gingrich. Both major parties can get revitalized in a myriad of ways.
The ideological dynamic within either major party shifts over time from left to center to right or vice-versa. McCain is a Republican centrist.

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