“Over the years I’ve watched the Libertarian Party go from meeting in David Nolan’s Denver apartment to boasting affiliates in every state. I’ve watched its presidential slate go from fewer than 4,000 votes to nearly a million, then fall back below half a million where it’s been stuck for nearly 30 years. Like many libertarians, I’ve had my doubts about the LP’s efficacy and value. But this year, I fear for something even more important: The party’s soul. For several years, the LP seems to have been caught in the black hole that the Republican Party has become. What was once a glorious ‘neither left nor right’ coalition of freedom-lovers has increasingly become a political retirement home for disgruntled and unsuccessful Republicans. Now ‘Republicanitis’ threatens to destroy everything the Libertarian Party stands for. Two of the ‘front-runners’ for the LP’s 2008 presidential — former Georgia congressman Bob Barr and Las Vegas sports handicapper Wayne Root — are both conservative Republicans. What I find most surprising about this is that they make few bones about it.” (05/21/08)