December 12, 2011

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Yesterday, December 11, was the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Libertarian Party.

Here’s a press release about the 1971 speech that inspired the Libertarian Party’s founders.

I’m proud that the Libertarian Party has maintained such a tenacious presence in American politics for the last 40 years.

As I said in a letter (unpublished, as far as I know) to the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, "The Libertarian Party has consistently put a presidential candidate on 39 or more state ballots, going back to 1980 — despite massive roadblocks put in our way by Republican and Democratic politicians. No other alternative party in American history has come close to that achievement over that length of time."

You can read some of our party’s history here.

Democratic politicians sometimes pay lip service to personal liberty, but they don’t deliver. And Republican politicians sometimes pay lip service to economic liberty, but they don’t deliver either.

If you haven’t yet joined the Libertarian Party, I hope you’ll join today, in honor of our 40th birthday.

And I want to thank all of the donors, candidates, party officials, and volunteers who have been part of our 40-year fight for more freedom and less government.

Sincerely,

Wes Benedict

Executive Director

Libertarian National Committee

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.