FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF KENTUCKY REITERATES: RAND PAUL IS NOT A LIBERTARIAN

The Libertarian Party of Kentucky again reiterated today that Rand Paul is not a Libertarian.

“I have heard Rand Paul speak at TEA Party events, and I can assure you that his positions are that of a Republican,” said LPKY Chairman Ken Moellman. “While the GOP is going through an identity crisis, the Libertarian Party has stood firm upon the same principles since its founding.”

“As head of the membership committee, I assure you that [Paul] has never been a Libertarian,” said Ronald Seiter, Louisville native and Libertarian Party of Kentucky Vice Chairman. “He has neither signed our statement of principles, nor contributed to the Party in any way.”

The Libertarian Party agrees with portions of both the Democratic and Republican Party platforms; though, not always for the same reasons. The ‘non-aggression principle’ guides the Libertarian Party. Signing an oath to adhere to that principle, along with annual dues, is a requirement for full membership in the Party or to run as one of its candidates.

The Libertarian Party of Kentucky will begin to announce its 2010 candidates for office around the state in the next few months. Kentucky law creates separate procedures for anyone not running as a Democrat or Republican. “That shouldn’t be a surprise. They wrote the rules to keep others out. But the political atmosphere has changed, people are tired of politics as usual,” Moellman said. “And I think we’re going to have some very good results in November.

The Libertarian Party of Kentucky is the official state affiliate for the Libertarian Party. Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party believes in achieving liberty through economic freedom and social tolerance, and is the nation’s third-largest political party. More information is available at their respective websites: http://www.lpky.org/ and http://www.lp.org/

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Let me first start by saying that we were not calling anyone a racist. I apologize if that wasn’t clear. There are FEC guidelines in play here that prevent us from being too verbose, which leads to an overuse of pronouns.

The current IPR summary at the end of the press release made this more clear for the general public, and I thank you guys here at IPR for filling in the gaps. Paulie nailed every single criticism exactly right.

The targeted audience of the press release was the Kentucky media, which has been filled with a slew of press releases from one candidate, accusing another of being both “Libertarian” and “racist”. It was important to reiterate in the minds of the public that real libertarians are not racists.

Sadly, the traditional print media in Kentucky is still on the downward trend, and none of them chose to print our response to these statements.

As to the particular positions on issues for each candidate in this race – and in any race – I strongly recommend that you examine the websites of each candidate in Kentucky, and listen to them speak, and make your own determinations.

And if the LP has a candidate on the ballot, I always encourage you vote straight-LP-ticket, of course – but that is my (unpaid) job, after all.

Maybe not, but I gather the Libertarians determined it hurts them to be thought of as racist.

Fixed the article – thanks.

Maybe LPKY was not aware of that when the charges first surfaced? All they heard was “libertarian” and “racist” being tied together again. That would be my guess, anyway.

No one is accusing Rand Paul of being a member of the Libertarian Party, far from it. Rather, they are suggesting he’s a libertarian in belief or politics. The distinction isn’t explicit, it’s implicit.

True, no one accused him of being a member of the LP, but the media often does not draw the distinction, so LPKY felt the need to draw it for them in view of the charges. Again, my guess.

The LPKY shouldn’t run a candidate. It’d be a waste of resources and create much ill-will between Ron Paulites/Republican Libertarians and the LP.

I haven’t heard of them having any plans to run a candidate in the US Senate race.

The comments were also posted two years ago (on his myspace page). What you’re saying here is that the LPKY effed up and allied themselves with an open racist (Sonny Landham), so now they have put themselves in a situation in which they must attack Rand Paul because his opponent is accusing him of racism? That’s preposterous. No one is accusing Rand Paul of being a member of the Libertarian Party, far from it. Rather, they are suggesting he’s a libertarian in belief or politics. The distinction isn’t explicit, it’s implicit.

The LPKY shouldn’t run a candidate. It’d be a waste of resources and create much ill-will between Ron Paulites/Republican Libertarians and the LP.

Many of you on this site know Tonie Nathan. For those of you who don’t, Tonie was the VP candidate on the first Libertarian ticket with John Hospers who was the presidential candidate. Tonie Nathan lives in Eugene, Oregon and has done tremendous work for the LP in the state of Oregon. Tonie has been a force for good in the state and an wonderful asset for the LP.

In my opinion these people that Wes is writing about did nothing but piss away all the fine work that Tonie Nathan accomplished over the years.