With every step that the current Congress takes towards bigger government, the future of Libertarians grows brighter. American citizens who fear increases in governmental control have made their concerns known in the recent tea-parties held on April 15th.
The upcoming tea-parties planned for the 4th of July offer an uncommon opportunity for America's 3rd largest political party to make its case with a large group of unhappy voters who seek alternatives to Obama's plans to increase the role of government in every phase of American citizen's lives.
Part of the reason that this moment in time particularly looks bright for Libertarians is the recent perception that the Republicans have become almost indistinguishable from the Democrats. Both have contributed to the rapid increase in size of the federal government. Many of those who attend tea-parties are perceived to favor small government, and that is precisely what the Libertarians favor.
Even though the Libertarian Party has existed since 1971, it has basically been seen as a protest group to main stream politics. When Ron Paul ran for president as its candidate in 1988, fewer than 500,000 votes were cast in his favor. A lot has changed since then with the advent of Internet politics, and the potential that exists to create grassroots political groups without powerful financial backing from traditional sources.
In a message delivered by Ron Paul in 2002, he commented, "When government gets involved, it can do things with a lot of good intentions, but it cannot do so without undermining out liberties." This message, supported by Libertarians everywhere, seems to be very much in concert with the current mood of Americans who fear the changes being wrought in Washington under President Obama.
While Ron Paul is no longer considered to be a Libertarian leader, he demonstrated an uncanny ability in last year's election to fund his campaign for president through the Internet. His avid supporters also demonstrated their dislike for politics as usual in Washington. If a ground-swell of support for smaller government results from future tax-revolt tea-parties continues, a viable Third Party movement could be forming.
Even those who discount the possibility of a serious threat to the Republicans and Democrats must admit, if there ever was a time when the Libertarian Party might grow, that time may be now. It would seem obvious that the future is bright for the Libertarian Party. Whether or not it is bright enough to matter will be the next big question.
American citizens demonstrated that they wanted change when Obama was elected. The next few years will tell us if the change desired has occurred to the voter's satisfaction. If they are unhappy with Obama's changes, Libertarians everywhere may remember this moment in time as having been a real turning point.