Open Letter to Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party

Dear Sirs,

Regarding Bob Barr's decision to not attend Ron Paul's press conference; I am afraid the damage is done, and the alienation may be irreversible. I fear this, at worst; bruise-to-a-reputation will appear in the eyes of many as a festering, oozing, wound to an already fragile Barr reputation. Though to some degree I understand and sympathize with the reasoning; I feel it will ultimately serve as a death knell to the LP's chances this election cycle.

The LP already functions in a reputation and credibility deficit; and this election, the schisms in our party are far more volatile than in the past. To estrange the party from a libertarian icon was a dangerous (possibly foolish) thing, even if unintentional. Yes, we as a party want Libertarian candidates and Bob Barr to have as many votes as possible in the general election. But freedom-of-choice is one of the LP's main principles. Not appearing with the other "third parties" and basically stating 'Bob Barr wants all the votes' ostracizes our party from Paul supporters and the other third party supporters (and undecided). Is it the LP's goal to merely create a three party system, as opposed to the two-party dictatorship we already have? I would hope not! The more competition we have, the more our party will be challenged to continually improve and lead the way for liberty; not grow stagnant of freedom and gluttonous for power as the two big parties have.

Something needs to be done to repair this damage and done quickly before it ruins our chances forever—the cause of liberty will not survive if its proponents are divided. Whining about being mistreated isn't the way to do it either. Sucking it up and "rubbing elbows" with the right people is not compromising, it is smart politics. Even if Ron Paul’s underlying reason for the conference was egotistical and self-serving (which I do not believe it was), it still promoted liberty and choice—and that is what the Libertarian Party is all about.

Those are my thoughts. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Matthew Evans