Liberal Party USA | |
---|---|
Chairman | Trisha Butler |
Founded | December 3, 2022 (as Association of Liberty State Parties) February 12, 2024 (as Liberal Party USA) |
Split from | Libertarian Party |
Membership (2024) | 31,343 |
Ideology | Classical liberalism |
Website | |
www | |
Liberal Party USA (formerly known as Association of Liberty State Parties) is a liberal political party in the United States that is affiliated with multiple state parties. In 2022, the state libertarian parties from Massachusetts and New Mexico disaffiliated from the national United States Libertarian Party and affiliated with one another. [1] [2] The Libertarian Party of Virginia also split, with some members leaving to form a new party, the Virginia Classical Liberal Party that affiliated with Liberal Party USA. [3] Additionally, the Liberal Party of Pennsylvania is associated with the organization. [4]
At the 2022 Libertarian National Convention members of the Mises Caucus, a paleolibertarian group affiliated to the beliefs of Ron Paul successfully staged a takeover of the Libertarian Party seeing over two thirds of delegates be members of the Caucus, and shift the party in a right-ward direction. [5] The caucus successfully got their members elected to sweep leadership positions, including; Angela McArdle as chairwomen and Joshua Smith as vice-chairman. [5] The 2022 convention, an off-election convention, had an unusually high number of delegates, with the last recorded number for an off-election convention, in 2006, being just 300 delegates, the 2022 convention saw over 1,000 delegates. [5] After the takeover the non-Mises affiliated members walked out, and criticized the group for lacking in libertarian orthodoxy, as well as due to several racist statements that the Caucus had made in the past. [5] More ardent members of the party started to splinter, with Pennsylvania, that state with the most elected Libertarian officeholders, seeing a hardliner Mises-affiliated member, Rob Cowburn being named chairman, resulting in dissidents splitting to form the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania. [5]
After the Mises dominated Libertarian party adopted the national divorce as part of the party's official core rallying cries more moderate members of the party began to mutiny with the state Libertarian affiliates in New Mexico and Virginia disaffiliation from the national party, and in the case of Virginia, dissolving itself. [1] The party in New Mexico also highlighted that according to LP bylaws, that there can never be more than two executive positions overturned in a single convention, making the Mises sweep illegal. [1] The Mises dominated party quickly changed the bylaws after their sweep to amend this. [1] After Mises affiliated libertarians in Virginia reformed their branch of the party quickly seeing backing from the national party, the dissidents then formed a splinter group, the Virginia Classical Liberal Party. [1] Additionally, Massachusetts' party, the Libertarian Association of Massachusetts, disaffiliated, but Mises hardliners formed the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, which the national party recognized as the official libertarian branch in the state. [1] Mises was also able to block the disaffiliation of the New Hampshire party. [1]
The Association of Liberty State Parties (ALSP) was officially formed on December 3, 2022 as a national party committee between the Massachusetts and New Mexico parties, and the Virginian splinters. [2] The party's first goal was to organize a national convention for the nomination of candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, and to expand into more states. [2]
After briefly flirting with creating their own national political party, the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania announced that they would be joining a renamed and rebranded ALSP, which would become the Liberal Party USA on February 12, 2024. [6] As part of their new affiliation to the Liberal Party USA, the Keystone Party also announced that they would be changing their name to the Liberal Party of Pennsylvania. [7] [8] In May 2024, party co-founder, and former leader of the Keystone Party, Kevin Gaughen, announced the addition of three state affiliates in Missouri, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as the adoption of the party's official bylaws. [9] [ non-primary source needed ]
The inaugural LPUSA National Convention is tentatively scheduled to be held from December 7th to December 8th in Houston, Texas in 2024. [10]
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at meetings in the home of David F. Nolan in Westminster, Colorado, and was officially formed on December 11, 1971, in Colorado Springs. The organizers of the party drew inspiration from the works and ideas of the prominent Austrian school economist Murray Rothbard. The founding of the party was prompted in part due to concerns about the Nixon administration, the Vietnam War, conscription, and the introduction of fiat money.
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party. It also operates a political action committee, the RLC-USA PAC.
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In American politics, a Libertarian Republican is a politician or Republican Party member who has advocated Libertarian policies while typically voting for and being involved with the Republican Party.
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The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) controls and manages the affairs, properties, and funds of the United States Libertarian Party. It is composed of the party officers, five at-large representatives elected every two years at the national convention, and a theoretical maximum of 10 regional representatives. The current chair is Angela McArdle, first elected at the 2022 Libertarian National Convention and re-elected at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention. Additional officers will be voted into office at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention in Washington DC between May 24 - 26.
The Libertarian Party of Oregon is a political party representing the national Libertarian Party in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is organized as a minor party for state election law, and recognized by the Oregon as a statewide nominating party.
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The Libertarian Association of Massachusetts (LAMA), previously known as the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, is a libertarian political party in Massachusetts. It was affiliated with the national Libertarian Party from its founding until 2022, and is now affiliated with Liberal Party USA.
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The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) is the Pennsylvania affiliate of the Libertarian Party. Since March 2023, it has been chaired by Greg Deal.
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The 1983 Libertarian National Convention was held from August 29 to September 4, 1983, at the Sheraton Hotel in New York, New York. The delegates at the convention, on behalf of the U.S. Libertarian Party, nominated David Bergland for the president and James A. Lewis for the vice president in the 1984 presidential election.
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Angela Elise McArdle is an American politician from Texas and California who was elected on May 28, 2022 as the 22nd and current chair of the Libertarian National Committee. She was also the Secretary of the Libertarian Party of California from April 2018 to April 2019, and was a board member of the Mises Caucus.
The Liberal Party of Pennsylvania is a third party in Pennsylvania founded as the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania in 2022, rebranding to the Liberal moniker in 2024, with a focus on political solutions through the electoral process and Classical Liberalism.
The 2024 Libertarian National Convention was a political event to select the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 election. It was held from May 24 to the early morning of May 27, 2024, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.
The Unified Libertarians of Massachusetts (ULM), also known as the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, is a libertarian political party in Massachusetts. It is affiliated with the national Libertarian Party. The party, which was formed in June 2022, claims the lineage and history of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, which continues to operate.