Introduction to Liberty for Massachusetts

From Libertarian Wiki

Michael Badnarik did somewhat worse in 2004 in MA than Harry Browne did in 2000. As a result, the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts has lost "Major Party" status. This is actually good for ballot access in MA: You can still run with a Libertarian line. You can still register Libertarian -- provided you make a conscious choice to do so -- but now any registered voter can sign a Libertarian candidate's ballot access petition. Furthermore, the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts State Committee as described by State Law ceased to exist, though libertarians are free to continue to organize themselves as a state committee.

Many libertarians across Massachusetts are upset (in the words of another former member of the State Committee, "totally disgusted") at the near-total failure of the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, over the past year and a half, to actively support its candidates or the Presidential candidate of the National Party. At the November 2004 State Committee meeting, given a choice between continuing the policies of the last half year or making a change, a majority of members of the state committee voted to continue with the policies of the past half year.

Many libertarians across Massachusetts agree that it is time for a change to something different: Liberty for Massachusetts. LfM is a new activist organization, already including libertarians from Boston to the Berkshires. It is not at this time a political party or party designation. Liberty for Massachusetts will not compete with the LPMA, because Liberty for Massachusetts will do things that the LPMA does not, as listed in its Draft Bylaws:

"Article II. The Mutual Aid Committee

Section A. Purpose. The purpose of the Mutual Aid Committee is to do work, and to help other libertarians to do work, that moves Massachusetts in libertarian directions. The Mutual Aid Committee will try to:

1. Recruit candidates and help libertarians to run for office;
2. Organize and support local and topical libertarian groups;
3. Perform non-electoral political acts, e.g., referenda, lobbying, and litigation;
4. Recruit members; help them to do politics;
5. Educate the public on libertarian political directions;
6. Create circumstances favorable to attaining the Organization's Objective, as by creating politically-effective legally-independent PACs, 527 organizations, and nonprofit or for-profit organizations;
7. Raise and spend money to do its work;
8. Provide an organizational structure focused on doing real politics; and
9. Perform needed internal operations.

While in some states Liberty For (name of our state) would be unnecessary, because there is already an effective state Libertarian Party, in other states the state organization is substantially defunct, engaged in personality or power disputes, or in control of party officers who support Republicans. In those states there will be an opportunity for establishing parallel Liberty For groups to cover part or all of their component states.

See also LPMA/LfM schism.