JustaNHBoy,
I see where you’re coming from, but the solution you suggest isn’t viable. We can’t start by winning a few House and Senate seats. Most of them are gerrymandered beyond competitiveness. In the handful where a real race is possible, many people will make the same sort of argument you did twelve years ago. Finally, even if we do manage to elect a few people to the House, the undemocratic system of committee membership and seniority that is currently in place would render them almost completely powerless. Doing that would just give the Republicans and Democrats a chance to further label us a joke.
So what, in your opinion, should be done? I’m open to alternative ways to build up the party toward national viability, but I think any effective strategy must include running a strong national campaign. And even if we wind up with the greater of two evils in the Oval Office for a few years, I think in the long run a viable libertarian alternative is worth that price. The current government framework–which unfortunately bears only superficial resemblance to that mandated by the Constitution–is so arrogant and corrupt that less radical means of repair are inadequate to the task. Look how far we’ve come down the road to socialism! This government, which cannot even implement a sane immigration policy, and which routinely provides C-Span with some of the most inane and childish policy debates ever recorded, is poised to take over medical care! It’s not an exaggeration to say that lives will be at risk if we don’t get our government under control before it’s too late.
