Do you believe less government is better? That people’s personal lives should not be meddled with—whether that means the person you choose to marry or the drugs you choose to take? Would you support the privatization of schools, prisons and Social Security, and an end to taxpayer-funded social safety nets?
If so, you may hold Libertarian beliefs, according to this quiz on the newly-revamped California Libertarian website. The site is part of a wider strategy state Libertarians are working on, hoping to engage voters and reintroduce them to the nearly 50-year-old political party.
“The Libertarian website is something we have really worked hard on this year,” said Honor “Mimi” Robson, a Long Beach resident and the state Libertarian Party’s secretary. “We tried to have a much more modern and easily-navigable website. People generally come to see what you’re about and if they see something they like they are going to dig further.”
But a new website isn’t enough to recruit new members, says Robson, who hopes to attract those in political limbo to the Libertarian Party of California’s annual convention—which she is helping organize—scheduled at the Long Beach Marriott this weekend.
“I think there are a lot of people out there that are looking for a political home and they are not finding it with the Democrats and Republicans,” said Robson. “Those are the people I want to let know that we exist and what we stand for, and they may just find their political home with us.”
Robson herself was a bit of a political nomad. Having a family history of Chicago Democrats but once a Republican herself, the Santa Monica-raised current Long Beach resident said she was fed up with the options before her.
“I’ve always been interested in the Constitution, economics, and history,” she said. “I found the Libertarian Party the closest to my belief system for a free market and personal individual freedom.”
It wasn’t until 2016 when Robson really got involved with the party and when she ran for state Senate. Today she is running under the Libertarian ticket for California’s 70th State Assembly District, currently represented by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell.
According to Robson, membership is growing. At the 2017 convention, Libertarians saw a lot of new, diverse and young members sign up with the party and become involved. While Democrat and Republican remain the top two party affiliation choices, Robson said the next popular choice is “no party preference.”
“Our party has always been for social tolerance, for individual liberty, and also physical responsibilities of the government, making the government smaller,” Robson said. “We do see the regulations that hurt businesses. I think that’s what’s resonating with people because they’re realizing there’s finally an option to those two parties.”
The California Libertarian Convention is scheduled to take place April 27-29 and will feature speakers like Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark as well as candidates running for various political offices.
Tickets range from $15 for students to $350 for the whole weekend.
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The Long Beach Marriott is located at 4700 Airport Plaza Drive.