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Why Be Libertarian?
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Plumb-Line Libertarianism
( Walter Block )

How the Libertarian Party Rothbard Caucus Was Formed

In October, 2003. LP News ran an article by a member of the Platform Committee stating that "...Murray Rothbard opposed advocating a tax break because it means you approve of taxes; yet he recognized the wisdom of accepting one, if only as a step along the way." Longtime LP member Scott Olmsted was dismayed. Rothbard said no such thing. Olmsted wondered: is this what the LP has come to? How can the strategic insights of Rothbard have disappeared down the memory hole in less than two decades?

About the same time, a prominent but new member of the LP declared his candidacy for a federal office. Within his positions on his web site were proposals to tax legalized marijuana, as well as have government tightly control its distribution. These are steps backward, as Rothbard, whom Olmsted knew personally, explained long ago, and they do not belong in the positions of any Libertarian candidate.

In February, 2004 Olmsted decided to revive the Libertarian Party Radical Caucus, which was last active in 1984. But the initial response made it clear that the name of the Radical Caucus carries its own baggage, so in April, 2004 Olmsted decided to create an entirely new caucus. He chose to use Rothbard's name so that the caucus could focus on bringing attention to Rothbard's works on strategy and issues while promoting a politically radical and strategically centrist point of view within the Party.