| Libertarian Party of Ohio |
| Limited Government & Taxation Fiscal Responsibility |
| Champion of Small Business Personal Choice AND Responsibility |
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Celebrating 35 years of fighting for YOUR freedoms!
The 4th largest state affiliate of the Libertarian Party!
The rEVOLution continues in Ohio
Coming off of an exciting election season that saw the Libertarian Party presidential candidate increase votes earned nationally by 23% and here in Ohio by 27%, it would be easy to congratulate ourselves on getting our message of freedom out to thousands of new people. Here at LPO HQ, we have received several new memberships and inquiries each day, some of whom got immediately to work on local organizing for the Barr campaign, others who are taking on the more long-term task of building Libertarian Party affiliates at the county level where they live.
Our Libertarian candidates on the ballot, with only two months to campaign, still achieved results between 2 and 8 percent, and one of our endorsed independent candidates gained 18% of the vote in a three-way Congressional race! These are amazing stories that tell the power of our message, even without sufficient time or resources to reach every voter in Ohio. In the coming days, our candidates will be sharing their experiences with each other and with our leadership to help determine what works best, what didn't work, and to develop strategies that our candidates can use in the future.
We are also amazed at the groundswell of support for Barack Obama, demonstrated by the activists for the Democratic Party. The sheer incompetence of the Bush administration and the economic disasters that resulted do not sufficiently explain these overwhelming vote totals, just as the level of support for Bush in 2004 could not be fully attributed to the campaign of fear waged by the Republican campaign team in that election. What these candidates had that we do not is a full, deep organization dedicated to getting out their voters, persuading those on the fence, and in pushing out their message constantly. This is the kind of organizational development that the Libertarian Party needs to develop in order to move forward successfully.
The Libertarian Party of Ohio is proud to announce that effective immediately, John Stewart will be heading up our field development team and will be working to develop just such an organization. John was the state coordinator for the Barr campaign, and has gotten an early start on this new task. We will grow our organization in all 88 counties in Ohio, from Adams to Wyandot. If you are interested in helping to develop a local libertarian organization, please contact John or look for your county organization or CDG under the "Counties" button to the left.
We also learned one lesson very quickly from the 2008 election. Time matters. Simply put, our candidates were only officially on the ballot for two months before the election, while some of their opponents started campaigning in January 2007, and all of their opponents were on the ballot by March 2008. Our high-level strategy to deal with this is two-fold. First, we need ballot access for the 2009-10 cycle. You can help with ballot access by contributing to our ballot access fund or by circulating a ballot access petition (coming soon).
The second part of this is where you, the member, can take the most direct and active role. People get excited and involved when there is something active going on. Candidates and their campaigns bring people in, help them learn more about the Libertarian stance on issues, and help us get our message out to more and more people. We need candidates interested in running at all levels. While some of the races cannot legally start until January 2009, other candidates could get started today. If you are interested in running for local, state, or federal office in 2009 or 2010, please contact the chair of our candidates and campaigns committee, Paul Conroy.
Finally, we need funding. When we had ballot access in 2000, our candidates were supported by media advertising and direct financial assistance. Our candidates this year had to do everything on their own because we didn't have enough money to provide adequate support. Please START A MONTHLY PLEDGE today OR make a ONE TIME CONTRIBUTION to help fund our growth around Ohio and to allow us to properly promote and assist candidates for local offices in 2009 and for state and federal offices in 2010. When we get our message to the voters, they listen! When our candidates rise in polls, they get more free media and more attention, which helps all the other Libertarians on the ballot with them and around the state. If you have any questions about starting a monthly contribution, please contact LPO Treasurer Micahel Johnston or Finance Director Chris Kalla.
With your help, the Libertarian Party of Ohio will take our 2008 successes and grow even more in 2009 and 2010.
If you're not a member of the LPO, you can become a member of the Libertarian Party of Ohio by signing our pledge affirming that you do not believe in the initiation of force.
Bob Barr testifies to Congress
View this video and more at the Bob Barr Official YouTube(tm) Channel.
2009 LPO Conference site and date announced
The Libertarian Party of Ohio will be holding its' first ever conference the first weekend of May 2009! The conference will be held the first weekend of May 2009 at Mohican State Park and Conference Resort in the Richland/Ashland County area of north central Ohio.
Additional details and registration will be available in the fall. We are currently planning on having various seminars and speakers to train and energize you to help take back your local governments around the state in the 2009 general election and to plan on even greater success in the 2010 elections. We hope that you'll take the time now to set aside the date and plan on joining us for an exciting and fun weeking of learning, strategizing, and getting to know your fellow Libertarians!
How to contact the Libertarian Party of Ohio
Please send all mail and inquiries to the following address:
| Libertarian Party of Ohio |
| 2586 Tiller Lane, Suite 2K |
| Columbus, OH 43231-2265 |
| 1-877-VOTE-LPO (1-877-868-3576) | Send Email |
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