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Written by: William F Sihr

Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the “Declaration of Independence” wrote that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This core philosophy, that would be used as both a rallying cry for our struggle against the British monarchy, as well as the inspiration for our Constitution literally says that “all men are created equal.” This beautiful and inspiring statement is not what the Founding Fathers meant. Women were not universally granted voting rights in the United States until 1920, and people of color, whether or not legally freed from their servitude, were not seen as equals.  Even ‘whiteness’ is an oversimplification, as the Founders did not see all Europeans as equally ‘white’. A harsh truth that immigrants from Eastern Europe, Italy and Ireland had to contend with when they came to our shores. 

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Written by: William F Sihr

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is a name that lives in infamy within libertarian circles. With a Presidency spanning 3 terms, a World War and the record for the greatest number of Executive Orders ever issued, there is perhaps no other President that embodies such an antithesis to what we hold dear. Some go so far as to call him the President who brought us socialism, and you wouldn’t necessarily be mistaken.  With his New Deal FDR instituted many socialist policies and greatly expanded the role of the State. However, if you ask a socialist about FDR, especially those around in the 30s and 40s they often spoke very ill of him. They argued that he cherry-picked the key positives in their plan in order to bolster his own new-liberal agenda (and yes, there is a difference between neo-liberal and socialism) without making the necessary systemic changes to actually “better” America. Or, in other words, he implemented surface level policies just enough to empower himself and his fellows, without actually changing how things really worked in America. From Social Security, the WPA and ending the Gold Standard FDR was able to secure the loyalty of disenfranchised Americans who were desperate for change and the wealthy financial elites who were looking for protection, all the while pulling the rug out from under American socialist efforts. Even today, our nation’s ideology and institutions seem almost stitched together with FRD’s New Deal, despite them being at odds and causing many issues, be they budgetary, ideologically or legally. Yet they remain in effect because they were reimagined as the “American Ideal”. En masse, most Americans experience no cognitive dissonance when they say “socialism is bad” while standing in line for a check from Uncle Sam.

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Written by: Lana Leguia

New Jersey Libertarian Party members,

I am excited at the prospects for our candidates this year. Reflecting on my performance in 2024, I can confidently say that I did the best I could with the limited resources I had and the internal and external barriers I had to break through. I can also confidently say that given everything I have learned, the connections I have made and the experience I gained - there is plenty I could have done better. I am far from perfect. It is no secret that my priorities as a board member have always been what is best for the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s integrity and what is best for our candidates. Everything I have done up to this point and everything I plan to do in the future will be to elevate the NJLP and its candidates.

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Written by: Steve Friedlander

The Libertarian Party needs to broaden its appeal in order to attract a wider spectrum of voters. It can do this by embracing classical liberal principles that are an integral part of America’s tradition. Its messaging should convey the idea that voting Libertarian is a vote for these time-honored principles. Even though most people may not be familiar with the term, classical liberal principles are quintessentially American and should appeal to a broad segment of the population.

1. Classical liberalism is a tradition that grew out of the Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries and was articulated by thinkers like John Locke and Adam Smith among others. Their ideas of individual freedom, limited government, free trade, and democracy were embraced by America’s founding fathers and embodied in the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.  Modern day libertarians should be “squarely in the great classical liberal tradition that built the United States and bestowed on us the American heritage of individual liberty, a peaceful foreign policy, minimal government, and a free-market economy.”[1] 

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