(Originally appeared in the Telluride Daily Planet on 03/02/2005)
No Public Money for Conventions
Dear Editor,
Two political parties in this country receive billions of non-voluntary dollars from taxpayers to promote themselves and their ideas. Most citizens feel like they are being stolen from when their earned money that they could use to support their own family's pursuits and interests is used to promote political agendas and politician's "special-interests."
The Democrat and Republican parties host quadrennial political conventions, which no longer serve their original purpose, but rather are just large advertisements. These conventions represent just a small portion of the funding these two political parties and their candidates receive from us. Last year, $40 million for the Republican convention in New York and almost $50 million for the Democrat convention in Boston were taken from American taxpayers. These figures do not include the tremendous costs that citizens of the host cities paid to provide security, police protection and transportation services.
The Libertarian Party, the party of principle, did not accept public funds for its national convention, which was actually a party-business convention, in Atlanta last year, nor did any libertarian candidates for office. To do so would be against our principles.
The San Miguel County Libertarian Party supports bill H.R. 45, Political Convention Reform Act of 2005, being introduced to the House of Representatives. This bill would "amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prohibit the use of public funds for political party conventions."
Please contact your representatives and encourage them to support H.R. 45 and start weaning these two political parties off their subsidies. We are sure they do not need it and surer we are not responsible for supplying it. Perhaps, we can start moving away from the political duopoly that prior legislations helped create in this country and have some real and honest dialogue and hopefully a less adverserial political atmosphere.
Sincerely,
The San Miguel County Libertarian Party