Libertarians Convene to Select Presidential Ticket

ANAHEIM — More than 1,000 delegates gathered here Saturday for the Libertarian Party’s eighth presidential convention, hoping to do what no other third party has ever done: get on the ballot in all 50 states for the third time in a row.

The delegates will nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates today. The leading contender for the top spot is Harry Browne, the party’s candidate in 1996.

Party officials say this convention is a breakthrough. They have come to a state they consider a Libertarian stronghold, with a new look and mission, with savvy Web sites that cater more to the mainstream voter and a carefully worded platform that no longer seems so far-fetched.

To be sure, there are those within the party offering more controversial rhetoric--from privatizing the military to doing away with income tax. One delegate wore a T-shirt that read: “I’m a Libertarian, and I’m Crazy.”

But beyond that, the party is moving toward mainstream politics, experts said. Or, perhaps, mainstream politics is moving toward the party.

“You could say [the Libertarians] are going mainstream, and you would be right, but if you look at the issues, the Republicans and the Democrats are moving toward the Libertarians, too,” said Phillip L. Gianos, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton.

Party officials say the numbers show the Libertarian Party’s growing popularity. This convention has attracted about twice as many delegates as the last convention in Washington.

“We are trying to be more accessible to the mainstream voter,” said George Getz, a party spokesman. “We feel mainstream politicians are adopting some ideas. Of course that makes us more popular.”

Several issues dear to the Libertarians are receiving serious discussion. A decade and a half ago, when the party proposed privatizing Social Security, the political establishment rejected the concept. This year, presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore both have suggested versions of the idea.

Libertarians want to do away with public schools. Though neither the Republicans nor Democrats have gone that far, the issue of school vouchers has entered the mainstream debate.

“We’re not seeing things exactly the same [as the other parties],” said Scott A. Wilson of Concord, Calif., who edits the party’s newsletter. “But we’re closer when we see school vouchers, when we see magnet schools, charter schools.”

Libertarians are all over the map when it comes to ideology. Liberals like some of their ideas. So do conservatives. Seven states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing the medical use of marijuana, and Libertarians see that as an indicator that their ideology is appealing to many in mainstream politics.

The big talk around the convention was the Internet. Many see it as their ultimate unfettered medium, a societal free-for-all. Libertarians and experts say the 2000 election will be the first national ballot in which the Internet will be more than just a novelty. The influx of the Internet into popular culture, Libertarians say, has made more people more aware of privacy issues and individual rights, the very fundamentals of their party.

Gail Lightfoot, the party’s candidate for U.S. Senate representing California, said the Libertarian’s attraction is the blending of ideas.