Published: June 17, 2007 06:11 pm         

W.Va. Libertarian party on ‘life support’

No one has sung any eulogies yet, because the Libertarian Party in West Virginia hasn’t quite exhaled its final gasp of air.

For all practical purposes, however, the Libertarians, unable to maintain ballot status, are struggling to survive.

“We’re not dead yet,” media coordinator Richard Kerr of Morgantown said.

“But we’re trying to be resuscitated. We’re on life support.”

Three years ago, the party launched a statewide petition drive, needing about 13,000 signatures of registered voters to maintain ballot status. That is based on 2 percent of the turnout in the previous gubernatorial election.

“We had like 20,000 signatures, but they invalidated so many that we didn’t have the required amount,” Kerr says.

“We’ve been pretty disheartened since then.”

In Flatwoods last month, the party faithful gathered in hopes of stirring up interest in a party that once fielded candidates for all three congressional seats in West Virginia. In fact, those three combined attracted more votes than the lone Republican candidate in the only district the GOP challenged that year.

“We’re still hopeful that philosophically people are mindful of the need for the Libertarian view out there,” Kerr said.

“We hope to get organized enough to field candidates in 2008. But there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in West Virginia. It’s a very difficult state to get ballot status.”

Another third-party hopeful — Butch Paugh — has filed papers to run for governor on the Constitution Party ticket, but, like anyone else beyond the Democratic and Republican confines, he likewise must meet the required signature of voters to secure a place on the ballot.

In 2004, the Libertarians sought to run vice chairman Simon McClure for governor.

“You achieve party status by getting 1 percent or more of the votes cast for governor,” Kerr noted. “In West Virginia, the governor’s race is the key. For any candidate to run, he must do a petition drive, unless the party has party status. If you meet that hurdle, then you have ballot status for the next four years for all races throughout the state.

“Republicans and Democrats do not really want Libertarians in their races. They don’t want anybody else to run. If you look at the whole range of polices, state and national, who actually sticks up for the Constitution and says no to federal intervention? Who actually speaks for limited government and letting people do their own thing as long as they don’t harm anybody?”

Echoing a label that was pasted on them decades ago by conservative malcontents within their own ranks, Kerr sees the Republicans as carryovers from the days of “me-tooism” in their relationship to Democrats.

“Republicans just want to be a little less socialistic than the Democrats,” he said, adding voters have little choice in modern politics.

As proof, Kerr said he approached Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., after she defeated him and asked which federal programs she would work to eliminate, since she had voiced opposition to government growth, and she replied, “None in my district.”

And back when Bill Clinton was president, he said, the Republican-controlled Congress actually spent more than the Democrats.

“It’s possible,” he said when asked if his party could regain its place on the ballot.

“It takes a lot of work. The national party has committed to some funding. We do need a candidate to devote time and work. It’s an uphill struggle. It’s that way around the country.”

Putting together a successful petition drive can run upwards of $40,000.

“How many Libertarians are there in West Virginia?” he repeated the question.

“It’s hard to say. We had in our best years, about 1998 or 2000, upwards of 100,000 voters for various candidates. But as for actual members paying dues year after year, fewer than 100 members. We used to have several hundred and that approached 1,000 at our peak. Now, not having candidates to run, I’m sure that number has diminished.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com