The 2008 Libertarian National Convention was held from May 22 to May 26, 2008 at the

Sheraton Hotel Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Cen ...

(formerly the

Adam's Mark Hotel Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts was a chain of upscale hotels in the United States. The company was headquartered in the HBE Corporation offices in Creve Coeur, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis.Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The delegates at the convention, on behalf of the

U.S. Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, '' laissez-faire'' capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 a ...

, nominated

Bob Barr Robert Laurence Barr Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is an American attorney and politician. He served as a federal prosecutor and as a Congressman. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attai ...

for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and Wayne Allyn Root for

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

in the 2008 presidential election. The convention was televised nationally on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

. Libertarians hold a

national convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nation ...

every two years to vote on party bylaws, platform and resolutions and elect national party officers and a judicial committee. Every four years it nominates presidential and vice presidential candidates. The theme of this convention was ''A Better Choice for America''.LibertyWillWin.com
(cited 12 February 2016). Two non-binding primaries preceded the convention.

Platform

In 2006 the self-styled Libertarian Party "reformers" at the National Convention in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

took out 46 platform planks detailing party positions, leaving just fifteen. In 2008 more "radical" libertarians attempted to restore that platform. They did not succeed, but they narrowly prevented the reformers from softening the language of the

non-aggression principle The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...

in the party's “Statement of Principles”. The revised platform did replace the plank on

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

, deleted in 2006, with a definition of

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

drawn from the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

: "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of individual liberty, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty."

Presidential candidates

Voting for presidential nomination

First ballot

After the first round, six of the eight candidates running moved on to the second round of voting. Mike Jingozian and Christine Smith were both eliminated due to their small percentage of votes. Jingozian endorsed former Senator Mike Gravel, and Smith presented a speech attacking Bob Barr after the results were announced.

Second ballot

After the second round, five of the six candidates running moved on to the third ballot. Steve Kubby, after receiving only 5% of the total vote, dropped out of the race and endorsed Dr. Mary Ruwart.

Third ballot

After the third round of voting, four of the five remaining candidates moved on to the fourth ballot. Dr. George Phillies was eliminated after receiving approximately 5% of the vote.

Fourth ballot

After the fourth vote, three of the four candidates went on to the fifth round of voting. Fmr. Sen. Mike Gravel was eliminated after not getting a sufficient number of votes, and subsequently announced that his political career was over.

Fifth ballot

After the fifth ballot, the final two of three candidates continued on to the sixth ballot. Wayne Allyn Root was therefore eliminated, and after the vote, he made a speech endorsing Barr and stating that he would like to be Barr's candidate for vice-president. Barr and Root then stated that they would run together.

Sixth ballot

With only Barr and Ruwart remaining on the ballot, Barr received 324 votes to Ruwart's 276 and 26

NOTA Nota Sports and Racing Cars is an automobile manufacturer in Australia. The company was founded by Guy Buckingham in 1952. He was an aircraft engineer and used his expertise to build triangulated spaceframed sportscars. Possibly Australia's ...

. Barr thus won the nomination with 51.8% of the final vote. Ruwart made a concession speech following the announcement of the results with her campaign staff on the stage.

Voting for vice presidential nomination

A separate vote was held for the vice presidential nomination. Presidential nominee Barr endorsed Root, while Presidential runner-up Ruwart endorsed Kubby.

First ballot

After the first ballot, three of the six active candidates running moved on to the second ballot.

Second ballot

After the second ballot, Wayne Allyn Root was nominated as the vice presidential candidate, prevailing by a difference of 30 votes over Steve Kubby, and 279 votes over Daniel Williams.

References

External links

*
''LP News''
(January 2007) * *
Freedom Freaks
published by ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'' {{Authority control Libertarian Party (United States) National Conventions 2008 United States presidential election Libertarian National Convention 2000s in Denver Political conventions in Colorado 2008 conferences May 2008 events in the United States

Platform

Presidential candidates

Voting for presidential nomination

First ballot

Second ballot

Third ballot

Fourth ballot

Fifth ballot

Sixth ballot

Voting for vice presidential nomination

First ballot

Second ballot

See also

References

External links