Last week, I wrote a piece over at Peach Pundit in which I blasted the leadership of the Libertarian Party of Georgia for abandoning the party’s nominee for president, Chase Oliver. As I’ve written before in this space, the Mises Caucus takeover of the Libertarian Party has harmed the libertarian brand by playing in the culture wars and promoting conspiracy theories while shilling for authoritarians at home and abroad. Elements of the party actively promote racism and xenophobia. It’s frustrating, and I want no part of a party that does these things. Neither should you.
The post did get a thoughtful response from a guy named
, who writes on this platform. I don’t know much about Sergio other than he serves on the policy committee of the Libertarian Party of Georgia. His thoughtful response deserves a response of its own from me. I will post his comments in italics and put my thoughts below each point.Sergio: “Pye first talks about the dangerous roots that the Mises Caucus has to some neo-Confederate authors and the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. These issues have been hammered time and time again, but I don’t personally find that this is still an issue for some rank-and-file Mises Caucus members. Having worked with many members of the Mises Caucus, I really cannot find a racism problem that would make it impossible for me, a racial minority, to work alongside them.”
I’m really glad that Sergio hasn’t experienced racism in his interactions with Mises Caucus members. Truly. That said, there are plenty of examples of racism and xenophobia from individuals who are members of the Mises Caucus or align with them. It doesn’t begin or end with the neo-Confederate sympathies of the Mises Institute or the disgusting tweets of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. I’ll also note that the Libertarian Party used to have a strong admonition of racism in its platform. That language has been removed.
Sergio: “Pye currently works at the Due Process Institute, a non-profit legislative advocacy group centered around due process and fairness in the criminal justice system. He also writes for blogs following Congress on their important votes. During his stint in the Libertarian Party of Georgia, he was the policy director here and served on the Executive Committee. You could say that he’s very much a policy-oriented guy, who is disinterested in the philosophical in-fighting that this party has bred.”
I gave up on party politics several years ago. Even when I rejoined the Libertarian Party in the aftermath of January 6, 2021, it wasn’t out of conviction. I was pissed off. When I was actively involved in the Libertarian Party (defined by attendance at national conventions), the factions were the pragmatists and radicals. I was mostly a pragmatist, but I had friends who were radicals. The floor debates would occasionally get heated, but there were few from which people walked away bitter.
At this stage of my personal and professional life, all I care about is policy. Obviously, the political atmosphere dictates what I can and can’t get passed. This is a problem that affects every single lobbyist in DC, though. However, the hyperpartisan political atmosphere, to which the Libertarian Party activity contributes now that it has fully aligned itself with the political right, makes it much harder.
Sergio: “Members of the Libertarian Party of Georgia have worked with Sen. Colton Moore (R-Dalton) to introduce Defend the Guard legislation here in Georgia, something that we could not achieve on our own. Alliances like this are extremely helpful when it comes to bringing liberty to our lifetime. But our sacrifice in that alliance between us and Senator Moore was little but came with huge benefit.”
I really don’t want to downplay the accomplishment of getting a bill introduced. It’s hard work. I just got a bill introduced in the Senate that took more than a year from the initial pitch to introduction. Colton Moore, who has been accused of not representing his constituents, is just not a serious legislator. Because he’s shown his colors by turning his tenure into a grift, Moore has alienated his colleagues in the Georgia Senate, which is why he was kicked out of the caucus. He was later banned from entering the Georgia House chamber because of his horrible comments about the late Speaker David Ralston. Any legislation that Moore carries is dead on arrival, particularly if it makes its way over to the House.
Sergio: “If there is going to be a future for the Libertarian Party of Georgia, it is going to need people like Jason Pye who are interested in making our own policy strides. This doesn’t even require an expulsion of the Mises Caucus, I would never advocate that.”
I would strongly encourage people who are like me and thinking of joining the Libertarian Party not to do so because of what has transpired in the party over the past couple of years, from the Mises Caucus takeover to the active shilling for Putin to the racism and xenophobia to abandoning Chase Oliver. I like being politically homeless. Personally, I’m enjoying my time as an independent voter. Plus, I’ve lived in Virginia since February 2022. (My role at Peach Pundit is the “DC correspondent.”) I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—even if I was interested in rejoining the Libertarian Party, I wouldn’t do it until, at the very least, the Mises Caucus was out of leadership at both the national and state levels. Even then, it will take years for the Libertarian Party to rebuild its standing with me, if it ever does, because of the damage it has caused to the libertarian philosophy, which is far more important than the party that has sullied libertarianism.
Sergio: “The alliance with Senator Moore was organized by an ardent member of the Georgia Mises Caucus. A unified libertarian movement requires a powerful wing of members like this — whether you’re Mises Caucus or not.”
Respectfully, the “ardent member of the Georgia Mises Caucus” couldn’t find someone better than a guy who no one under the Gold Dome takes seriously? I don’t know anything about the bill mentioned, but part of working on policy issues is identifying not just who will carry a bill, but the right member with the right relationships. Ideally, that member would also prioritize the bill and advocate for a hearing, work to get it through Rules, and lead the discussion on the floor. Moore can introduce a bill, but that’s as far as he can take it.
When I was the legislative director of the state party—some 12 to 15 years ago (I can’t really remember, but I know I stopped doing it in 2012)—we killed a few bills before they reached the floor by leverage relationships in Rules. We helped get language change in a couple of bills to keep us from opposing it. I took days of personal vacation time to go to the Capitol to spend time meeting legislators under the Gold Dome. It helped that I had a mouthpiece through Peach Pundit since this was in its heyday.
Still, the hard work of citizen lobbying is essential because you’re meeting lawmakers and developing relationships. That matters just as much as the policy side of the equation. That’s where you make the difference. It has to be someone likeable, who’s good with people, and who can talk about policy issues on at least a surface level. Just know a little about a lot, get some business cards, and develop talking points about your issues.