The Libertarian Reform Caucus is a coalition of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Libertarians

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

 operating as an internal caucus of the Libertarian party

Libertarian Party (United States)

The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...

. Their aim is to gear the party toward winning elections

Pragmatism

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...

 in the near term, a goal they believe to be incompatible with preserving a rigid doctrinal purity

Dogma

Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...

. The caucus

Caucus

A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...

 asserts that "the biggest factor holding the Libertarian Party back is a platform that is excessively radical and does not set priorities."

Statement of Purpose

Members of the Libertarian Reform Caucus are those who agree with the following Statement of Purpose:

"We, the members of the Libertarian Reform Caucus believe that America needs a real libertarian party, a party that promotes liberty while being conscious of political reality, a party designed to win elections and begin rolling back excess government now."

In particular, the party needs, according to the LRC:

• "A platform that proposes a realistic vision for the next few years, as opposed to an idealistic vision of a libertarian future. The public expects a party platform to show what a party's candidates intend to do during the next term of office. If the party wants a long term vision statement, it should be in a separate document labeled as such."

• "A platform that unites libertarians rather than dividing them. Where libertarians disagree, the platform should be silent. The party should be a tool for all libertarians."

• "A platform based on the realization that there are other important values in addition to the non-initiation of force. Freedom is extremely valuable, but it is not the only value."

Mission

"It is time to reform the Libertarian Party, to make the platform moderate enough so that victory is possible."

History

The Libertarian Reform Caucus was founded in early 2005 by members of the Libertarian Party of Buncombe County, NC. As of July, 2006, it claimed more than 700 caucus members from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, about half of whom were current Libertarian Party members, with most of the others considering joining (or returning to) the LP based on the caucus's prospective success.

At the Libertarian Party's 2006 national convention

Libertarian National Convention

The Libertarian National Convention is held every two years by the United States Libertarian Party to choose members of the Libertarian National Committee, and to conduct other party business...

 in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, delegates chose (in a "retain or delete" vote process) to eliminate about three quarters of the specific planks in the party's platform. While the LRC did not claim a majority of delegates as caucus members, the consensus in both the LRC and the LP generally seems to be that the LRC's activism and convention presence were largely responsible for that outcome. While claiming "victory," LRC leaders also acknowledged that they had not been able to muster the votes to replace many of the deleted planks with their preferred alternatives, or to accomplish their goal of eliminating the party's membership "pledge".

Criticism

Some libertarians feel that the efforts of the Libertarian Reform Caucus "water down" the ideals of the Libertarian Party by removing those "planks" that make the party most distinctive. It could be argued that by abrogating philosophical consistency and adherence to libertarian ideals

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

, the party no longer can truly be considered libertarian, save in name.