The Connecticut Libertarian Party lost a member today. My wife changed her registration from Libertarian to Independent. I fully support her decision.
This decision is in response to recent statements from the CT LP Twitter account that oppose women’s reproductive rights. On December 1, the CT LP retweeted these three tweets:
On December 2, the CT LP retweeted:
Then on December 3, the CT LP directly tweeted, in reference to a tweet about a potential accidental pregnancy:
These official state party communications clearly convey an anti-choice position. They are in direct conflict with the Libertarian Party National Platform:
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.
Section 1.5, Libertarian National Platform
This position is emphasized in other national party communications like the article “Abortion is a matter for individual conscience, not public decree” (https://www.lp.org/libertarians-abortion-is-a-matter-for-individual-conscience-not-public-decree/).
I called on Dan Reale, the Chairman of the Connecticut Libertarian Party, to retract the tweets and post one that makes it clear that the CT LP is aligned with the national platform. After a series of email exchanges, he made the wildly disingenuous claim that these messages from the official Twitter account were not anti-choice and he refused to do anything other than potentially raise the issue at the next state committee meeting.
That was the last straw for my wife. She refuses to support any party that does not recognize women’s reproductive rights. She’s absolutely right. If the state LP officials don’t start demonstrating honesty, principles, and leadership, I’ll join her.