# What political party should I join?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-political-party-should-i-join/177927>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 28, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-political-party-should-i-join/177927 "2003-05-28T02:31:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Blueapple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Blueapple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blueapple)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-political-party-should-i-join/177927/21 "2003-05-28T22:07:59Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by puddleglum \*  
> \*\*If your number one issue is pot legalization vote Libertarian otherwise join the Republican party. You will be able to choose candidates who actually have a shot at getting elected. If there are things about the party you don’t like you can work from within to change it. \*\*

Please think beofre speaking…  
[Libertarians currently hold 586 public offices.](http://www.lp.org/organization/officials.php)

Just for clarification, I think that when people here say ‘stay independent’ or ‘register independent’, they are NOT referring to the Independent Party, Independence Party, Independent Citizens’ Movement Party, Independent Coalition Party, Independent Democrats or the Independent National Committee, but rather having no political party affiliation.

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**Author:** ![Siegfried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Siegfried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siegfried)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-political-party-should-i-join/177927/22 "2003-05-28T22:36:21Z")

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Thanks to a helpful Doper who’s name I can’t remember, I found [Politics1](http://www.politics1.com). Actually, let me correct that: he/she found it and pointed it out in a thread. There’s summary information on a lot of third parties as well as the two big ones. Links are aplenty. Thanks to whoever originally posted it.

My roommate is a Libertarian, and we’ve had a few political discussions. From what I gather, the Libertarian Party stands for having the minimum amount of laws and government involvement while maximizing individual freedoms. For example and from what I’ve gleaned from my roommate, the Libertarian Party would like to see the construction and maintenance of the federal highway systems turned over to private companies (smaller government). At the same time, the Libertarian Party is in support of drug legalization and gay rights. It’s actually a fascinating mix of liberal and conservative ideals, from what I understand. If I’m incorrect on anything in this paragraph, I’ll welcome a correction (since I’ve learned all this from my roommate).

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