Dear
friend of liberty:
Whatever your thoughts on the recent elections, one thing is crystal
clear--
We need more libertarians.
More specifically, we need millions more active, effective, knowledgeable,
and committed libertarians.
Libertarians who are passionate about liberty -- and who
know how to convince others to join our movement for freedom. Libertarians
who will help build a powerful movement that can transform our libertarian
vision into a practical reality.
The Advocates for Self-Government is working hard every day, around
the clock, to make this happen -- and we're SUCCEEDING.
How? Please give me a few minutes, and I'll tell you. I'll also
show you exactly how you can help us introduce millions MORE people
to libertarian ideas -- and help make the next generation of Americans
the MOST libertarian generation ever.
This isn't just some pie-in-the-sky promise. The
Advocates is accomplishing some truly remarkable things for liberty.
I'm excited by what we've achieved this past year -- and I'm optimistic
that we're seeing the start of a truly revolutionary era of new
acceptance for libertarian ideas.
I think you will be excited, too.
Astounding Quiz Results
...
I
believe the most effective libertarian outreach tool ever created
is our World's Smallest Political Quiz. (In a minute, I'll tell
you a bit more about why I believe that.)
This year we have had some incredible results with the
Quiz.
* Since January
1, 2006, the online Quiz has been taken a mind-boggling 3.3
million times.
I'll
repeat that number because it's almost unbelievable: 3.3 million!
Which means...
Not only did we shatter every previous record, but -- astonishingly
-- in less than one year, we almost DOUBLED the number of people
who have taken the Quiz since we first put it online about ten years
ago. Altogether, the Quiz has been taken online more than 8 million
times.
It's the biggest tidal wave of interest in the history
of the Quiz.
* Of those 3.3 million,
more than one third -- 1.2 million! -- scored solidly Libertarian.
That means they are either libertarians or have more in common
with libertarians than with any other political group.
Before taking the Quiz, many of them were unable to put a label
on their beliefs. Now they can!
I think this is solid evidence that libertarianism is approaching
the "tipping point" -- that electrifying moment when an
idea or product suddenly catches on with the general public and
spreads like wildfire.
Journalists Rave About the
Quiz
Meanwhile, journalists continued to rave about the Quiz -- and bring
it to the attention of millions of readers. Three quick examples
from just the past few months:
* The Oregonian
newspaper encouraged their 614,000 readers to "know where
you stand this Election Day. Take the World's Smallest Political
Quiz."
* In the Minneapolis
Star-Tribune, Randy Salas urged: "Answer the 10 questions
on the World's Smallest Political Quiz, and you'll quickly find
out your political leanings."
* Columnist John
Campanelli, syndicated by the Newhouse News Service, cited the
Quiz as evidence that "tens of millions of Americans"
are socially liberal/fiscally conservative.
These major newspapers join many, many others that have praised
and/or reprinted the Quiz -- including the Washington Post,
USA Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Miami
Herald, and the Sunday Times of London.
Every such news story convinces tens of thousands MORE people to
take the Quiz.
And it's not just newspapers that are promoting the Quiz.
As I wrote this, nationally syndicated radio talk host Neal Boortz
praised the Quiz on the air, urging his readers to take it online.
I watched in amazement as THOUSANDS of his libertarian-oriented
listeners raced to our site, taking the Quiz, exploring the other
wonderful libertarian resources we've assembled there.
The Quiz was taken 44,000 times that day. That's more than once
every TWO SECONDS!
...
The
Quiz is Only the Beginning...
I'm going to share more incredible Quiz news in just a moment.
But first, I'll tell you why the Quiz is so extremely important
to all who care about liberty.
When people take the World's Smallest Political Quiz:
* They instantly
get the key insight that libertarianism is a
MAJOR PART of the American political spectrum -- that there is
more to politics than just left versus right. The Quiz literally
puts libertarians "on the map" that people use when
they think about politics! And...
* They learn that,
on many key issues, libertarians are their allies,
even if they consider themselves liberals or conservatives.
* A large percentage
of Quiz-takers discover they are libertarians, or have more in
common with libertarianism than any other political philosophy.
Yes, that's right: the Quiz finds new libertarians
and libertarian-friendly folks -- by the tens of thousands!
And that's just the beginning.
For those who score Libertarian, we invite them to explore libertarian
ideas and the libertarian movement -- and we encourage them to get
ACTIVE.
* On our Web site,
they get instant access to outstanding information about libertarian
ideas, in friendly, persuasive, bite-sized nuggets. Their questions
are answered. They learn about the liberty movement, and how they
can become active libertarians.
* We offer these
fledgling libertarians tested tools and training to help them
become ever more effective and successful in their libertarian
outreach.
* We help these
enthusiastic newcomers become the NEXT WAVE of libertarian activists,
speakers, and candidates. We train, encourage, and inspire them.
Then, they go out and find MORE new libertarians. (And the cycle
continues!)
It's a logical, proven plan to build the liberty movement
-- to find the libertarian leaders, friends, and activists of tomorrow!
The "Power Demographic"
Now back to the lynchpin of this strategy, our incredible World's
Smallest Political Quiz.
To make the libertarian movement grow faster...
We must reach and persuade the most INFLUENTIAL Americans to support
our cause.
We call these people the "Power Demographic." Opinion
shapers and opinion makers.
They're the people with the prestige and influence to convince
vast numbers of OTHER Americans that liberty works and that liberty
is right.
Good news: We ARE reaching them!
For example:
This year the Advocates started running eye-catching full-color
advertisements featuring the Quiz in two magazines -- School
Reform News and Budget & Tax News -- published
by the respected free-market Heartland Institute.
Why these two publications?
Because research shows that these magazines are read by the people
who dominate American politics, journalism, and education. The "Power
Demographic."
It's an INCREDIBLE audience -- just the kind of
people you'd LOVE to personally hand a copy of the Quiz! In fact...
School Reform News is mailed every
month to:
* 13,900 public
school board presidents.
* 3,604 charter
school principals.
* 22,700 private
school principals and teachers.
These are the people who DECIDE what is taught in American schools
-- and what is NOT.
Budget & Tax News is mailed
each month to:
* 8,500 state and
national elected officials -- including every U.S. Senator, every
U.S. Representative, every governor, and every state legislator.
* 8,440 municipal
officials.
These officials have their hands on the levers of government power.
Their decisions effect your life -- every day.
Plus, Budget & Tax News is delivered to 598 elite political
reporters. When it comes to politicians and government, these elite
journalists DECIDE what is news -- and what is NOT.
In all, Budget & Tax News is mailed to 19,128 of America's
most powerful people.
And, yes: they read these publications!
According to research:
* An amazing 84%
of elected state officials said they read at least one Heartland
magazine "sometimes" or "always."
* Even better: 47%
said a Heartland publication influenced their opinions or LED
TO A CHANGE IN PUBLIC POLICY!
In other words, these magazines have the power to affect and CHANGE
political decisions.
Combine that with the Quiz's proven power to open minds... and you
can see why I'm excited.
We're already seeing early
signs of success.
* Almost 100 teachers
and principals have requested over 7,000 Quizzes to use
in their classrooms!
* TWO state
legislators have asked for copies of the Quiz! One requested
200 Quizzes to "hand out to my fellow legislators."
That's 200 more politicians who will be exposed to the eye-opening
power of the Quiz -- handed to them personally by a respected
fellow legislator!
For years, libertarians dreamed about being able to reach
America's most influential people.
With these ads, the World's Smallest Political Quiz will have an
opportunity to work its wondrous, paradigm-shifting magic on TENS
OF THOUSANDS of governors, members of Congress and other officeholders,
principals, school board members, teachers, and influential journalists!
Celebrity Libertarians
There's another kind of opinion-maker -- one who can reach an entirely
different audience. I'm talking about celebrities...
That's why we started the "Libertarian Celebrities" corner
of our Web page. This site takes libertarianism for a stroll down
Hollywood's red carpet!
This unique site received more than 250,000 visits so
far in 2006 alone. Visitors discovered that world-renowned
celebrities -- Clint Eastwood John Stossel, Penn & Teller,
Kurt Russell, and many, many others -- proudly call themselves
"libertarian." As do many famous intellectuals, journalists,
novelists, musicians, and more.
For
thousands of people, seeing their favorite movie stars, musicians,
or TV personalities on our Web site is their first positive introduction
to the word "libertarian."
For fans, reading quotes by these famous celebrities explaining
why they believe in libertarianism is a powerful inducement to learn
more!
Maybe you personally don't much care about celebrities.
But you certainly understand that MILLIONS of people do! There's
a reason why companies use celebrities to help sell everything
from soft drinks to luxury autos.
For years, libertarians have watched other political groups use
celebrity endorsements to promote Big Government programs. Now the
Advocates has harnessed this "star power" to make the
case for liberty!
Our Libertarian Celebrity page is unique. No other
organization offers anything like this persuasive, intriguing site.
And every time someone reads a celebrity profile, they are invited
to take the World's Smallest Political Quiz to discover if they,
too, might be a libertarian!
The World's Largest-Circulation
Libertarian Publication: FREE!
The Quiz is just one program in our libertarian-building
arsenal. Let me mention just three others -- and give you
an idea of how all our tools and programs work together, in marvelous
symmetry, to amplify our efforts.
1) Quiz takers -- and all other visitors to our
Web sites -- are invited to sign up for a FREE subscription to
the Liberator Online, our acclaimed email newsletter.
It's already the largest-circulation libertarian publication in
the world -- and growing with each issue. It's currently reaching
almost 70,000 subscribers.
Every issue offers articles about libertarianism, the libertarian
movement, current events, and better ways to communicate the ideas
of liberty. It's perfect for new and old libertarians alike.
2) Our Libertarianism.com Web site is a treasury
of friendly, jargon-free information about the fundamentals of
libertarianism. A place where visitors can quickly get answers
to their questions about liberty and the libertarianism movement.
3) Our "Lights of Liberty" program
encourages and rewards effective grassroots outreach.
Every year, we give activists praise and awards for writing pro-liberty
letters to the editor, giving speeches about libertarianism, and
working in our Operation Politically Homeless (OPH) outreach booths.
This is exactly the kind of grassroots activism any movement must
have, in order to grow. And it's working--
In 2006, those volunteer efforts took the libertarian message to
MILLIONS of Americans, directly and indirectly, in the most effective
ways possible.
Reaching the Young
That brings me to the final element in our plan to turn the libertarian
movement into an unstoppable force. It's spelled Y-O-U-T-H...
We must reach the next generation of Americans, and educate them
about the libertarian option.
Once again, the Advocates is leading the way!
We are getting the Quiz, and libertarian ideas, directly into America's
most popular textbooks -- directly into the classrooms -- and right
into the hands of students!
It's a libertarian dream come true. Consider:
* The Quiz is showcased
in more than a dozen college and high school textbooks, or in
their enhanced digital content. This includes some of America's
most popular textbooks, like Challenge of Democracy (Houghton
Mifflin). And like Political Science: An Introduction (Prentice
Hall), which declares: "The World's Smallest Political Quiz
can help you find your political identity."
This is a HUGE breakthrough, since each of these
textbooks reaches tens of thousands of students -- year after year!
In hundreds of classrooms, for thousands of students, the Quiz is
now part of the curriculum.
* We've documented
more than 500 high schools and college professors who use the
World's Smallest Political Quiz to teach students about ideology
and the political spectrum. (We're sure there are many more.)
Teachers love the Quiz. Professor Robert Creasey
at Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City wrote to us:
"I bookmark your Web site as a quick way for students to gauge
where they fit in along the political continuum. I like it because
it's fast [and] amazingly accurate."
Joel W. Cade, a Philosophy instructor at Loyola University, Chicago,
said: "I have found the Quiz to be amazingly accurate and an
invaluable tool for my political philosophy courses."
All this is great news! Instead of being ignored,
libertarians become...
...a
vital part of the "political map" taught to students.
And that means that libertarians don't have to spend time undoing
the "unfacts" taught by unwitting teachers.
We don't have to explain to these students what a libertarian is.
Or what we stand for. Or how we're different from liberals and conservatives.
They already know!
Please note: This didn't happen by accident.
It's the result of twenty years of work by the Advocates: creating
the Quiz, refining it, maintaining its integrity as a genuinely
useful educational tool, and ceaselessly promoting it. Now that
work is paying off -- and changing the world!
One more point...
Student outreach is always vital for any political movement. BUT
TODAY'S STUDENTS ARE A SPECIAL GROUP. The renowned Brookings Institute
has called today's students the "most libertarian generation
of young people we've ever seen."
Thanks to the Advocates, more and more of these libertarian-leaning
students can put a label on what they believe -- and jump-start
the process to becoming full-fledged activist libertarians!
As libertarians work to reach the next generation of Americans,
this is a MAJOR step forward.
The Roadmap to Liberty
Let me quickly recap. There's a pretty straightforward roadmap to
a more powerful, successful libertarian movement:
1) We must discover
millions MORE libertarians.
2) We must persuade
the most INFLUENTIAL Americans to support our
cause.
3) We must create
many more persuasive, effective libertarian ACTIVISTS.
4) We must reach
YOUNG Americans.
In every one of those crucially important four areas, the Advocates
for Self-Government is leading the way.
* Only the Advocates
works every day to make the ENTIRE libertarian movement bigger,
stronger, and more successful.
We reach MILLIONS of people directly and indirectly
-- and our services are ESSENTIAL to tens of thousands of hardworking
liberty activists.
That's why, here at the Advocates, we remain upbeat, optimistic,
and excited about the future of liberty. Because...
We
see that glorious future coming
closer
and closer. Every day!
...
Remember
-- liberty doesn't depend on politicians. (Thank heavens!) It depends,
as it always has, on a concerned and committed group of people who
understand the importance of freedom.
There are millions of Americans who would eagerly support libertarians
right now -- if they knew about our ideals and our movement. We
must reach them.
With your help, we can.
With your help, we can keep building a principled movement for liberty
strong enough to persuade Americans that ONLY liberty can create
the prosperous, harmonious, peaceful nation we all want.
There are no short cuts. But there are some ways
that are more effective than others. Here at the Advocates, we work
to discover and utilize those methods. As this letter shows, our
methods are succeeding.
Your donation makes our work possible. Your donation
helps us build the growing, energetic libertarian movement that
America needs so urgently now.
Your donation -- of $2,500, or $1,000, or $500 -- will allow us
to do even more in 2007.
Donations of $100, or $50, or $25 will also make a big difference.
If you can make a contribution to support the Advocates' valuable
work, I'd like to send some special thank-you gifts.
If you contribute at least $50, I'll send you Libertarianism:
A Primer by David Boaz.
* This 320-page paperback book is a wonderful introduction to liberty.
It's wide-ranging and compelling. It's written in Boaz's friendly,
engaging style. And it offers new insights for even longtime libertarians.
(The section on how the free market makes it possible for people
to peacefully cooperate is especially insightful, and full of eye-opening
examples.) It belongs on every liberty-lover's bookshelf -- and
also makes a great gift for a friend who is still exploring liberty!
If you contribute at least $100, you'll get Libertarianism:
A Primer -- and I'll ALSO send you Perilous Times
by Geoffrey R. Stone.
* The subtitle says it all: "Free Speech in Wartime, From the
Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism." This 730-page,
hardcover book is both fascinating and frightening: it reminds us
how often politicians have attacked, subverted, and ignored the
First Amendment. Stone brings us right up to the present day, when
-- surprise! -- the "War on Terror" is again being used
as an excuse to abridge our fundamental liberties. Essential reading
for anyone who values free speech!
Your donation makes our work possible. Please allow
me to show my appreciation by sending you a copy of one or both
of these great books. CLICK HERE
for more information about these books.
Remember -- every dollar you donate puts America one step closer
to the "tipping point" -- when libertarianism suddenly
catches on with the general public, and spreads like wildfire.
Whatever you can give is greatly appreciated. And only your generous
contribution will give us the resources we need to do even more
in 2007.
Please
use
our secure Web page to make your donation now.
For liberty,
Sharon Harris
President, Advocates for Self-Government
PS: The Advocates is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational
organization. As always, your contribution is tax-deductible.
PPS: I'm still stunned that the online Quiz has
been taken over 3.3 million times so far this year. I'm overjoyed
that tens of thousands of students got to use the Quiz in their
classroom. I'm honored that thousands of libertarians used Advocates
materials to become more effective, persuasive activists.
In this letter, you've seen what needs to be done. You've seen the
great progress we've made so far. Your support will make even more
progress possible in 2007. Let's work together to make it happen!
Use our secure
Web page to make your donation now.
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