Interviewing LNCC Chairman Wayne Allyn Root, Pauline Arrillaga writes, in part:

Something’s going on in America this election year: a renaissance of an ideal as old as the nation itself — that live-and-let-live, get-out-of-my-business, individualism vs. paternalism dogma that is the hallmark of libertarianism…

…But what looms are far larger questions about whether an America fed up with government bans and government bailouts — with government, period — is seeing a return to its libertarian roots. And, if so, what that might mean in a potentially close presidential race and long after election 2012 is a mere memory…

…”Libertarian” at its essence means an advocate of the doctrine of free will and individual liberty. Or, as the Libertarian Party states on the banner of its website: “Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom.” Just how many Americans actually endorse the philosophy has never been easy to measure. The Libertarian Party claims some 250,000 registered voters among the more than 235 million voting-age Americans…

…In its annual governance survey conducted last fall, Gallup found that a record-high 81 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the way the country was being governed. There were increases, too, in the responses to questions that gauge a more libertarian-view of governance: A record 49 percent said they believed government posed “an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens”; 57 percent believed the federal government had too much power; and 56 percent said they would be willing to pay less in taxes and accept fewer services (a position advocated during the campaign by Paul)…

…The libertarian message is especially attractive to younger Americans who are war-weary, socially liberal and skeptical of government interference in their lives. They’ve grown up paying into Medicare and Social Security but hearing — endlessly — that they’re unlikely to receive the benefits of those programs. They see many government initiatives as unnecessary evils, and believe social issues such as abortion and gay marriage are matters of personal choice not political debate…

…Big “L” Libertarians hope their party will be the vehicle for that, and activists such as Wayne Root — the party’s 2008 vice presidential nominee — are looking to bring more people into the fold by emphasizing fiscal policy over more controversial libertarian issues such as decriminalization of marijuana.

Root writes a libertarian blog from his home outside of Las Vegas and calls himself a commonsense “suburban Libertarian” who supports home-schooling, low taxes and personal freedom (a la legalized online gambling). He is looking to make his own run for president in 2016 or 2020. A longtime Vegas oddsmaker, Root’s prediction is the American public will be ready for a viable third-party candidate sooner rather than later.

“What’s that old saying? First they mock you, then they imitate you and then they become you,” he said. “And that’s how I feel about libertarianism….

Go here to read the full, at-length, feature story.

Another 38 percent think the economy is becoming worse, while 22 percent say it’s staying the same.

Among independent voters the numbers are even grimmer. A whopping 48 percent say the economy is getting worse. Just 30 percent think it is getting better while 19 percent say it is staying the same.

You have the power to change that.

By supporting Libertarian candidates.

The “Libertarian Prosperity Plan” seeks to repeal the income tax and abolish the IRS, enact a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget without tax increases and repeal all corporate welfare programs and bailouts.

The Libertarian Prosperity Plan is rooted in the Libertarian Party platform and bedrock libertarian principles.

Unlike the other parties, we don’t promise tax cuts to just grab enough votes to win and then do nothing.  Elected Libertarians enact tax and spending cuts because it is what we believe in.

The Plan would:

1)    Repeal the income tax: Adopt legislation repealing the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.  Until the income tax is repealed, adopt legislation preserving the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and enacting across-the-board income tax cuts.

2)    Adopt the Balanced Budget Amendment: Adopt a constitutional amendment requiring the federal budget be balanced, and balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes.

3)    Abolish corporate welfare and bailouts: Adopt federal legislation prohibiting any federal spending program that provides payments or unique benefits and advantages to specific companies or industries, terminating programs that provide direct grants to businesses, eliminating programs that provide research and other services for industries and ending programs that provide subsidized loans or insurance to businesses.

Only Libertarians have a plan, that they will follow up on, that frees job creators to begin investing and hiring again and curbs destructive federal spending.

Want to help put it into action?

Go here to learn more about running for office as a Libertarian.

Go here to chip in $10 or more to support Libertarians in winnable races.

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Here, Austrian economist Israel Kirzner provides a general overview of one of the libertarian views on economics.