PA: Philly Libertarian Party Spreading Message by Word of Mouth

From Philadelphia Weekly:

The newly elected chair of the Philadelphia Libertarian Party is struggling to solicit membership in a city where Democrats far outnumber Republicans. But the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, a local affiliate of the national organization formed last year in response to the Obama administration’s initiatives, is going strong—and making headlines wherever they go. A look at how far the Tea Party movement has come gives Perella hope. He wants his party to be heard, too.

The Philadelphia Libertarian Party hosts monthly meetings at the Raven Lounge on Sansom Street, but only a handful of people generally turn out for the Monday night gatherings. Much more than the five-to-10-member meeting turnout are the 150-plus who are registered with the group’s meetup site online. His group does some outreach, Perrella says, but right now word-of-mouth is the group’s biggest form of advertisement. It’s not like this everywhere in Pennsylvania. The Libertarian Party is actually the state’s, not to mention the country’s, third-largest minority political party. And for those who are actively involved, it’s worth the time put in.

“There’s a lot more voice support and vote support than people willing to be active,” says Marakay Rogers on what’s typically found concerning third-party people. “It’s sometimes smaller areas that are much more independent in their thinking.”