THE THIN BUT HEADY AIR OF LIBERTY

LEADVILLE - This storied mining town perched on the roof of the Rockies
made political history last year as the first municipality in Colorado with
a Libertarian majority on its seven-member city council. Today,
Libertarians have gathered here to breathe the thin but heady air of
freedom at their party's state convention.

Political conventions of the Repubocrat or Demolican variety generally
center on career paths, not ideas. Political panjandrums like to keep ideas
locked up in the basement, where they won't embarrass the big campaign
contributors. But wherever two or more Libertarians gather, expect to see a
thousand flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend. And this
year, Libertarian candidates in Colorado will actually be able to run on
their party's record, as well as its ideas.

It's not unusual to find Libertarian officeholders - there were at least
270 party members in public office in the U.S. last year. But except for a
brief tenure in Big Water, Utah, a hamlet of 230 people, the Libertarian
victory in last year's Leadville City Council races marks the first time
Libertarians have won outright control of a governmental body in the nation.

Councilman Joe Swyers, the senior Libertarian on the Leadville council,
concedes his stalwart band of four was often frustrated over the last year.
Leadville Mayor Chet Gaede vigorously fought the Libertarian bloc and often
succeeded in using his executive powers to frustrate Libertarian initiatives.

"We were called "anarchists' by the mayor and his allies. We were accused
of trying to dismantle city government when we eliminated one employee out
of 30. The county had to lay off five employees and nobody accused them of
being anarchists.

"We are trying to lighten up the sign code and will probably get that
passed. We managed to repeal a fireworks ban so those fireworks permissible
in the state and the county are now permitted within the city limits -
though we may have to ban all fires, not just fireworks, until the wildfire
danger is past," Swyers said.

The political deadlock has so far stalled more ambitious plans to spark an
economic renewal in Leadville by loosening unnecessary regulations on
business, though the Libertarians have nibbled at the bureaucratic
overburden. But on the bright side, Libertarians have been able to block
any new outbreaks of big-governmentitis.

Can a mighty oak of freedom grow from this lofty acorn in Leadville? Party
activists think it can. This morning, Rick Stanley, a Denver businessman,
and Steve D'Ippolito, a Colorado Springs software engineer, will compete
for the Party's nomination for U.S. Senate. James Vance, a relative
newcomer to the party, will take on Ralph Shnelvar, a Boulder County
engineer, for governor.

Shnelvar is one of the most eloquent men I've ever met in local politics.
When I asked the routine question: "Why are you running for governor?" he
answered:

"I'm doing it because of my children. I have two daughters and I truly fear
for the world that they will be living in.

"In 1902, Germany was ranked as one of the freest countries in the world
and one where Jews were well treated. Within a few decades, my mother and
father were slave laborers in Nazi concentration camps. They both survived,
but they each lost every other member of their families.

"I don't think the United States is going to go particularly after Jews.
But there's going to be some scapegoat - gun owners, drug users, people who
watch pornography on their computers. Something is going to trigger mass
hysteria. I don't want that to happen. I'm going to fight as much as I can
to restore freedom back to this country. We're on that slippery slope and
it doesn't take that long to hit bottom."

In the Senate race, Stanley boasts of having received unprecedented media
attention for a Libertarian. That's true after a fashion, but most of that
attention has been negative - triggered by Stanley's boorish and
ungrammatical demand that U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, R- Colorado, be "tried
and hung" for treason.

In contrast, D'Ippolito has focused on reducing pork and waste in
Washington - including those morsels of taxpayer flesh destined for Colorado.

"I won't have a leg to stand on if I criticize Bobby Byrd for bringing
eight godzillian dollars in pork back to West Virginia and try the same
thing in Colorado. I may not win many votes, but at least I'll force the
Senate to take a stand on issues it doesn't want to take a stand on, like
legalizing marijuana, and not just for medical use. Who knows? If I force
them to take a stand, maybe they will do the right thing," D'Ippolito said.

Libertarians are Colorado's only true third party. In the last election,
Libertarians contested practically all state offices and fielded 75
candidates for the 84 seats up in the Colorado legislature - often
providing the only alternative in the 21 legislative districts where one or
the other of the major parties didn't field a candidate. This year,
Libertarians have raised their sights. They're running to win and hope to
duplicate their success in Leadville on a statewide stage.

They still face long odds. But win or lose, these Sons and Daughters of
Liberty are already bringing the fresh air of freedom into the dreary
atmosphere of politics as usual.