In his latest campaign communique, Libertarian Party chair candidate George Phillies lays out a set of objectives for the Libertarian Party, and specifically identifies them as the objectives of the “New Path” LNC slate:
Here I lay out where our Libertarian Party needs to go. It is a long journey. We may not all live to reach our destination. In other articles, you will hear members of the New Path for Libertarian Revival write about the simple practical steps that we clearly can put into place. Those steps will be obvious and sensible ways to start our party moving in the right direction. Let’s consider where the journey will finally take us.
Robert Capozzi // Mar 29, 2010:
“…. is the Green Party becoming a significant political force, or are they basically maintaining themselves as a political sideshow?”
——- *personal experience* inept and ineptitude, inept and ineptitude!
gp: I would urge readers to compare our National Committee budget with the Green budget and see what they do on about a third the money.
me: What’s the short version? And is the Green Party becoming a significant political force, or are they basically maintaining themselves as a political sideshow?
Big Picture proclaimations are good for attempts at head lines. In combat it is often smaller efforts, like individual rifle shots, that neutralize the other side! ‘Really big goal’ is just more really big LP BS! Lake
“Slush fund obliviousness
By Union-Tribune Editorial Board,
Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
•The decision of county supervisors to cut their personal slush funds from $2 million per member per year to $1 million is welcome, but the related comments of board members were deeply disappointing.
While these funds have often been given to arts organizations and other worthy causes, they are also routinely used by supervisors to shore up their standing with influential individuals or organizations. This use of taxpayer funds is odious.
Yet board members say this wasn’t why they cut the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program; instead, it was because of budget woes. “If I had my druthers, we wouldn’t be cutting anything; we’d be adding to it,” Supervisor Greg Cox said.
It’s right there, plain as day: Cox wishes he had millions more each year to dole out with the tiniest fig leaf of accountability. This is disgraceful – and on this issue, the supervisorial norm.”
——- Establishment’s biggest kiss up and best friend, the spiraling down to oblivion, Sandy Ego Union Tribune, now under new management …….
Don Lake, a Liberty Loving, non Libertarian, has been sending complaint letters on the dictators for life of the ‘Slush Fund Five’ San Diego County Supervisors to Local Lib honchoes Ed Tessier and Richard Rider FOR DECADES.
Some local Lib candidates have echoed Lake [and local FORMER Lib Ken Bourke] and the unethical slush fund, but there has been NO [NOT ONE] official LP web or print organ reflection[s].
Big picture —– bull shit, let’s see how much libertarian condemnation arises from the local LP on local issues!
AroundtheblockAFT // Mar 29, 2010:
” LP needs to double in size between now and the 2012 convention …….. to be a relevant player in the next election cycle.”
——– No, the Bickersons need to get giant dose of ethics. If the P2012 was held tomorrow the LP would be in possession of three inappropriate jerks: Mister LP as solo Peace Party (Phillies), LP neocon warrior (WAR), and bleary eyed boozy ‘Puff Daddie’ (Kubby). All the money in the world can not get some folks elected (such as Adriana Huffington’s ex hubby).
‘Really big goal’ try basic ethics ……….. Lake
Link to Oaksun’s proposal please?
A “really big goal” may stretch the imagination, but if unrealistic will not generate support.
Let’s think about what is truly doable and then stretch it a little more.
You will then find of some interest James Oaksun’s proposal for a really big goal, namely a million members by 2016. The point of a really big goal is to stretch the imagination.
I would urge readers to compare our National Committee budget with the Green budget and see what they do on about a third the money.
The LP needs to double in size between now and the 2012 convention. Or it will still be generating too little income to be a relevant player in the next election cycle. The Party needs a plan with follow through to membership recruitment the key goal of every candidate’s campaign.
@4
Some of you will correctly note, looking at the numbers, that when I say ‘how fast things can be turned around’ that ‘pace of a tortoise’ is a level of fast, and things really do take a while.
@5
I do not have complete statistics to tell you what other parties experiences in 08 and 09. I did note that when I reported that in 2009 our income went up, the state chairs to whom I mentioned that were surprised. Note that these are actual dollar numbers, not what we happened to have budgeted. Your state, too, can adopt a $20,000,000 party budget and as long as you stay within your income the budget itself will not hurt.
I believe the answer to your question on 2007 is ‘what did we start doing differently in 2007?”, because these things take a while to happen, and the answer is ‘we started showing signs of life’.
The 03-05 answer is that membership fell considerably, but I have only very scattered data points:
April 02 813
May 05 448
Nov 06 232
Nov 06 is also about the point at which my friends and I started steering the state party usefully. Of course, we still had on the rolls people who had long since lost interest in politics, moved out of state, or in several cases died; these people did not renew.
We did about the things a sensibly run party would do: Revive the newsletter. Move toward improving the web site (still need work here). Improve ‘please renew’ efforts’. Speak up for success. Do things: petition for Presidential ballot access, and litigate for substitution. Work to get more people involved in the party. It appears that we have an all-time record for libertarians trying to get on the ballot for US Congress this fall (four, but you did not hear me guess how many of them will reach their objective), and a recent record of people trying to get on the ballot for State Representative (I expect at least two will; the fellow trying to run the sticker campaign in the Libertarian primary has a *real* uphill struggle.)
gp, what did MA do qualitatively different in 08 and 09 vs. 07? Is MA’s experience different from other state LPs? What was the MA experience in 03-05, the last similar cycle?
I shall quote a bit further in the article, if for no other reason than to rspond to the opponents who claim we are advocating the ‘educational’ strategy I rejected in my book Stand Up for Liberty (3mpub.com/phillies).
“What do we need to reach our objective?
We’re a political party. The purposes of a political party are to place candidates on the ballot, to elect them to office, and to use its elected officials and other parts of the political process to put its platform into place.
To bring the Libertarian future to the United States, we need to become the majority party, with regular control of Congress, the White House, state legislatures, and state houses across America. We don’t need to reach a one-party state such as the one now found in Massachusetts — that would be bad for us as well as for our country. We do need to be the political movement that sets the agenda, our Libertarian agenda in which private Americans are able to choose their own futures.
Clearly, we are not going to become the majority party overnight. We are not going to become the majority party during the terms of office of the next National Committee. However, we should never lose sight of the ultimate objective, becoming the political majority party, for if we do we will wander lost in political fever-swamps.”
Having said this, the Massachusetts Party on whose State Committee I sit gives some evidence as to how fast matters can be turned around. Income rose 48% from 2007 — the income bottom — to 2008 and 24 % (taking 2008 as the base) from 2008 to 2009. That;s without taking into account the Kennedy Senate campaign. Membership took longer, in that a party in decline has people on its rolls who have long since left, and until their memberships expired (in MA this was several years in some cases) those losses overcome whatever recruiting you are doing. However, membership bottomed last Summer, and has been increasing since then.
I support Prof. Phillies. Prediction: the radical takeoverof the LP. & they will make arrangements with the progressives to win many ballots in 2010. Then a sweep out of all reactionaries-dems & repsin 2012 including the presidency.
PLAS/FET/FDS.
Fake progressive/liberal democrat Obama will not be re-elected.
I like Phillies vision. But where is the “make it happen”?
A mastermind armchair general is valuable, if they are on the left hand of someone who can make it happen. The problem is most masterminds are asocial bitter people, angry with the world for not taking their brilliance at face value.
I keep asking, where is the Phillies track record for success? I don’t claim that there isn’t one, I claim only ignorance.
Please correct me if I am missing anything. I admit I do not know him that well, he lives on the wrong side of the country and like a good Libertarian, I spend most of my time focused close to home.
think the LP want to go where they are the only American 21st Century Peace Party. Thank you Doctor Phillies, your academic horse power is, well, rather fantastic. Thank goodness you are a humble seeker of truth and not some arrogant know it all!
The 21st Century slogan of the lame brain move ment: “We are right, even when we are wrong!”