Posted at LP blog:
At the Libertarian National Convention in St. Louis this weekend, delegates will elect a new national chairman for the party.
Five candidates have declared for this office:
Ernest Hancock
http://ernesthancock.org/
Mark Hinkle
http://mark4chair.com/
John Jay Myers
http://www.johnjaymyers.com/lnc
George Phillies
http://philliesforlncchair.robpower.com/
Wayne Allyn Root
http://www.rootforamerica.com/
Note from Paulie: Not exactly news to our regular readers. However, it’s news to some casual readers, and part of my ongoing effort to reprint as much as possible from LP.org blog and press releases.
Parties, Games, Girls and …. Me…
I found your entry interesting thus I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog :)…
A Note From Ernest Hancock to LP National Delegates
ernesthancock.org
(BTW – I am writing from a small caravan going to St. Louis and we are east of Gallup, New Mexico on I-40 right now, 10:00pm Wednesday. We plan on driving straight through so that we are at the hotel in time for the Suns/Lakers game Thursday night 🙂
Those that know me, and others that have witnessed my previous efforts, likely understand why I do the things that I do and what I aim to accomplish in St. Louis.
Very soon (if not already) the vast majority of Americans (along with the rest of the planet) will come to the realization that they are all victims of the largest swindle/robbery in human history,… and they will be searching for an accurate explanation. Libertarianism provides a very useful road map to what happened, who/what was responsible and how to avoid the same mistakes in the future. But ‘off ramps’ to detours that take us meandering through the same unprincipled wilderness that got us in this mess will be of no use to a ‘Generation Next’ that has a detailed 3D online map in their hip pocket.
This decentralization of information is only beginning to be felt by a liberty starved planet and attempts to negotiate our principles for a place at the establishment’s media table will backfire just as it did in the 2008 presidential election cycle.
Another election cycle of LPUS’ documented compromises on libertarian principle will make it very unlikely, as a political party, we’ll legitimately be able to compete at a national level in the future as a standard bearer for libertarianism. I am of the opinion that information availability is so ubiquitous now, that the ‘Liberty Nexus’ that was the best trait of the LPUS will be replaced by too many sources of contacts and information to keep track of. Politics is about to be replaced with communities that will attempt to create the freedom denied them by layers of government,… without asking permission.
What if I really really believe that the future will have fresh young minds embracing libertarianism as the only consistent and understandable path to peace and prosperity? Then positioning ourselves so that we are the obvious destination for those seeking exactly what we offer is a very good idea. Since many (enough) that I associate with are also of this opinion, we chose to make our advocacy of no-compromise libertarianism a blazing torch everywhere possible.
In the near future, freedom communities will likely be virtual and without borders or boundaries. Governments, states, countries and even languages will have less and less to do with an individual’s interactions than a simple listing on the contemporary cousin of craigslist with servers based in orbit or on the Moon.
Libertarianism is ‘the philosophy for the stars’ and to think in smaller terms is an abandonment of the future for the LPUS. The future is why St. Louis is so important to many that support my effort. The economic tragedy coming, that is only in the early stages, provides a rare opportunity to help many millions,… not just when they need it the most, but when they are also seeking it the most. And they have already abandoned the ‘lame-stream media,… the media that is soooo last century’ in search of the truth.
We have done our best to make our advocacy clear, and our long track record of principled activism has accomplished several things; government abuses of individual rights have been exposed while branding us as defenders of individual freedom, available resources in support of such advocacy are directed towards the most effective uses of those resources, inspiration of an entirely new generation of freedom activists have been continually nurtured.
I am prepared and eager to represent the future and inspire a flood of fresh and energetic activists, that are already experienced and networked with each other, to come and make use of the Libertarian Party at a national/international level to free as many minds as possible in as short a time as possible to save as many lives as possible. But should the LPUS’ words/silence and actions/inactions allow the perception of it being less effective a tool as the many others available, then it will continue to wither.
My documenting of all LNC chair debates and appearances across the country of every candidate participating has been a deliberate act of making it very clear to future freedom activists that the choice in St Louis was a fully informed one. These documented discussions will be of much greater importance months, years and even decades later to those needing to determine where and how best to direct their time and resources to expand human freedom. I’m working very hard to make that investment the Libertarian Party of the United States.
@LG – Tell Delta you want them to pay for your taxi
Does anyone know if C-SPAN will be airing any of the convention at all?
boo! my flight was delayed long enuf id have missed my connection , so they re-routed me and send me thru atlanta and i arrive in st louis at 11:50 , where of course the trains no longer run and I cant take a cab… **sigh*** can anyone help?
Nope, though I was also on a Southwest flight, delayed for a couple of hours. I decided that drinking the complimentary beers was better than pounding on the cockpit door.
Paulie, you forgot to mention Starr, Mattson and Rutherford, Root’s de facto running mates.
As far as I know, there’s no sense of not being on speaking terms between any subset of the New Path slate. We’re a group of individuals, and as such, we can’t always be expected to agree on every point.
That said, we are all professionals, and we can all work together as professionals, regardless of any internal disagreements. That should come as a welcome change from the current regime.
Speaking of such things, I know Doug Craig and Brad Ploeger stepped away from the slate after last week’s unpleasantness. Let me restate that even while they’re not members of our slate, I still heartily endorse them and look forward to their service on the LNC.
Anyone know this guy?
“ST. LOUIS – Southwest Airlines says one of its St. Louis-bound flights from Seattle had to be diverted to Nebraska after a passenger pounded on the cockpit door and demanded to see the pilot.
St. Louis radio station KMOX reports that the male passenger was arrested after the plane landed Wednesday in Omaha, Neb.
A Southwest spokesman says it’s unclear why the man became irate.
The man’s name was not released, and there was no immediate word on any charges.
The plane had more than 100 passengers and continued on to St. Louis after the man’s arrest.”
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/27/1203702/disruptive-passenger-forces-st.html#user_comments#ixzz0pCPtHQ64
@14
These rumors do not appear to have reached the members and supporters of the New Path team.
As previously reported, I will be sponsoring a number of events in my convention suite. The Suite is Room 2110. Events are open to delegates, the working press, and the LNC staff.
Friday 8-9PM Reception for New Delegates. Meet the half of all delegates who have never before attended an LNC meeting.
Friday 9PM-Midnight reception for all delegates.
Saturday 1PM Inaugural Meeting of the LP Non-Intervention caucus.
Saturday evening, after the Presidential debate: reception for all delegates.
I also welcome the Outright Libertarians and the Ladies of Liberty Alliance/Libertarian Women for their special events.
A Note From Ernest Hancock to LP National Delegates
Website: http://www.ernesthancock.com
(BTW – I am writing from a small caravan going to St. Louis and we are east of Gallup, New Mexico on I-40 right now, 10:00pm Wednesday. We plan on driving straight through so that we are at the hotel in time for the Suns/Lakers game Thursday night 🙂
Those that know me, and others that have witnessed my previous efforts, likely understand why I do the things that I do and what I aim to accomplish in St. Louis.
Very soon (if not already) the vast majority of Americans (along with the rest of the planet) will come to the realization that they are all victims of the largest swindle/robbery in human history,… and they will be searching for an accurate explanation. Libertarianism provides a very useful road map to what happened, who/what was responsible and how to avoid the same mistakes in the future. But ‘off ramps’ to detours that take us meandering through the same unprincipled wilderness that got us in this mess will be of no use to a ‘Generation Next’ that has a detailed 3D online map in their hip pocket.
This decentralization of information is only beginning to be felt by a liberty starved planet and attempts to negotiate our principles for a place at the establishment’s media table will backfire just as it did in the 2008 presidential election cycle.
Another election cycle of LPUS’ documented compromises on libertarian principle will make it very unlikely, as a political party, we’ll legitimately be able to compete at a national level in the future as a standard bearer for libertarianism. I am of the opinion that information availability is so ubiquitous now, that the ‘Liberty Nexus’ that was the best trait of the LPUS will be replaced by too many sources of contacts and information to keep track of. Politics is about to be replaced with communities that will attempt to create the freedom denied them by layers of government,… without asking permission.
What if I really really believe that the future will have fresh young minds embracing libertarianism as the only consistent and understandable path to peace and prosperity? Then positioning ourselves so that we are the obvious destination for those seeking exactly what we offer is a very good idea. Since many (enough) that I associate with are also of this opinion, we chose to make our advocacy of no-compromise libertarianism a blazing torch everywhere possible.
In the near future, freedom communities will likely be virtual and without borders or boundaries. Governments, states, countries and even languages will have less and less to do with an individual’s interactions than a simple listing on the contemporary cousin of craigslist with servers based in orbit or on the Moon.
Libertarianism is ‘the philosophy for the stars’ and to think in smaller terms is an abandonment of the future for the LPUS. The future is why St. Louis is so important to many that support my effort. The economic tragedy coming, that is only in the early stages, provides a rare opportunity to help many millions,… not just when they need it the most, but when they are also seeking it the most. And they have already abandoned the ‘lame-stream media,… the media that is soooo last century’ in search of the truth.
We have done our best to make our advocacy clear, and our long track record of principled activism has accomplished several things; government abuses of individual rights have been exposed while branding us as defenders of individual freedom, available resources in support of such advocacy are directed towards the most effective uses of those resources, inspiration of an entirely new generation of freedom activists have been continually nurtured.
I am prepared and eager to represent the future and inspire a flood of fresh and energetic activists, that are already experienced and networked with each other, to come and make use of the Libertarian Party at a national/international level to free as many minds as possible in as short a time as possible to save as many lives as possible. But should the LPUS’ words/silence and actions/inactions allow the perception of it being less effective a tool as the many others available, then it will continue to wither.
My documenting of all LNC chair debates and appearances across the country of every candidate participating has been a deliberate act of making it very clear to future freedom activists that the choice in St Louis was a fully informed one. These documented discussions will be of much greater importance months, years and even decades later to those needing to determine where and how best to direct their time and resources to expand human freedom. I’m working very hard to make that investment the Libertarian Party of the United States.
OK, completely unrelated, but does anyone else just see a viagra ad when they go to Ballot Access News?
I don’t need them to be friends, I just need them to work on moving the party forward. Decorum and collegiality are nice extras, but it’s useless if everyone is nice to each other while membership and revenues are plummeting.
Dropping the Unified Membership Plan was a disaster. Lacking the UMP puts a tremendous administrative and financial burden on state LPs.
In LPNY we only have volunteers to do anything and to be perfectly frank, fewer people are interested in doing the nitty-gritty details involved in keeping track of members and sending out renewal notices.
Richard Cooper, LPNY Chair 2000-02, 2006-07
Nick @9 – Rumors abound that some members of George’s “team” are barely on speaking terms with one another. The “New Path” plan contains some good ideas, but George is not the man to implement them. He’s like the insightful diagnostician (think “House”) who isn’t good at surgery. At least, that’s how I see it.
To add to what Paulie said above about the Constitution Party, the ONLY reason the CP has more voter registrations than the LP is because the CP is called the “American Independent Party” in California. That means many voters are tricked into thinking they’re registering as Independents. A great many of them have no idea they’re registering with a theocratic party.
Jose: “George Phillies has stated he believes Project Archimedes was a failure. I and others agree. If Project Archimedes was such a great success why did we get rid of it?”
Do you just take the assertions of George Phillies as facts? Some initiatives aren’t discontinued because they’re failures. To what do you attribute a TRIPLING of the party’s membership and budget in only the late 90s if not to Archimedes and Harry Browne? A sudden embrace of libertarianism by thousands of people that died after the turn of the century?
You contradicted yourself, since with Archimedes and the UMP is when the membership and income grew, and the decline happened after they ended. One or the other may be a failure, but how can they both be a failure?
George Phillies has stated he believes Project Archimedes was a failure. I and others agree. If Project Archimedes was such a great success why did we get rid of it?
I believe the unified membership plan was a failure. If it was a great success why did we get rid of it? Why did states get out of it? I was glad when the Libertarian Party of California voted to get out of the Unified Membership Plan. We had a lot of problems with it. When trying to get a copy of the membership list from National we either got the run around or it took months to get the list. Candidates who requested the membership list which they needed to use for fundraising did not receive the list or if they did receive the list it was months later too late to be of use. There were times when we did not receive a newsletter because the Party was in financial crisis. This means a benefit of membership (the newsletter) members were promised they did not receive. Who got the complaints when things such as this occurred? The California Party.
Does the Libertarian Party have political relevance? Is it a political force? No. If you want this to continue by all means vote for Mark Hinkle or any of the other candidates. If you realize things must change for the Party to succeed vote for George Phillies.
@7 – George has had a sensible plan for how to turn the Party’s fortunes around since I first started going to national conventions. This time, he also has a group of people running for LNC who will support that plan.
I think now is the time to give him the opportunity to implement it.
Does anybody know if this convention will be aired on C-Span?
In some ways, it’s be interesting if GP were to win. I’ve always said I like where he’s coming from ideologically. But the interest would be if the LNC doesn’t go along with his leadership, would he file complaints with the FEC? He could name himself in his filings…might be amusing. 😉
OK folks. I need to quit dicking around here and get with the packing. Anyone need me for anything urgent it’s 415-690-6352, otherwise I will talk to y’all in or from the StL
I am running as regional rep (south).
My main push is to be more candidate driven.
I have been political director in Georgia for a few years and have served on the Georgia ex comm more than 5 years. I have ran for office twice. I ran the Georgia Governors campaign for Garret Hayes in 2006. We recieved over 100000 votes polled as high as 9%. Ran over 3000 TV ads.
I am the owner of Viking Metals one of the largest makers of commercial gutter. (BTW it is a real business you can friend it on facebook)
Any questions you can call at 770-861-5855
For a few years the Constitution Party surpassed the Libertarian Party and was the third largest political party in America. This might still be true depending on the status of the Constitution Party affiliate in California.
Only when measured by voter registrations. By other measures the LP has always been larger. And most of the voters registration difference was based on voters who thought they were registering non-partisan. Having registered over 10,000 voters in California personally, I can say this as a fact.
The Green party?s presidential candidates while being on the ballot in less states than Libertarian Party presidential candidates have received more votes.
Only when it was national celebrity for four decades (already by then), Ralph Nader. Before and after that, the LP came in ahead of the Greens. That’s candidate, singular, only one time. Every other time we came in comfortably ahead of the Greens.
Membership is down, income is down, and growth is stagnate. We have had the failures of Project Arcemedis and the Unified Membership Plan.
You contradicted yourself, since with Archimedes and the UMP is when the membership and income grew, and the decline happened after they ended. One or the other may be a failure, but how can they both be a failure?
A vote for Mark Hinkle is a vote for business as usual. A vote for Mark Hinkle is a vote for the status quo.
I disagree.
here have been years when the Party has been in finacial crisis.
And that ended, despite the state of the economy at large.
Mark Hinkle is not the only candidate of the past, business as usual, and the status quo (he has plenty of company) but why should we vote for him knowing he will keep doing what the leadership have always done?
You are assuming way too many things. Wrongly. See the website linked in this article
http://mark4chair.com/
And our past reporting
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/?s=hinkle
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2010/04/mark-hinkles-reasons-for-seeking-lnc-chair/
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2010/04/past-lp-chairs-and-potus-candidates-endorse-hinkle/
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2010/05/libertarian-national-committee-rep-hinkle-to-campaign-against-prop-14-in-special-election/
and other articles.
What we know has not worked. What we know has ended in failure.
On the contrary. When Hinkle was state chair in California the party grew rapidly by every measure.
I suspect that when Phillies is eliminated he will not endorse any of the remaining candidates. If he endorses anyone, it will probably by Myers, unless Myers is eliminated before Phillies.
It has been mentioned George Phillies if dropped from the early ballots will give his support to Mark Hinkle. I do not belive he will.
George Phillies will not throw his support to Mark Hinkle. This is because Mark Hinkle is a candidate of the past. A vote for Mark Hinkle is a vote for business as usual. A vote for Mark Hinkle is a vote for the status quo. Since 1986 we have had leadership that have accomplished little. The Libertarian Party is not a political force.
We have not had anyone elected to Congress. Membership is down, income is down, and growth is stagnate. We have had the failures of Project Arcemedis and the Unified Membership Plan. There have been years when the Party has been in finacial crisis. For a few years the Constitution Party surpassed the Libertarian Party and was the third largest political party in America. This might still be true depending on the status of the Constitution Party affiliate in California. The Green party’s presidential candidates while being on the ballot in less states than Libertarian Party presidential candidates have received more votes.
Party leaders have urged the membership to support a candidate of another political party. Why should anyone vote for the Libertarian Party candidate when the leadership urges the membership to support a candidate of another political party? Party leaders urge state affiliates not to run candidates against some other candidates of another political party. Is this leadership?
When events and failures of this type occur what do we get from the Party leadership? Excuses. What we, the supporters of George Phillies and the New Path slate understand is the way the leadership has managed the Libertarian Party must change. We realize if we keep doing what we have always done we will get the same result we have gotten. We will not succeed. We will get more failure. Mark Hinkle is not the only candidate of the past, business as usual, and the status quo (he has plenty of company) but why should we vote for him knowing he will keep doing what the leadership have always done? What we know has not worked. What we know has ended in failure.
We’ve also been asked about who all is running for other LNC slots. I don’t know all the candidates, here are the ones I can remember:
Honestly, I’m not even sure myself who all of them are. There’s the New Path slate.
http://newpathforthelp.og
Achieve slate http://patdixon.org/lnc.html includes Pat Dixon, Dan Karlan, Guy McLendon and Judge Jim Gray.
David Nolan is running for At Large.
Kevin Knedler is running for At Large.
Bill Redpath is running for at large. Alicia Mattson is running for something – At Large or Secretary?
Some of the Chair candidates (Myers, Hinkle) may jump into other races down ticket if they lose chair. Others (Root, Phillies, Hancock) probably not.
M Carling usually runs for something.
Most LNC members will probably seek re-election.