November 11, 2026
Your Premier Source on Third Parties and Independent Candidates Since 2008
This is the first meeting of the new term other than the one at the national convention site. It is being held concurrently with Freedom Fest.
Tentative agenda here.
Live reporting by Mike Seebeck via twitter for those who would like to follow the action (if that’s the right word).
Joe is a retired, formerly tenured professor of marketing and finance with a passion for adventure travel, chasing total solar eclipses, and Burning Man. He is a long-time volunteer with the Sundance, Sonoma, and Napa Valley Film Festivals, former Chair of the Utah Libertarian Party, former Chair of the LP Platform Committee, and former Chair and three-term member of the LNC's financial Audit Committee. Dr. Buchman has served as a Contributing Editor for IPR since 2011.
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lg, yes, LV has much to recommend it.
It would be interesting to see what the LNC uses for its considerations for a convention site.
Moulton says cheap full-service hotels with extensive meeting facilities seems the biggest consideration.
I get the sense that there is not necessarily continuity of methodology from LNC to LNC.
I do hope the cruise idea is dead.
Was there ever a vote at the LNC Meeting in Las Vegas to repeal unspent money authorized for the New York State petition drive?
If so, do you know the breakdown of the vote.
oh and did I mention flights to Las Vegas are usually incredibly cheap …
No place has cheaper food , cheaper rooms and cheaper convention prices than Las vegas, we ARE the convention capital of the world. also we have plenty of convention spaces available not tied to hotels , convention centers and a awesome bus system running every 5 minutes, 5$ for a day pass plus a very fast l-train/shuttle running up and down the strip.
plus there is SO MUCH to do a few steps away. Las Vegas is fun!!! no other place will be as fun – and in May its not too hot either , also Penn and teller always hook up Libertarians coming here with free tickets because our county Chair works for them , his title is ” Director of Covert Activities” – LOL- anyways Im certain we could hook up a killer price to see them.
Hey George, can I talk you into forming an investment group-or yourself-for purpose of designing & building a prototype electric/hydrogen VTOL passenger vehicle?
I’d really like to test drive it.
Meanwhile, as prequel to the meeting, liberty for America magazine is out and can be seen at http://LibertyForAmerica.com . Contents are sen below.
Most bizarre event in a long time is “LNC Claims Obama is Marxist Plotting to Destroy Capitalism”. However, it is an article on the LP.ORG front page, the LP.ORG blow does not take private comments, and therefore the LNC (yes, you folks on the board are responsible for what happens in your company) is making that their official statement with a member as spokesman.
Mind you “LNC says world flat” is more plausible. The contents:
Table of Contents
BULLETIN:Lee Wrights Forms Presidential
Exploratory Committee — More Next Issue
The Future is Coming; The News Is Great!
A Step for Liberty
Beware! Carpetbaggers
LNC to Meet
Where Your Money Went—
Barr 2008; Libertarian National Committee
LNC Claims Obama is Marxist Plotting to Destroy Capitalism
LNC Appropriates $25,000 for New York Ballot Access
LNC Members Debate Party Strategy Support Liberty for America
jp: We need to attract more from the Left to our party!
me: We’d all love to see the plan. One prominent “radical” L has indicated an interest in the LP being foresquare for unilateral nuclear disarmament. That might attract some lefties, but I’d not be for that tactic. Dondero might counsel us to rail on about the existential threat of Islamofascism, but, here too, I’d strongly suggest “contra-indicated.”
Since politics is a numbers game, it strikes me we should attract from those both formerly of the left, right and center, but at the same time maintaining our integrity. Not easy, but necessary and indicated! Mos’ def’, in fact.
tk, seems you are evading the point, perhaps over a technicality. Under scenario A, where the LNC doesn’t cut a check to the hotel that the memo line says “For meeting rooms,” and where a contract is written that provides “free” meeting rooms IF X number of rooms are booked by conventioneers, what would you call that “free” meeting room clause? If not a subsidy, what then?
More important, are you saying these package deals are somehow contrary to the Bylaws?
Don’t be coy, Thomas, lay out your case!
“If you are saying that A is a crime and B is not, then I guess we DO disagree.”
I’m saying no such thing. I’m saying that something which isn’t a subsidy isn’t a subsidy.
paulie, LG, and Carolyn (@119,118, and 123):
Thanks for remembering the lefties in the party. Even though I was a Republican when I switched to Libertarian, the issues most important to me are issues typically associated with the left (anti-war, marriage eqaulity, for
example.) We need to attract more from the Left to our party!
tk, hmm, you seem to find disagreement where there really is none that I can see.
Members pay dues to the party. Part of the fiduciary responsibility of LNC is to use party resources to stage a convention. There is no specification for which bucket of resources the financing comes from or goes to.
The LNC COULD structure a deal in which it negotiates a meeting room and a discount for rooms. IF it did it THIS way, the discount for the rooms could be HIGHER than they have historically been. Here’s a simplified example.
A is how its been done. B is another way.
MEETING ROOMS
List price: $1000
A: No charge
B: $1000
HOTEL ROOMS
List price: $150/night
A: $125/night
B: $100/night
If you are saying that A is a crime and B is not, then I guess we DO disagree.
gp, “holding” a convention may or may not involve “directly paying the direct costs from member dues.” There is much precedent that many, if not all, past LNCs have believed that the underwriting of conventions could be done creatively, that is, by subsidizing these expenses by negotiating package deals with hotels.
I’m very open to disintermediating these convention expenses, for a variety of reasons. At the same time, I support exploring using the convention’s ancillary activities as fundraising opportunities.
Making this and previous LNC felonious frauds? Not so much.
Perhaps you can bring THIS matter up to the FEC, too. 😉
Question: If this LNC follows precedent and uses the convention/hotel package pricing tactic that previous LNCs have used, do you expect that you will reputiate the New Path slate’s Treasurer candidate Oaksun if he accedes to or agrees with employing this packaging approach?
Bob,
You write:
“Regardless, it seems we agree that disintermediating the hotel room block from the meeting room(s) amounts to a subsidization.”
Not at all.
The members pay for a convention when they pay their dues.
If the LNC budgets from dues for convention facilities, there’s no “subsidy” involved. The members bought a convention (among other things), and they got a convention.
Obviously the LNC should get the best deal it can, but that doesn’t mean that if the LNC works a “cheaper rent if our convention delegates rent rooms from you” deal, those who rent the rooms are “subsidizing” the others. All it means is that the LNC got a better rate and that the delegates who rented rooms got rooms where they wanted, when they wanted, and at the price they wanted.
@148
Holding a National Convention is the one specified duty in the Bylaws of the LNC. Holding a convention involves paying for it.
Note, incidentally, that Party National Conventions are the one obvious exception to the no-corporate-donation rule for Political Parties, though the structuring of the exception is truly amazing to behold.
tk: People who stay at “the convention hotel” aren’t subsidizing those who don’t, they’re subsidizing the refusal of the LNC to budget for one of its obligations.
me: Yes, that’s another way to look at it. Regardless, it seems we agree that disintermediating the hotel room block from the meeting room(s) amounts to a subsidization. Please note that I said: “the hotel room fees subsidize the meeting space,” which is less accusatory and just as accurate. I am unaware of a specific obligation that the meeting room expense must be borne by the LNC treasury, are you?
Were that the case, and the LNC paid that bill but reaped a profit from OTHER convention-related activities, the economics would arrive in more or less the same place, yes?
The best place for Angela is the vp position on my fusion Independent ticket.
George, thank you for the info about your kitchen. But I didn’t exctly ask about it.
I doubt if the cold hard facts about stone countertops will impress the Root rooters.
@142 and @144 are right. Of course, @142 is right very often. @143 is also right with his question; we may yet get the answer.
And I have a credible report that there were some interesting events related to the executive session, not so much tectonic displacements as Keatonic displacements.
Tom Knapp wrote (@142):
I agree.
I would be interested if anyone has the breakdown of the votes cast on the motion to take back any money authorized to New York that was not spent?
Three of the six statewide LP candidates in New York State are close friends of mine so I certainly wish to see them get on the ballot but I know that the Redlich campaign has less than a 1% chance (if that) of getting the 50,000 votes necessary to avoid statewide petitioning in 2012.
Does the LNC authorize money based on probability of success (in this case, 50,000 votes) or does it simply vote based on who is friends with whom?
In the end, this is not the LNC’s money but the money of LP contributors. They should be more cautious with respect to where it is spent, in my opinion.
“[ a lexicographic preference for low hotel room prices over every other factor] limits our site selection to major cities that have large hotels with extensive meeting facilities that have relatively inexpensive hotel room rates.”
Not at all.
If the rental of convention facilities is kept disconnected from room bookings — as it ought to be in any case — then the solution is to hold the convention at a venue near a major airport.
Not only would this cut down on costs of airport-venue transit, but it would almost certainly put the convention venue in the center of a district full of hotels within walking distance across a full range of price and amenity types.
Convention venue rental is PARTY OVERHEAD. The party’s members are entitled, per the bylaws, to a convention every other year. That’s part of what they’re paying for with their dues. People who stay at “the convention hotel” aren’t subsidizing those who don’t, they’re subsidizing the refusal of the LNC to budget for one of its obligations.
@128
Shuttle Service to most hotels
Tropiano shuttle — $53 round trip.
Cheaper than the cab at St. Louis, more expensive than the shuttle.
@131
Since you ask about my kitchen, it is four years old and 550 square feet, white ceiling, most cabinets, and floor, except for the 10′ cherry breakfront (built in). I did drive my insurance agent to distract by getting laminate rather than corian or granite countertops. Their central house thinks the replacement cost of a kitchen is determined by the price of the countertop, rather than the ca 40′ of cabinetry and the breakfront, and the actual disadvantages of stone and synthetic stone are quite remarkable. (Granite and Corian *do* scar, and replacement is *very* expensive.)
The leftist is what is destroying this country. Oh brother.
JT,right
Depression is a big business.
Well, do something about the capitalist/fascist/welfare state.
What’s that? You can’t because you’ re a loser?
Boo hoo.
Milnes: “That’s what I get for having chronic depression & can’t compete in your glorious capitalist state.”
Boo hoo, victim. Are you the only person who’s depressed? Not hardly. Though if I were you, I’d be very depressed too.
Also, we obviously don’t have a “glorious capitalist state.” We have a capitalist/fascist/welfare state.
pc: How much does it cost to rent in comparison with hotel meeting spaces? My understanding is that the hotels rent out meeting spaces at little or no cost if the organization can book a certain number of rooms.
me: Convention centers have a range of room sizes, and breakout rooms. But, yes, you are correct, the hotel room fees subsidize the meeting space. In effect, those who stay on-site subsidize those who don’t, is my take. Disintermediating the hotel from the meeting space has the effect of making that plain. My suggestion, FWIW, is to have the state LPs pay for their delegation’s proportional, direct costs of the meeting space. It’s economically cleaner that way.
This also solves the problem that Dr. Moulton IDs: a “…lexicographic preference for low hotel room prices over every other factor…” This limits our site selection to major cities that have large hotels with extensive meeting facilities that have relatively inexpensive hotel room rates.
I’d guess that the Anacostia EconoLodge has lower room rates than any package available from the old model of convention selection. It’s outside the box, I know, but we ARE Ls, after all.
Plus, even if the old model were to be used, I suspect there are hotels near Dulles, BWI, Newark, JFK, or LaGuardia that would offer old-model package pricing comparable to Denver and St. Louis. Getting away from downtown would tend to lower prices while increasing the odds for major media opportunities, again, IF we want them.
Finally, let me agree with the FEC Narc, Prof. Phillies. (As I’ve said many times, GP has many good ideas. His apparently deeply chipped shoulder often poorly positions him with his L colleagues. If he’d only undo the apparent emotional wounds that drive him to his antisocial behavior, he would be a star in the LP.)
If not DC or NY, Valley Forge would be an excellent choice! The symbolism alone makes it so. Near Philly, a reasonably major airport. Probably not super expensive. Should be on the list!
Hey, after we win in 2012 thanks to me-not Root, I won’t care where the conventions are.
You guys decide to locate here, first thing we buy the park. It has a front office-quite adequate. & a maintenence building that could be revved up. Phila is a silver dollar throw across the Delaware. Which is French translation of Indian for Who are you killer people?
This is cute. You guys fiddle while time flies. Mega defeat in November-again. While I am financially swirling the john & living like a dog. Now I have to deal with local yokels that feed stray cats to pit bulls.
That’s what I get for having chronic depression & can’t compete in your glorious capitalist state.
Where is your libertarian utopia?
The 2016 combined Green and Libertarian Party convention will be held in Camden NJ in Mr. Milnes trailer, which will also function as the party’s national headquarters.
Michael Seebeck, so what is your point? Saddam’s kitchen was platial too. & don’t worry. I’m sure he keeps it clean even if he has to hire someone.
I would venture George’s is large & clean & adequate.
Tom’s is probably modest & clean.
Mine is concentrated outside the trailer under a tree for shade for the summer. Charcoal/oak smoker with electric hotplate on the side & microwave on the porch. Ants keep it clean.
So, what’s your point?
Baltimore would be a good pick for 2014. How about Labor Day weekend, which falls between the 200th anniversary of the burning of Washington and the same anniversary of the battle of North Point and the naval bombardment of Fort McHenry?
Next meeting was bumped from Philly to NO because of booking problems with Hilton. (Kraus).
No mention of website or Nolan resolution.
Root’s home is palatial, but I wouldn’t want to clean it. Kitchen is enough to make most cooks jealous.
George Phillies wrote )@127):
Good point, George. The Valley Forge convention center is a great location! I’ve been to many conventions there — including a chess tournament last week.
Several hotels might be needed, but seeing as convention space would be bought separately from hotel that might not be a problem. Drivers could find cheaper motel accomadations a couple miles away while flyers could stay in the hotel ajoining the convention center.
The main impediment would probably be transportation from the airport to the convention center. Philadelphia has a good regional metro rail system that runs out into the suburbs, but even that would entail a 30 minute ride on the R1 train to center city, a 40 minute ride on the R6 train to Norristown, and a 10 minute cab ride to the convention center. Renting a bunch of vans to shuttle people to and from the airport is doable, but would create an added logistical hurdle.
Also a convention in the suburbs would make it harder for convention attendees to take advantage of the many tourist opportunities Philadelphia has to offer (Independence Hall, the Constitution Center, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, etc.).
If you want something in Pennsylvania, the ConventionCenter at Valley Forge — 2500 free parking spaces — is almost opposite The Mall At King Of Prussia. They have the space, but you would need to use several hotels, which might not work well, though there is a range of prices.
I seem to recall Baltimore being more reasonable. That’s still in the general neighborhood.
I go to Vegas several times a year. Great city!
I’d like to see a LP convention in Philadelphia. As long as there is a lexicographic preference for low hotel room prices over every other factor in convention site selection though, cities like Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington D.C. don’t have a chance.
LG, please don’t misunderstand. This was a very nice trip, and Vegas is certainly an option. I was warned about the effects of alchohol in that climate when we were there two years ago, so I avoided it – and I carried water with me whenever possible this weekend.
The strip did have a lot less people than in 2008, but the planes from and to Atlanta were completely full. I had fun, and especially enjoyed the film that some of us had the opportunity to see: The American Dream. Fantastic production work, excellent script. Superior work. No question about it!
LG @118, I’m one of those fairytale left-inclined Libertarians, if you could consider me so. Economically conservative, socially “liberal” since choice in anything is considered liberal… but doesn’t that describe most of us anyway?
Hey, I’m in Ft Collins also. Give me a call 415-690-6352.
paulie I am sitting here in Ft. Collins, CO and had a talk with a woman this afternoon who works from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends.
Apparently the local government bus agency runs from 6 a.m. till 6 p.m. As a result this woman who earns just above minimum wage cannot cut the costs of transportation by using the local bus service.
In many if not most communities nationwide we should be working to open the local transportation market so that low income people have more choices. If their choices are improved many of them can get off of government support. Of course the LP might look better in many people’s eye if we took up this cause.
This is one issue that I strongly suggest we work on.
MW
Under “go where they are” — farmers markets are also good, and increasingly popular.
Under community involvement – community gardens are another good project to get involved in.
@118 there are leftists infiltrating the LP? could you please point me in their direction so I can ask them what brought them here and what I can do to get more of em?
I was a leftist before I joined the LP. In many ways still am, although I no longer support big government as a solution to anything.
What brought me to the LP was that I gradually realized that the Democrats were never going to end the drug war, end corporate-government collusion as the prevailing economic modus operandi, or bring the troops home from around the world. The precipating event was their choice of Bill Clinton and Al Gore as their first baby boomer presidential ticket.
Additionally, I was in college studying environmental issues at that time, and as I got into the more advanced courses I discovered that there are free market approaches to environmentalism and that there were many problems with the oversimplified views of environmental issues which we were taught in lower level courses.
What we can do to get more people in the same category as I was then:
1. Go where they are. Colleges are a good place. I’ve done hundreds of OPH booths on college campuses, usually scoring hundreds of quizzes at each such booth.
The biggest cluster is around 80 on social issues and about 50 0n economic issues, with many people saying they don’t know or care very much about economic issues.
What they do know and care about are largely issues where they agree with the left, so they are susceptible to leftist arguments on the issues they know less about.
However, an LP which takes the time to approach them, emphasize issues on which we already agree, and explain our position on economic issues in language which they relate to can also reach a lot of them as well.
For example, Ron Paul has been able to do this successfully in 2008, despite – not because – of being more conservative than the LP on some key social issues. The biggest factor was standing up to Giuliani on the war issue.
Other places where they are include rallies on issues which can encompass both the left and libertarianism, such as antiwar, marijuana/hemp legalization, gay pride, earth day, etc; social networks online; concerts; bar districts; alternative weekly papers; oh, and Burning Man and Rainbow Gatherings, as Capozzi points out 🙂
2. Use language they relate to. Brush up on leftist buzzwords. Explain issues in ways which
make sense from a leftist starting point, showing how libertarian approaches can be good for poor people, the environment, etc. Emphasize the difference between free markets and the government-intertwined corporate big business economic model, which many people don’t know about.
3. Give them things to do. Most LP locals don’t suggest a lot of hands-on activities for their new/prospective members. Gripefest monthly supper clubs, internal bickering and appeals for overhead fundraising (especially “sky is falling” and/or “we’re about to take over the world, just send money” fundraising appeals) are not enough to get and keep most people’s attention, yet that is all which most LP affiliates offer. There are exceptions, but on the whole Ron Paul local groups – and the bigger parties – do a much better job of getting and keeping new members. Join as many of them as you have time for to see how they do things and maybe recruit away a few people.
4. Participate in the community. Do road and river cleanups. Feed the homeless. Pass out jury rights information. Go to public meetings. Monitor your local government. Anything which makes a difference in the here and now, rather than just the hypothetical future when we become the party in power. Anything which shows we care about people and emphasize voluntary solutions as an alternative to government “help.”
5. Be creative. Most LP recruiting is passive, waiting for people to come to us or (at best) respond to advertising. Little of it makes effective use of emotional appeals, music, visuals, and other things which most people relate to more so than the written word and logic. Ask your existing and prospective members to submit videos, songs, poems, etc.
6. Make it personal. Share and encourage people to share stories about how big government has hurt them and people they know. Encourage new members to bring friends.
7. Actively pursue diversity. If you are the only (or almost the only) non-white person, young person, or female at your first LP meeting, chances are much lower that you will be back.
8. Emphasize issues they care about. If anyone reading needs ideas, here are a few to start:
http://pauliecannoli.wordpress.com/2007/01/31/state-of-the-empire-2/ (scroll down past the image).
9. Do fun stuff. Camping trips, hikes, bar crawls, movie nights, etc.
10. Work with leftist groups on single issue coalitions: military counter-recruiting, marriage equality, opposing corporate welfare boondoggles, compassionate care for marijuana patients, many others.
That’s a few good starting points.
If anyone read all the way through and has any questions or additional suggestions, please let me know.
there are leftists infiltrating the LP? could you please point me in their direction so I can ask them what brought them here and what I can do to get more of em?
ooo, let’s have it at Burning Man or a Rainbow Family gathering! 😉
Seriously,
I wasn’t being facetious.
Why not?
Sure, it’s not for everyone, but then neither are hotels (or convention centers).
I think nothing says “big tent” like an actual big tent, except maybe televangelists, clowns, and elephants. Not that we’re lacking for clowns and elephants at present, or anything, mind you.
a convention center like DC’s
How much does it cost to rent in comparison with hotel meeting spaces?
My understanding is that the hotels rent out meeting spaces at little or no cost if the organization can book a certain number of rooms.
Even if that’s not the case, don’t convention centers cost more?
pc: Maybe a campground with a big tent for the meeting and RV/tent spaces…
me: ooo, let’s have it at Burning Man or a Rainbow Family gathering! 😉
Seriously, a convention center like DC’s allows for flexible space and conventioneers to stay in close by accommodations that have a range of quality and price.
So I guess not much or nothing was done to improve the website!
April 19-20 has some symbolic significance. For a longer convention, April 15 may be included as well. Perhaps the convention could include an antitax protest at one end and a legalize marijuana rally at the other.
On one hand, it would keep some LP members from participating in similar events at home, but on the other it would make the LP presence at the events in the convention city harder to ignore.
April 1st has some interesting satiric possibilities that could earn some coverage with some creative thinking.
With an early convention, the candidates will be forced to campaign merely at state conventions where there is little, if any media.
Not necessarily. I recall Marrou and/or Browne campaigned in NH during the R/D primaries. Is there any reason that an LP candidate, nomination in hand, couldn’t go to where the R and D candidates are competing in primaries — rather than, as is the case now, spending the same period campaigning for the LP nomination at LP state conventions?
Also, an early convention allows a candidate more time to “crash & burn” as in ‘91 (Marrou) and to a lesser extent in ‘87 (the Ron Paul treasurer ran off with the money causing all sorts of unexpected problems).
Counterargument: An early crash and burn leaves time to restaff and get it together well before the election. The same thing with a short timeframe leaves no opportunity to effectively reorganize.
With all the leftists infiltrating the LP it should be on May 1st.…
With all the rightists infiltrating the LP it should be July 4th.…
May 1st is not necessarily “leftist” in the modern big government sense. It’s originally an anarchist celebration of the working man, which by no means implies government control of the economy. It also has older pagan roots as well.
July 4th is not necessarily “rightist” either. The American revolution was a rebellion against the rightist tradition of obedience to monarchs, and to a lesser extent also a step against the absolute authority of national churches and towards freedom of conscience in matters of religion. It was also a rebellion against government favoritism towards select corporations such as the British East Indies Company. Those were all “leftist” ideas of the enlightenment.
The split within the left between those who saw government as a means of achieving leftist goals and those who clung to the original leftist tradition of suspicion of government came a century to a century and a half later.
The “media coverage” is basically irrelevant. No one pays attention to the LP convention in May 2012 either.
I wouldn’t expect media coverage for the convention…UNLESS a few candidates have been campaigning in primary states.
Last election cycle only one candidate sent out news releases to the general media before the convention (during the primary season).
This year the LP did have a few primary contests (3 in Ohio). And the LP did get some exposure because of this. And it was all good, positive media. FREE media.
And this free media drove more voters to the LP. This would NOT have happened if we had no contested primaries.
The LP (IMHO) should take advantage of this. With an early convention, the candidates will be forced to campaign merely at state conventions where there is little, if any media.
Also, an early convention allows a candidate more time to “crash & burn” as in ’91 (Marrou) and to a lesser extent in ’87 (the Ron Paul treasurer ran off with the money causing all sorts of unexpected problems).
PEACE
I think that’s because hotels don’t have meeting spaces large enough for their conventions. We don’t have that issue, at least yet.
I don’t necessarily mean that we always have to stay at hotels, either. Maybe a campground with a big tent for the meeting and RV/tent spaces for sleeping could work. Sure, not everyone has a tent or likes to camp, but tents are cheaper than motel rooms at convention hotels, and not everyone likes to stay at hotels either.
Another possibility could be university dorm rooms in the summer, with a university auditorium for the meeting hall.
There may be other possibilities.
pc: A lot of people find staying anywhere other than the convention venue to be inconvenient, though not everyone.
me: Yes, but the Rs and Ds generally don’t have their conventions in hotels, but rather convention centers or arenas. It certainly can be done.
JT, yes, my POV was based on sending a message and getting coverage. If we don’t care if the convention venue maximizes those opportunities, then I agree with the notion of spreading it around.
A case could be made that the convention is a retreat of sorts, a way for Ls to come together without being scrutinized too closely. A Wrights/Phillies/Milnes showdown might make that case stronger!
Could be that the conventions should always be in the midwest…Chicago, St. Louis, KC, Dallas, Denver…major airports with fewer connecting flights for the largest number of conventioneers.
Portland, OR, a cool place and one of the most productive LP conventions ever, was hard to get to by many.
It strikes me as fool’s errand to base site location on today’s crisis. Hopefully, the Gulf Coast will be recovering by late 2011 or 2012. LV’s woes will perhaps not be so pronounced by then, either.
Odds are low that the LP convention will make any difference to the economies of any state. We should probably do what’s best for us, all things considered, and use the convention to come together, strengthen, and send our message of peace hither and yon.
Robert: “I’d like to hear a good reason why the presidential nominating convention should NOT where the media are, specifically DC or NY.”
Well here’s one reason: the media don’t care all that much. They might briefly report the LP presidential nominee from a press release, but they won’t bother to cover that personally (unless, perhaps, there’s a genuine celebrity seeking the nomination). Only C-SPAN does that, and it has sent a camera crew to LP conventions in other places besides D.C. or N.Y.
Here’s another reason: Given your logic, the LP should have the presidential nominating convention in D.C. or N.Y. every year. But that isn’t really fair to those Libertarians who have to traverse the entire country to attend every other convention, is it?
Just playing devil’s advocate.
If we wanted the venue to send a message, hold it in Constitution Hall in DC. Accommodations nearby range from the Four Seasons to the Anacostia EconoLodge.
A lot of people find staying anywhere other than the convention venue to be inconvenient, though not everyone.
I’ve stayed at off-venue motels before, and remember walking there in a very exhausted condition late at night. Luckily, I wasn’t driving, as the alcohol consumption as well as lack of sleep would have definitely been an issue.
I prefer to stay at the convention hotel, even if it’s 5 people to a room.
I’d like to hear a good reason why the presidential nominating convention should NOT where the media are, specifically DC or NY.
I think the traditional argument is that it should be spread around to different parts of the country to keep one region from having an unfair advantage.
On the other hand, the ball has probably swung too far in the other direction, as the mid-atlantic and northeastern states have not had one since the 1990s.
the gulf oil spill is very bad , but Nevada , in particular LV is absolutely the hardest hit by the housing market crash . It is very very bad here , stores closing all over , we need the charity too.
The convention should be the Columbus Day weekend in Oct. 2011. The “media coverage”
is basically irrelevant. No one pays attention to the LP convention in May 2012 either.
The Oct.2011 date is for our convenience- winning candidate gets a full year to visit state conventions to shore up support, develop a coherent strategy for the campaign and petition drives, build up state volunteers networks, pose with their local candidates, raise money, and probably get a lot more press than would occur if we waited until memorial day. One obvious weakness of Barr’s campaign was the last minute nature and lack of campaign volunteers in the states. I say get it behind us as earlier as possible so we can coalesce around a candidate sooner, instead of hoping Time may give us one unremarkable and forgetable paragraph in their June 2012 issue.
I’d like to hear a good reason why the presidential nominating convention should NOT where the media are, specifically DC or NY.
The price of food or cellphone coverage strikes me as way down the list.
If we wanted the venue to send a message, hold it in Constitution Hall in DC. Accommodations nearby range from the Four Seasons to the Anacostia EconoLodge. Food runs from world class restaurants to hot dog stands and Mickey Ds. Something for everyone.
@98
Is that why the fall meeting is in New Orleans and not Philly?
I thought they planned it for Philadelphia at the post-convention meeting.
Has any LP convention ever received significant coverage on any network that is more widely viewed than CSPAN, regardless of what time of year or city it was held or who was running for the nomination? I don’t mean 2-minute type coverage.
oh , and no self respecting Las Vegan would ever be caught w/o a large bottle of water. With temps like these , dehydration is an issue for everyone . If your not used to it , I would advise staying indoors and whatever you do never , EVER , drink a bunch of alcohol and go out in the heat…
My suggestions don’t matter for much, but I’d like to see the LP host their convention in a gulf coast city–to support that region after the BP oil crisis. It will be a good selling point: “No one had to tell us we had to hold our convention here in order to help others–we chose to come here because this area has been injured by government malfeasance.”
New Orleans, in particular, would make a good location. So would anywhere on the MS or AL gulf coast.
there is still dirt cheap food in Vegas , maybe not at Ballys/Paris center strip , but many many other places.
tk 86, not sure if srl meant that an ’11 nominating convention would lead to neglible coverage throughout the election cycle, or just that the convention itself would get little to no coverage. Taking his quote literally, it’d be the former, but sometimes we don’t say exactly what we mean, esp. in short spurts on IPR comments. Perhaps srl can clarify his intent….
I’d think most would recognize that coverage depends on a variety of factors, including whether the R and D candidates are “strong,” how much money and talented staff the candidate has, the candidate’s resume, etc.
A Wrights/Phillies/Milnes showdown in Vegas on Labor Day weekend 2011 without big money behind the candidate is unlikely to get much attention in Vegas or after. C-Span at the convention is nice, but it’s kind of a limited outlet.
Clark 79-80 was a Crane Machine, Koch-funded operation; Clark was heavily “handled” and had done kinda OK in the 78 CA governor’s race and he’s an articulate attorney.
Managing the variables is no small task.
That’s right. I packed my binder in my luggage, so I can’t look up exactly what the other position was, but it will be in the minutes.
Las Vegas is obviously only one of the cities that we are considering for a convention. The “strip” is very interesting and the food at some of the places we ate was very good — but NOT cheap. The days of $2 steaks in Vegas are over.
The airport is very close to the downtown area. There is free wifi here, but wifi on the strip is quite expensive. 3G cellular was spotty, going out a half a dozen to a dozen times (that I counted!) every day.
This is a beautiful city, but the air is bone dry. Dehydration is a serious issue for those of us used to humid climates.
The hotel complex was interesting, especially the interior of Paris. The visual effects they create with the ceiling are quite convincing, especially after sitting in meetings all day. Excellent food, but again not dirt cheap. Not horribly expensive, but not cheap.
According to Stewart Flood (via phone), Wes’s salary was not increased, his budget was increased so he could hire a political director and one other position that Stewart could not remember.
with regard to Post 89 –
The lies continue. Eric Sundwall says I was expelled. My membership was suspended and I resigned my LPNY membership for reasons I have stated.
I can assure you I am not “off my rocker” or bitter. I am moving on and engaging in more productive pro-liberty activities.
As for the Sundwall claim that this is New York’s best shot in years to get 50,000 votes, I will state again what I have always said when such outrageous claims are made – “Is Sundwall simply a liar or is he so politically naive that he actually thinks Redlich has a real shot at getting 50,000 votes?”
Who will hold him to account post- November? Oh, I remember the cant of the lying politician – the facts changed and unexpected circumstances arose that altered the result I anticipated. ***
Sorry, I don’t play that game! I call a spade a spade and a turkey a turkey and I can assure you I am not off my rocker when I tell you that Warren Redlich is the biggest Thanksgiving Turkey the LPNY has ever seen!
Can we get a bullet points summary of LNC decisions?
If been out of state and on the road thus unable to keep up with the goings on.
Has any effort been made at improving the website or getting a different provider? Any discussion of costs on this issue?
Where do we stand at communicating our ideas to the public?
wolfefan: Does anyone know why the HQ keeps mentioning GWU as a reason for staying in DC proper?
Me: Do they? I’ve never seen that. It might have been the rationale back in the day for the Watergate…sure. GWU is close by, Georgetown fairly close, American, Mason, and Maryland are doably close.
Blank piece of paper: LPHQ would be in nearby Arlington, VA, near the GMU campus, reachable by metro from DC. I’d want to see the mailing address remain in DC, which can be done.
OTOH, site location based on intern availability seems an ancillary consideration. I wonder just how much networking is done now, and what its returns are.
Probably too much energy is wasted on this discussion.
After two failed lawsuits, Sam Sloan is now apparently circulating a rival petition. His buddy, Dr. Stevens is heralding the event as justified. I didn’t agree with the Stevens expulsion, but don’t miss him. Both are off their rockers and just outright bitter and strange now.
Thanks to the LNC for keeping the cooler head here. This is the best shot we’ve had in years and the effort is going well. We’re also having fun. Here’s a new video spoofing the whole Lebron thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6fa6LE1AaQ&feature=player_embedded
wolfefan wrote (@76):
As a resident of Fairfax, VA and a GMU student, I completely concur.
Matt Cholko wrote (@81):
Peanuts.
Matt Cholko wrote (@81):
He was working at a sub-market salary yet delivered great results — especially in fundraising. The LNC is probably raising his salary to a reasonable level.
“And moving our convention back to 2011 would GUARANTEE that there would be no media coverage of our candidates and their campaigns.”
Really?
In September of 1979, the LP nominated a presidential candidate for 1980 who probably got more media coverage than any other LP presidential candidate ever.
If I could find a woman vp for my Independent ticket, and get on enough ballots to win, and get decent contributions, I could win in 2012 regardless of what the GP & LP do. AND I can get a LOT of Green & Libertarian candidates elected on coattails.
Of course, all that vodka has certain consequences…
Thank you. Thank you very much. Paulvis has left the building…
No discussion of PLAS? Oh well. LP guaranteed loser-again.
Too bad. They have everything they need to win-except a winning strategy.
All they have to do is ask for the progressive vote. & offer in exchange to fill the gaps in their ballot access whereever possible with Green candidates.
Sounds fair & reasonable. But libs are obstinate & dominated by rightists. Not to mention infiltrated by government agents.
They therefore will lose.
Obviously Melissa Brookestone doesn’t get it. Paul/Stevens is not a fusion ticket Therefore her dream ticket is a guranteed loser.
Does anybody know how much the Executive Director (of LPUS) is paid, and/or understand the motion to raise his pay that apparently was passed at this LNC meeting?
Thanks Mike! BTW, wasn’t the fall meeting supposed to be in Philadelphia?
And another bonus post from Dr. Stevens’ blog:
http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/2010/06/rand-stevens-in-2012-brookstone-says.html
Rand & Stevens In 2012: Brookstone Says They Are “Two Doctors To Heal Our Freedom”
In an e-mail dated June 14, 2010 to Judge Andrew P. Napolitano congratulating him on his new television show Freedom Watch, which airs on the Fox Business channel, Melissa Brookstone, author of The Planetary Bill of Rights Project (http://www.planetarybillofrights.org/), said:
My Presidential Dream Ticket for 2012 would be what I’d call “Two Doctors to heal our freedom!”: Dr. Rand Paul for President and Dr. Tom Stevens for Vice President.
Dr. Stevens is the founder of the newly formed Objectivist Party: http://www.ObjectivistParty.us
*Objectivism – the individual rights and freedom philosophy of Ayn Rand.
Congratulations on your new show, loving it!
Melissa Brookstone has agreed to be a Presidential Elector for the Objectivist Party from the state of Colorado in 2012.
Next Meeting is in New Orleans.
Feb mtg Seattle w/LSLA? Nope, April somewhere in OH. Adjourning.
And that’s it. Please all thank Mike Seebeck for his hard work at generating coverage.
@76 Inability to think outside the matchbox?
You could be in all sorts of places that have students. You could be in places with adult libertarians who want to do political work. Furthermore, GWU draws D and R students who want to intern with their parties, so we have the challenge of filtering out the rejects who are also in the wrong party. You may recall the period in which LNC press releases were a bit odd, inciting Tom Knapp to launch competition.
@65 from the same source:
Stevens said, “Our goal is to welcome all small government libertarians into our ranks and to take actions that will have an immediate positive effect in spreading the message of liberty. We do not plan to charge dues, to hold meetings or to run candidates for elective office in a futile attempt to capture 1% of the popular vote. We intend to participate in Tea Party rallies, endorse libertarian-leaning candidates and join pro-liberty coalitions.”
Does anyone know why the HQ keeps mentioning GWU as a reason for staying in DC proper? You could be in Fairfax County w/the NRA and draw from GMU, which actively promotes libertarianism and draws some like-minded students.
NY Times:
The vodka ads tiling the walls of the Moscow metro station’s lengthy escalators abound with hypermasculine imagery. One poster for the Olymp brand in the central Tverskaya metro station shows a boxer with Cro-Magnon features wearing armor and chain mail, and carries the slogan: “The time for the strong has come.”
Recently, a new billboard has appeared here, displaying a lavender-tinged bottle with a distinctive feminine shape, adorned in a white skirt billowing upward, à la Marilyn Monroe, to reveal the label, Damskaya.
“Between us girls,” is the catchphrase for this vodka intended for women, a marketing campaign as jarring as, say, a Super Bowl commercial for women’s Budweiser.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/fashion/30vodka.html?ex=1364529600&en=6165ee82c01b8ef0&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Apparently not, Seebeck is tweeting again…
Sorry, time was up for that item. They went into ES and my last tweet didn’t go through before leaving the room. Caught up now.
time up. 20 minutes ago via web
For the whole meeting or just the list confidentiality discussion?
And for any non-alcohol users on the LNC:
Is the elected LNC Having Fun?
It seems they could use a drink. Not being in Vegas today, here’s the best I can do…
As it now stands, the LPNY may not even get its candidates on the NY State ballot…
I have no idea why.
As Ernie said, if you are not having fun, you are doing it wrong.
Not much in the way of LP interest in my help with ballot access since March, but at least I’m having some fun in comments here.
Poll: Is the elected LNC Having Fun? Read all the tweets, then vote.
based on making Austrian the legal language in America
No way! This is America! We speak American here!
the Navy becomes Der Kaiserliche und Koenigliche Kriegsmarine der Vereinigten Kaiserliche Stattes des Amerika.
Do they have to morse code that every time before a ship can set sail?
Is that really a glass Kalashnikov full of Vodka?
Yes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kalashnikov
Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Russian: ??????? ??????????? ???????????, Mihail Timofeevi? Kalašnikov) (born November 10, 1919 in Russia’s southern Altai region) is a Russian small arms designer, most famous for designing the AK-47 assault rifle, the AKM and the AK-74.
……….
Despite estimates of some 100 million AK-47 assault rifles circulating, General Kalashnikov claims he has not profited and that he only receives a state pension.[12] He does however own 13% of a German company Marken Marketing International (MMI), based in Solingen, that revamps trademarks and produces merchandise carrying the Kalashnikov name, such as vodka, umbrellas and knives.[13]
http://www.kalashnikovvodka.com
@62
There was a choice on which way the literary bombs were going to be thrown.
The whiners made their decision, now they get to live with it.
As Ernie said, if you are not having fun, you are doing it wrong.
@60
As covered in the forthcoming LfA:
LNC Appropriates $25,000 for New York Ballot Access
The LNC Executive Committee appropriated $25,000 for a New York Ballot Access drive. Meanwhile, New York is having internal issues. LP Queens county member Tom Stevens reports on his blog http://drtomstevens.blogspot.com/
that his membership in the LPNY was suspended by the LPNY State Executive Committee. (He also emphasizes that this was a suspension, not an expulsion.) Stevens has since been appointed Political Director of the Queens Party. In response to the suspension, Attorney General candidate Carl Person withdrew his offer of $5000 to help support the ballot access effort.
Stevens, however, issued the statement “Mark Axinn deserves full credit for obtaining this financial contribution from the LNC Executive Committee. Frankly, I was surprised the National LP would commit such a substantial amount of money to New York State in a non-Presidential election year and when we have a gubernatorial candidate who is unlikely to draw the 50,000 votes we need to obtain Minor Party status under New York State law. I don’t have the words to properly congratulate Mark Axinn for being able to convince the LNC Executive Committee to allocate these funds. It is a significant accomplishment for which he can be rightfully proud!”
Stevens has now resigned his membership in the LPNY. LPNY Vice Chair Donald Silberger is quoted on Stevens’ blog as writing: The party from which you resigned is in disarray. LP National has evidently tired of our repeated and far-off-the-mark claims that “this time we have an excellent chance to garner 50K votes”… when never once since 1972 have we gotten even half of that total. As it now stands, the LPNY may not even get its candidates on the NY State ballot…the LPNY continues to do the same things, to make the same outrageously optimistic predictions, to set the same senseless goals, to squander opportunities, to squabble and laze, and to repeat the same silly mistakes, season after season. And now they congratulate themselves for their successful vindictiveness; i.e., the party’s “defending itself”. I’ve had it! You are one of the most articulate people in the LPNY…Sheer envy? We should have been running you for office — giving you a forum. Sheesh.
Stevens has now formed a group Empire State Libertarians to promote a pro-liberty agenda. The group is not affiliated with the LNC State affiliate, whose legal name is apparently Free Libertarian Party, Inc The declared purposes of the enw group are 1. to encourage New York State residents who share libertarian ideals and principles to become politically active and to seek out avenues to promote a pro-liberty agenda; 2. to endorse candidates seeking elective office who support smaller government, lower taxes and more individual freedom; 3. to encourage patriotism, respect for our Founder Fathers, and a deep appreciation for the United States Constitution; and 4. to organize and charter chapters of Empire State Libertarians in order to promote local activism.
Empire State Libertarians has a Facebook page.
@62
Is that really a glass Kalashnikov full of Vodka?
@61 I have been busy helping the Catholic Trotskyite Party –Monarchists; replace everything with an absolute monarch, under the currently underbusy House of Hapsburg — build his new party headquarters.
I also advised him on their first party plank, based on making Austrian the legal language in America; the Navy becomes Der Kaiserliche und Koenigliche Kriegsmarine der Vereinigten Kaiserliche Stattes des Amerika. There is a platform fight over whether we should be the United Imperial States or the Imperial United States.
More serious, it is another 100 shelf-feet of shelves in fair part for the use of my state party.
But I just put up another set of tweets.
Super duper secret LNC list leaks via Phillies to IPR and le site d’ Wrights have the committee astir.
Time for another drink….
For those who prefer seeing oldest comments on top, see
http://www.goldamericagroup.com/diary/207/lnc-meets-in-las-vegas
It is the same material as http://twitter.com/teamseebeckm but updated slightly less frequently. The original twitter feed has newest comments on top.
LPNY ballot access spending. Wills moves to rescind any unspent money not sent to LPNY b/c of their mess. Discussion.
What’s the mess exactly? If anyone knows, please post and/or call me. 415-690-6352.
@58 I’ll drink to that
@57 party of socialism and liberation of alaska?
PLAS is passe… PSLA is the new way!
More current notes Intervening tweets are on GoldAmericaGroup.Com
Next item is about LNC funding for state ballot access based on sustaining members and other criteria. States gonna go ballistic
….
(OK, back to the proposal. See http://tinyurl.com/35zqzvt for the full text)
…
the sustaining members req disincentivizes states to raise national member levels because it makes their job harder to get funds.
Plus the amounts are junk change and useless at current sig rates. 4 minutes ago via web
illness milness, who is your handler?
I seem to run them all off. Most recently, it was DD, but she seems to have disappeared as well. Possibly on an extended under-the-covers operation.
JD stuck around the longest, back in the 80s. Last I heard she was allegedly in a shallow grave in the mountains of Chihuahua State, Mexico.
The agency seems to be running out of snake-handlers willing to take me on, so at the moment, I’m, er, ahem, having to handle myself. Or in the immortal words of Social Distortion, “how can you love when you don’t love yourself?”
& what are you getting to dog me? Chump change? Time off sentence?
I did it all for the nookie
C’mon
The nookie
C’mon
So you can take that PLAS
And stick it up your, yeah!!
Stick it up your, yeah!!
Stick it up your, yeah!!
(Verbatim reproduction, except for any typos)
Motion on Ballot Access Petitioning Support Standards
Party expenditures for ballot access petitioning shall be for the purposes of qualifying for the ballot the Party’s Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees or Sustaining members in statewide races.
No state affiliate shall be eligible for Party financial support for petitioning unless, through a combination of volunteer efforts and its own funds, it first gathers 20 signatures for each sustaining member in the state.
The Party’s financial support to a state affiliate for ballot access petitioning during a two-year election cycle shall not exceed an amount equaling its number of electoral votes multiplied by:
– $2000 in the case of Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees; or
– $1000 in the case of any other office.
Party funds may only be encumbered if a determination is first made by the Party that such an amount is sufficient in the remaining time available to qualify the candidate or affiliate for the ballot. an encumbrance determination may be made in advance contingent upon the affiliate meeting specified eligibility requirements.
Party funds may not be encumbered if total encumbrances are calculated to cause the Party to have less than the targeted Reserve.
This standing rule may be suspended by a majority vote of the LNC — either at a meeting or by mail ballot — or by unanimous consent of the entire Executive Committee.
Proviso: This standing rule will not apply to any previously approved ballot access encumbrance by the Executive Committee.
srl, good point, if somewhat overstated. The amount of coverage is not just a function of when on the calendar, but where and who…where would the convention be held and who are the hopefuls.
IF we held the convention Labor Day 2011 in Salt Lake City and the contenders were, say, Wrights, Phillies and Milnes, my guess is we’d get very little coverage. Same candidates, same venue, Presidents Day 2012, more. Same candidates, DC or NY, Presidents Day 2012, more still. Stossel, Carlson, Gary Johnson, Tim Penney, DC or NY, Presidents Day, and we’d maximize our coverage.
Of course, coverage isn’t the only consideration….
If the LP’s national convention drew massive media attention in mid-2012, putting its nominee into contention with the major party nominees, that would be one thing.
It doesn’t. All it does is reduce the amount of time that the nominee has to campaign AS the nominee, raise funds AS the nominee, etc.
And moving our convention back to 2011 would GUARANTEE that there would be no media coverage of our candidates and their campaigns.
Further, there is little general interest in politics until the major media begin to cover the major party candidates and their campaigns. Our candidates won’t be able to take advantage of this added interest and be forced to merely “preach to the choir” and campaign at only state conventions.
I’d much prefer our candidates campaign amongst the general population in primaries, drawing attention to the LP.
PEACE
@49: yup. 😀
See them all on GoldAmericaGroup.com
More recent Tweets, a sempling:
Seebeck: Lieberman asked my price..
…price to not blog this. I told him $1M in gold and silver only–no FRNs.
Reference appears to be to the Root proposal that we should cross-endorse.
The Professor from Worcester, my bad on the misspelling…there’s a Wooster, OH, and I’d not looked up the spelling would be my explanation…yours?
Are you saying the AmEx and the LP are analogous organizations in terms of scope and scale? Novel, if so!
The nature of the businesses seem awfully different to me.
But, then, since you and a few seem to think your narcing to the FEC was justified and I cannot imagine how it was, it may well be that some employ conventional base 10 logic rules, and other base 2.3.
I certainly wish you well with 2.3. It may even make sense on a level beyond my grasp.
“of 2011?”
Yes.
“What about all the state conventions”
Most states have conventions each year. In fact, some states choose their delegates to even-year national conventions at their previous odd-year state conventions.
“Calif primary”
LP national convention delegates aren’t selected in primaries, nor are they bound by primary outcomes.
“straw polls etc.?”
What do you mean by “straw poll?” If you’re talking about straw polls with national media cachet, the LP doesn’t have one. If you’re talking about internal state or national LP straw polls, they can be held in late 2010/early 2011 as easily as they can in late 2001/early 2012.
If the LP’s national convention drew massive media attention in mid-2012, putting its nominee into contention with the major party nominees, that would be one thing.
It doesn’t. All it does is reduce the amount of time that the nominee has to campaign AS the nominee, raise funds AS the nominee, etc.
I like holiday weekends for conventions. We have too much business to cram into a non-holiday weekend. Travel time needs to be taken into account… it can be huge for people from the opposite coast as the convention.
However, July 4th weekend is awful. Memorial Day seems okay. President’s Day would be good too if the convention is in a warm location and a few states would fix their rigid bylaws to get rid of convention timing issues.
@43
Once again, the more sensible of our two Roberts has a good point.
The LNC would probably be wise to move to a cheaper HQ but keep it in Washington DC.
However, if they were moving to an entirely new geographic area then it would probably be wise to move somewhere where the LP already had a strong organization. That would probably mean North Carolina or Texas would be your best bets.
Tom & George, well since you are not in Vegas & Root IS, his proposals are more likely to play in Vegas. Now if he would only STAY in Vegas!
A few more Tweets
“ES for FEC stuff (re Phillies at http://www.libertyforall.net/?… to happen later. “
33 Labor Day is good, though mid-August no competition with family holidays or other news events — in my opinion is better.
Crapozzi: I will spell myour name as accurately as you spelled the name of my city.
I can’t imagine why anyone would propose this particular location,as opposed to any of the other cities the same size. My actual proposals were quite different.
People with a positive IQ may recall why American Express put its large back office, many years ago, into North Dakota.
“It’s the national capital — that sounds like the expensive replacement for the same reason for giving a few key people penile implant surgery — it may be really big, but it’s not the real thing.”
Rationale for any date in 2011 Q3-4 is simple: creates a LOT more time to campaign for candidates while still gets the state laws and Bylaws constraints on convention scheduling satisfied.
gp: Unless there are no other places that can supply interns, claiming ‘we can get interns here’ is not an argument.
me: Yes, I can understand your point, coming from the comrade who said, in effect, “I had no choice but to narc to the FEC.”
I’d be shocked if the LNC didn’t have as its primary reason for being in the DC area that it IS a national party and DC is the capital. Being near a university was probably a supplementary argument for the specific Watergate location, in that case, near GWU.
That was probably a bad decision. Moving LPHQ to Wooster, MA — a lovely place, I’m sure — would make as much sense as Minot, ND or Coeur D’alene, ID or Grants, NM. Those would be worse decisions, IMO.
illness milness, who is your handler? & what are you getting to dog me? Chump change? Time off sentence?
of 2011? What about all the state conventions, Calif primary, straw polls etc.? To hell with them?….ok. As long as the LP mkes a good pick for ticket. Otherwise it will be misery. Like can you imagine Root as nominees in Sept. 2011? OOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
Tom, what is the rationale for Labor Day weekend?
I can just see it now, B-Franklin and T-Jeff rolling in a Hummer with a Palin bumper sticker blasting Limbaugh at 120 decibels to attract all the bitches.
Labor Day weekend of 2011 would be the best possible convention date.
What’s rightist about july 4??
With all the rightists infiltrating the LP it should be July 4th.
http://politeaparty.blogspot.com/2010/07/plea-for-political-independence-toward.html
Redpath advocating for 2012 Mem day weekend. Root objects, says it’s too late, says Feb too early, try late March/early April. He’s right.
Having our convention on Memorial weekend allows us to take advantage of the states that have primaries.
I think the record of this year proves the value of using primaries to educate voters about the LP.
PEACE
I’m not the only one calling for Green/Lib. coalition of some sort.
http://politeaparty.blogspot.com.2010/07/plea-for-political-independence-toward.html
Across the DC line in close-suburban MD or VA has similar location advantages at a reduced cost.
With all the leftists infiltrating the LP it should be on May 1st.
dude. April 20.
“Motion to resolve to have 2012 between March 1 and May 6. Wills seconds. Discussion. Root says shorten convention.”
Good ideas. One day convention on April 1st?
I think the LNC should be mobile. Stay in one state for one year and then move on. It would help to establish the information booth and recruiting bed that is needed in states where we don’t exist in great numbers. The LNC could “show” how libertarians are different in a comparison rationale to the other parties.
In the people, next to the people, fighting side by side with the people. Go mobile and grow.
@18 I am not signed into twitter, yet see all the tweets
Sorry, that should have read “be here in person OR pick it up at GAG.”
Michael Seebeck wrote (@twitter):
Very interesting!
Perhaps I misread Root’s earlier press release, but my impression was he simply joined the LNCC board rather than being elected chair of the organization. I’d be really surprised if he were named chair and failed to trumpet that achievement.
I founded the Libertarian Congressional Committee. Unfortunately I have been disappointed that the organization oriented itself more towards state representative candidates than congressional candidates. I hope Root will help change this orientation to focus more on congressional runs.
Best of luck to Root and the LNCC!
Sure, their choice, but the alternative is to be here in person to pick it up at GAG.
Just so you people know, some people do not sign up on Twitter or facebook because of personal privacy issues. So if you expect to allow information to be seen, a lot of people will not see as much as someone who sign up.
It is obvious there is something wrong with Milnes, No one is really intrested and yet he keeps doing the same thing over and over and over and over. I think he suffers from compulsive obsessive disorder.
Weird. They’re all still on the twitter page AFAICT, but it’s acting a little flaky too.
Michael Seebeck wrote (@twitter):
Michael Seebeck wrote (@twitter):
Michael Seebeck wrote (@twitter):
I’m a little surprised I was neither informed of the building fund committee nor invited to serve on it. I proposed this idea in 2006 (see 4th motion on roll call votes) when it was soundly defeated by the whole LNC. I talked extensively with Mark Hinkle about this idea when he later rejoined the LNC.
http://www.chuckmoulton.org/libertarian/2008/documents/voting/lnc_roll_call_2008.pdf
It looks like Bill Hall is on the committee, so some non-LNC members are involved. Perhaps Bill was invited on for his legal expertise in real estate transactions.
They really ought to have someone who lives in the D.C. area on the committee if that is the area they are targeting. Dr. Lark is a few hours from D.C., but Bill Redpath would have been a good addition as well.
George Phillies wrote (@4):
Being in the D.C. metro area can have advantages in networking with other libertarian organizations and in media communications. It also tends to attract college students who are more politically oriented than other areas.
I see good arguments both for being in the D.C. metro area and for locating in a far cheaper area elsewhere in the country. What is clear to me though is renting and buying is far more economical in the D.C. metro area outside of D.C. proper (e.g., Arlington, VA), so the building fund committee should certainly at least move across the river.
Some of the tweets are disappearing and then reappearing
@12: That was Wes Benedict, still on his report.
@11: That’s the last one. Thanks. It’s just Facebook acting weird then.
Unless there are no other places that can supply interns, claiming ‘we can get interns here’ is not an argument.
Out of curiosity, who was advocating for the 20K sustaining members, and for what period?
The Twitter is coming through, and I am reposting to GoldAmericaGroup.com.
Most recent
” Root to conduct Congressional candidate training sessions 3-4X a year. Not sure how that’s gonna work out.”
Given that the man has never run for Congress, it may be…different. He may, however, be advocating for his opinions on what issues we should run on and what issues we should run away from.
OK, are people seeing the twitter? I ask because it doesn’t seem to be updating on Facebook now…
They can stay in DC – but should probably get a cheaper office than the one in the Watergate
gp: Apparently people want to leave the HQ in DC, as though there were no other places in America where you can find college students and others as interns.
me: Wow, did anyone REALLY say this “…no other places…” bit? If the LNC believed this, we surely would have a problem.
I doubt they do, however, but anything’s possible.
It seems reasonable for a national political party to be in the nation’s capital…but we’d all like to hear a different, more lucid perspective. Maybe it’s not reasonable…perhaps Phelps County, MO makes more sense with its central location. And it DOES have colleges: Missouri University of Science and Technology and East Central College, although the latter is a 2 year school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_center_of_United_States_population
As soon as they announce they have hired me & Richard Winger to try a new strategy to win in November, the whole dynamic changes. Contributions & volunteers start coming & saying all right, let’s win for a freakin change.
Business as usual, go sightseeing.
They have basically all they need to win ALREADY in place. All they really need to discuss is maintenance. All they are lacking is a strategy to try to avoid inevitably losing in November & 2012. There is NOTHING ELSE worth discussing.
Might as well go gamble & suck some blow.
If they do not address PLAS “New Strategy for Victory 2010/2012?, they are mostly just wasting time.
Ok, I’ll bite. Just exactly how would discussing your “Pseudo Libertarian Ambiguity Scheme” NOT be a waste of time? It isn’t “Libertarian”…and it isn’t a “strategy”.
PLAS reminds me of why Mickey divorced Minnie…she was fucking Goofy. Just like PLAS.
PEACE
The Tweets are appearing on http://GoldAmericaGroup.com. They will on occasion be updated.
Apparently people want to leave the HQ in DC, as though there were no other places in America where you can find college students and others as interns.
If they do not address PLAS “New Strategy for Victory 2010/2012”, they are mostly just wasting time.
That was from Seebeck’s tweet. I’m at the motel with a cold, probably not going out to work today. On the flip side I don’t really feel like transcribing it so someone else can, or just go there.
http://twitter.com/teamseebeckm
Agenda review.
8 minutes ago via web
@chuckmoulton No prob. Once we got connex good, we seem to be OK.
9 minutes ago via Echofon in reply to chuckmoulton
Still getting stuff organized here on the binders, Mattson directing traffic on this, newbie instructions for this time only.
12 minutes ago via web
Region 5 (Karlan/Vassar) both not here.
16 minutes ago via web
Setup this morning tweaked by Kraus and me, ditto getting projector going. Hotel connection sucks. Room is huge, 109 in Vegas today, yuck.
17 minutes ago via web
Creds report by Mattson.
18 minutes ago via web
Who’s not here: Oaksun (family emergency), Olsen (4, Wills covering), Sink-Burris (3, Wolfe). In crowd, Starr, Ray Strong, me, all CA, more
18 minutes ago via web
OK, finally got connection here at Ballys and we’re underway. H/T to Don Wills, LPWY for the connections. Public comment.
20 minutes ago via web