Breaking News: Connor Nepomuceno Resigns from LNC

George Phillies Post author | January 10, 2023

Mister Nepomuceno has released a resignation statement to the LNC public list. It reads:

My Fellow Libertarians,

Regretfully, I am tendering to you all my resignation from the Libertarian National Committee (Region 3 Alternate) and my position in the Communications Team (Facebook Manager), effective immediately.

This decision has been looming over me for the last several months. However, even years before Reno (after my first experience with entheogens, allegedly), I have been facing a certain amount of cognitive dissonance: Was political activism the correct means to my ends? Are my stated ends even the “right” ones for me and my happiness? Many times, I had rationalized the true answers to those questions away by telling myself that the cause is just, therefore, the struggle and sacrifice is worth it.

I was okay lying to myself to maintain my status quo and continue activism in pursuit of freedom. But I wasn’t (am not) truly happy, in spite of my successes and the wonderful friendships I have developed. By chance, someone recommended to me Harry Brown’s book “How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World.” I hadn’t realized it was a self help book before I started listening to it on a drive from Michigan to Massachusetts.

In the days before this, I had released the (LPMI) Judicial Committee’s ruling, and people were mad about it, of course. Many members and board members, rather than accept the ruling (on which I had spent many hours reading the arguments, researching the bylaws, RONR, and writing), chose to impugn my character and make unsubstantiated arguments against the case presented.

How any person could spend so much time trying to do something by the book and being fair to all sides (by giving each side ample opportunity to present and argue a case) only to have that work be disregarded, have their character attacked blithely, and not be angry is beyond me. I found the whole thing not only maddening, but disappointing. My friends, people I liked and respected, people I have known and worked with for years, turned on me for doing what I believed to be the right thing. I don’t care how right you are: that hurts.

Then comes Harry Brown’s book. Those of you who have read it already know: Harry lays out the case that every individual may secure their own freedom, firstly by identifying the logical “traps” (or fallacies) that people put themselves in to rationalize their unfree condition. I couldn’t help but listen and reflect on my own traps: the sunk-cost fallacy, the identity trap of the cause, the Party, etc. Listening and analyzing, the realization made me physically ill, a sure sign of cognitive dissonance. I realized that I was not living a free life and that my comfortable lies (to myself and others) were the chains of my own enslavement.

Harry later explains that in many cases your freedom can be bought: You just have to be willing to pay the price. That price is breaking my promises (to my region, to my party, to my friends and colleagues) and suffering the consequences to my pride and reputation. I have come to peace with that; say what you will about me.

None of this is to say that I regret anything I have done in the past 5 years for the Party: Far from it. Activism has given me profound meaning and at times great joy in life. I have met many wonderful and inspiring people, many of whom I am proud and honored to call friends. I’ve traveled the country and had many new and unique experiences. I’ve marched on the streets with people of all walks of life (including at several protests I organized!). I have generated tens of millions of engagements on social media; planting and nurturing little red pills in an army of people, in Michigan and America. I’ve spoken at length with countless strangers about the beauty of our ideas and principles. I am proud of what I have accomplished, even if the work is, sadly, unfinished. But it’s never finished, is it?

I will state a couple things just to quell some of the rumors that have been circulating since I first announced to the LNC my resignation:

This resignation is not a political maneuver to secure a leadership or candidate role in the Libertarian Party of Michigan. I am sunsetting most, if not all, of my political activities. I am confident that the LPMI will be in very capable hands for the foreseeable future. However, I am not writing off doing the real, boots on the ground activism that our organization, and our communities, need.

All of my experiences with the LNC and the Communications Team have been great and productive. No one asked me to resign, and I am happy to say that everyone I have talked to has been understanding and supportive. The board culture we have created is fostering a much deeper level of coordination and cooperation than previous boards, which will translate into a change in the fortunes of our Party. I hope that even if boards at various levels throughout the Party are not as factionally united as the LNC, that they may adopt a similar culture of putting their heads down and doing the work of the organization regardless.

My sincerest thanks go to Caryn Ann Harlos, Angela McArdle, Reed Cooley, Dave Benner, and Carrie Eiler for not only being kickass communicators, hard workers, and collaborators, but kind and supportive team mates. It has been a pleasure serving on this board and I would be honored to continue to call all of you my friends.

In Love and Liberty,

Connor Jared Nepomuceno

PS: This is not the forum to address the matters going on in Michigan in depth, so I didn’t. Our Secretary and Historical Preservation Committee Chair, Caryn Ann Harlos, put many hours of work into documenting the matter on LPedia. She also did a Youtube stream on which she covered much of the matter. You can also find every bit of documentation and argumentation on the controversy here. I leave you all to judge for yourselves the veracity of the Judicial Committee’s Ruling. I am always available for conversations on the matter.

PPS: Everyone needs an ego death every now and then. This is not professional advice.

In Liberty,
Connor Nepomuceno (Ni-pom-u-see-no)
Libertarian National Committee, Region 3 Alternate
Connor.N…@lp.org
MOBILE: (508)-579-7878

6 Comments

Ryan January 19, 2023
Would like to say that in the week following the November election, Connor called me personally to thank me for running for public office and asked about my experiences.
Scotty Boman January 15, 2023
Wow! This comes as a shock. I am an active member of the Libertarian Party of Michigan and Editor of their Newsletter, the Michigan Libertarian… But I read it here for the first time.
George Phillies Post author | January 11, 2023
Our most reliable source on the LNC tells us that Connor is a bright, constructive fellow who served with distinction on our social media committee, primarily with FaceBook posting responsibilities.
We have a separate reliable report that Connor was one of the few LNC members to demand, privately, the removal of the “Happy Merchant” twitter post. Our source, who is also on the LNC, believes that this issue had nothing to do with his departure.
NewFederalist January 11, 2023
Well geez…
George Whitfield January 11, 2023
Thank you Mr. Nepomuceno for your service to the Libertarian Party. I wish you more happiness in the future.
George Phillies Post author | January 10, 2023
Mister Nepomuceno has released a resignation statement to the LNC public list. It reads:
My Fellow Libertarians,
Regretfully, I am tendering to you all my resignation from the Libertarian National Committee (Region 3 Alternate) and my position in the Communications Team (Facebook Manager), effective immediately.
This decision has been looming over me for the last several months. However, even years before Reno (after my first experience with entheogens, allegedly), I have been facing a certain amount of cognitive dissonance: Was political activism the correct means to my ends? Are my stated ends even the “right” ones for me and my happiness? Many times, I had rationalized the true answers to those questions away by telling myself that the cause is just, therefore, the struggle and sacrifice is worth it.
I was okay lying to myself to maintain my status quo and continue activism in pursuit of freedom. But I wasn’t (am not) truly happy, in spite of my successes and the wonderful friendships I have developed. By chance, someone recommended to me Harry Brown’s book “How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World.” I hadn’t realized it was a self help book before I started listening to it on a drive from Michigan to Massachusetts.
In the days before this, I had released the (LPMI) Judicial Committee’s ruling, and people were mad about it, of course. Many members and board members, rather than accept the ruling (on which I had spent many hours reading the arguments, researching the bylaws, RONR, and writing), chose to impugn my character and make unsubstantiated arguments against the case presented.
How any person could spend so much time trying to do something by the book and being fair to all sides (by giving each side ample opportunity to present and argue a case) only to have that work be disregarded, have their character attacked blithely, and not be angry is beyond me. I found the whole thing not only maddening, but disappointing. My friends, people I liked and respected, people I have known and worked with for years, turned on me for doing what I believed to be the right thing. I don’t care how right you are: that hurts.
Then comes Harry Brown’s book. Those of you who have read it already know: Harry lays out the case that every individual may secure their own freedom, firstly by identifying the logical “traps” (or fallacies) that people put themselves in to rationalize their unfree condition. I couldn’t help but listen and reflect on my own traps: the sunk-cost fallacy, the identity trap of the cause, the Party, etc. Listening and analyzing, the realization made me physically ill, a sure sign of cognitive dissonance. I realized that I was not living a free life and that my comfortable lies (to myself and others) were the chains of my own enslavement.
Harry later explains that in many cases your freedom can be bought: You just have to be willing to pay the price. That price is breaking my promises (to my region, to my party, to my friends and colleagues) and suffering the consequences to my pride and reputation. I have come to peace with that; say what you will about me.
None of this is to say that I regret anything I have done in the past 5 years for the Party: Far from it. Activism has given me profound meaning and at times great joy in life. I have met many wonderful and inspiring people, many of whom I am proud and honored to call friends. I’ve traveled the country and had many new and unique experiences. I’ve marched on the streets with people of all walks of life (including at several protests I organized!). I have generated tens of millions of engagements on social media; planting and nurturing little red pills in an army of people, in Michigan and America. I’ve spoken at length with countless strangers about the beauty of our ideas and principles. I am proud of what I have accomplished, even if the work is, sadly, unfinished. But it’s never finished, is it?
I will state a couple things just to quell some of the rumors that have been circulating since I first announced to the LNC my resignation:
This resignation is not a political maneuver to secure a leadership or candidate role in the Libertarian Party of Michigan. I am sunsetting most, if not all, of my political activities. I am confident that the LPMI will be in very capable hands for the foreseeable future. However, I am not writing off doing the real, boots on the ground activism that our organization, and our communities, need.
All of my experiences with the LNC and the Communications Team have been great and productive. No one asked me to resign, and I am happy to say that everyone I have talked to has been understanding and supportive. The board culture we have created is fostering a much deeper level of coordination and cooperation than previous boards, which will translate into a change in the fortunes of our Party. I hope that even if boards at various levels throughout the Party are not as factionally united as the LNC, that they may adopt a similar culture of putting their heads down and doing the work of the organization regardless.
My sincerest thanks go to Caryn Ann Harlos, Angela McArdle, Reed Cooley, Dave Benner, and Carrie Eiler for not only being kickass communicators, hard workers, and collaborators, but kind and supportive team mates. It has been a pleasure serving on this board and I would be honored to continue to call all of you my friends.
In Love and Liberty,
Connor Jared Nepomuceno
PS: This is not the forum to address the matters going on in Michigan in depth, so I didn’t. Our Secretary and Historical Preservation Committee Chair, Caryn Ann Harlos, put many hours of work into documenting the matter on LPedia. She also did a Youtube stream on which she covered much of the matter. You can also find every bit of documentation and argumentation on the controversy here. I leave you all to judge for yourselves the veracity of the Judicial Committee’s Ruling. I am always available for conversations on the matter.
PPS: Everyone needs an ego death every now and then. This is not professional advice.
In Liberty,
Connor Nepomuceno (Ni-pom-u-see-no)
Libertarian National Committee, Region 3 Alternate
Connor.N…@lp.org
MOBILE: (508)-579-7878

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