The chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire told members of the Libertarian National Committee in a recent message that any who vote to censure the state party at the committee’s upcoming meeting will face the “full and unapologetic wrath” of the affiliate.
The message from New Hampshire Chair Ben Weir, first reported on and confirmed as authentic by Third Party Watch on Thursday, comes in response to a resolution introduced this week by LNC Treasurer Bill Redpath. In his motion, Redpath calls on the national committee to censure the New Hampshire affiliate over its use of social media and invite it to disaffiliate from the national organization.
In his message, Weir stated that any member of the Libertarian National Committee who votes in favor of the resolution would be “treated as an enemy to the cause for Liberty.” He added that such individuals would face his and the state party’s “wrath,” and that there would be no tolerance for “unjust interference.” He did not specify what that would entail.
Weir was elected chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire at the state convention in March. He also serves as an alternate on the Libertarian National Committee for Region 6, having previously announced his intent to resign from the role before later deciding to remain.
In addition to the motion concerning New Hampshire, a second resolution by Redpath targeting the Libertarian Party of Colorado is also scheduled for consideration. That motion similarly proposes censure over conduct on social media but does not include an invite to disaffiliate. As of this writing, Independent Political Report is unaware of any public response from the Colorado affiliate regarding that specific motion.
LPNH does fine work promoting large government and the perpetual reelection of the Republican Party.
The last libertarian state chair I know of who did this was Austin Martin of Hawaii, who threatened LNC members if they didn’t vote the way he wanted a few months ago and just now got elected to the LNC as an alternate himself.
Like Weir, Martin’s threat is most plausibly read as one to verbally harangue and pester those who would not comply, but could also be interpreted as a barely veiled threat of physical violence.
So, this is best read as a resume builder – Weir is running for an LNC opening or promotion, and wants to make sure they’re all thinking about him and remembering his name.