In order to make it better, I would like to serve as the Executive Director of the Libertarian Party. Please find my attached resume.
I believe my proven experience with strong results working as a volunteer and paid staff for the Libertarian Party makes me an excellent candidate. I’ve routinely been able to motivate Libertarians in Texas by bragging about what we’ve already accomplished. Nationwide, I think the Libertarian Party has been suffering from a credibility crisis with too much bragging about what’s going to happen, only to be followed up with excuse after excuse for failures.
I have dual master’s degrees in business and engineering, have bought, run and sold my own company, and have consulted all across America and internationally for businesses people have actually heard of.
I have thick skin, thrive on attacks from opponents, and don’t care what the press or blogs are saying about me. In fact, I love the smell of flame wars in the morning!
Nevertheless, partly due to my strong leadership and competent management, you’ll find the infighting in Texas is remarkably low and we have fun. I believe the LNC would be calmer with me on board as well.
When I took over as CEO of a business in 2000, most of the workers stayed on. Eventually I had to chase off a few who were either stealing or deliberately sabotaging their coworkers. But in general, my role was to find solutions to chronic problems which boosted our imperfect employees’ productivity.
Although as Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Texas I spend most of my time on politics and assisting candidates, I’m responsible for fundraising and we’re breaking records.
As the National LP Executive Director, I see my immediate priority to be fundraising and membership growth, something I love working on.
I require a starting salary of $85,000 per year plus health insurance and up to $5,000 in relocation expenses. I prefer to start January 1, 2009, but may be available earlier.
Sincerely:
Wes Benedict
One of Hercules’ tasks was cleaning out the Aegean stables.
The story goes that one of Hercules’ tasks was to clean the Aegean Stables. These housed a very large number of horses that continually produced great mounds of excrement. He tried again and again with superhuman strength to clean them, but there were too many horses producing too much excrement too fast for him. As soon as he had cleaned one area, the other areas were full of manure, and so he despaired. However, when he diverted a great river through the stables, this was able to wash the whole of the stables clean at once, and his task was accomplished.
1. Slay the Nemean Lion and bring back its hide.
2. Slay the 9-headed Lernaean Hydra.
3. Capture the Golden Stag of Artemis.
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull.
8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
9. Obtain the Girdle of the Amazon warrior queen Hippolyte.
10. Obtain the Cattle of the Monster Geryon.
11. Steal the Apples of the Hesperides, which were strictly guarded by a 100-headed dragon called Ladon.
12. Capture Cerberus, the guardian dog of Hades, using no weapons and bring him back.
Wooing people in other parties is ok, but not turning over strategic assets _before_ they convert.
langa
August 14, 2008
George – that’s a semantic distinction. Avoiding a total economic collapse, ceasing to provoke terrorists, etc. is clearly good for everyone in the country, with the possible exception of a few of the criminals in DC that profit off of misery, and I’m totally unconcerned with what’s good for them.
Fred Church Ortiz
August 14, 2008
The open secret of the LNC’s overtures to RP was to get him to seek the nomination, which he was likely a lock for (hell, not even really a secret considering that resolution asking him to do it).
That, IMO, would have definitely been good for the party. Especially in hindsight.
G.E.
August 14, 2008
Whether or not Ron Paul or his campaign were for the “good of the country” (I think they were), the fact remains that Wes Benedict’s job was to advance the Libertarian Party, not do what was “good for the country.”
There is no such thing. There is only what is good for each individual person living in this country.
langa
August 14, 2008
Neither the post you originally replied to nor my subsequent post ever made reference to messiahs or prisonplanet.
And I’M the one employing “verbal obfuscation”?
The original post indicated that helping RP’s campaign at the expense of the party was good for the country. I agree.
Just to be clear, so you don’t twist my words, it was NOT good for the party, and that’s who he had a responsibility to. So, I agree that he shouldn’t have done it.
What I don’t agree with is your assertion that donating to Paul’s campaign is not for “the good of the country”, which it obviously is.
langa I AM a Libertarian and a libertarian and an Objectivist but, while I like RP and donated, I am NOT a messiah-seeking, prisonplanet-reading paulbot.
langa
August 14, 2008
“And Ron Paul \= the good of the country.”
I thought you claimed to be a libertarian.
Trent Hill
August 14, 2008
GE,
Wrong. A libertarian strives for freedoms at all times. If that violates the tenants of his job, he does it anyway–and gets fired.
An officer of an organization has a fiduciary duty to said organization. GE is entirely correct.
And Ron Paul \= the good of the country.
Geez.
G.E.
August 14, 2008
That’s absurd. His job is to put the good of the party first. Anyone who thinks you can violate the tenants of your job in order to advance an outside political or social agenda is not a libertarian.
mattc
August 14, 2008
“While a member of the LNC, Mr. Benedict actively funded the Presidential campaign of a Republican. He and his fellow LNC members voted to use LNC resources, moneys arising from donations of party members to support our party’s candidates, to support the Presidential campaign of the same candidate.”
I think that it’s a good thing that he put the good of the country above the good of the party.
While a member of the LNC, Mr. Benedict actively funded the Presidential campaign of a Republican. He and his fellow LNC members voted to use LNC resources, moneys arising from donations of party members to support our party’s candidates, to support the Presidential campaign of the same candidate.
He was hardly alone in this. For example, our Presidential candidate’s Leadership PAC spent the larger part of the current election cycle vigorously funding the campaigns of various Republic Senators, men whose stands were the opposite of Libertarian on a wide range of issues.
Mr Benedict, in my opinion, has proven his lack of loyalty to our party.
He is, in my opinion, totally unfit for this position.
Steve LaBianca
August 13, 2008
I received Wes’s email throwing his name into the ring for the LP ED. I quickly wrote back saying he has my full support. As an alternate on the LNC, I most likely will have no input to the hiring of the Ed, but I will see if there is anything I can do to get support for his candidacy. Go Wes!
G.E.
August 13, 2008
Okay, I’m officially entering my name into consideration.
Here is my agenda:
Fire everybody
Resign
I only require an $84,999 salary and $4,999 relocation money. But I do require continued payments for months after my resignation, health-care for life, and a severance package worth at least five times the average povertarian’s lifetime income.
I think GE should apply. Then after he’s hired, he should strictly enforce the non-initiation pledge, and initiate force against any Libertarian who initiates force.
Trent Hill
August 13, 2008
GE could clearly do better than all the fascist neocon communist socialist racist duck-humpers up at LPHQ.
Wooing people in other parties is ok, but not turning over strategic assets _before_ they convert.
That’s a better point.
Wooing people in other parties is ok, but not turning over strategic assets _before_ they convert.
George – that’s a semantic distinction. Avoiding a total economic collapse, ceasing to provoke terrorists, etc. is clearly good for everyone in the country, with the possible exception of a few of the criminals in DC that profit off of misery, and I’m totally unconcerned with what’s good for them.
The open secret of the LNC’s overtures to RP was to get him to seek the nomination, which he was likely a lock for (hell, not even really a secret considering that resolution asking him to do it).
That, IMO, would have definitely been good for the party. Especially in hindsight.
Whether or not Ron Paul or his campaign were for the “good of the country” (I think they were), the fact remains that Wes Benedict’s job was to advance the Libertarian Party, not do what was “good for the country.”
Define “the good of the country”.
There is no such thing. There is only what is good for each individual person living in this country.
Neither the post you originally replied to nor my subsequent post ever made reference to messiahs or prisonplanet.
And I’M the one employing “verbal obfuscation”?
The original post indicated that helping RP’s campaign at the expense of the party was good for the country. I agree.
Just to be clear, so you don’t twist my words, it was NOT good for the party, and that’s who he had a responsibility to. So, I agree that he shouldn’t have done it.
What I don’t agree with is your assertion that donating to Paul’s campaign is not for “the good of the country”, which it obviously is.
langa, your verbal obfuscation skills are not good enough to pull that off.
Ron Paul is not synonymous with “the good of the country”, whatever that is.
That is different from saying RP’s “campaign was good for the country”, whatever that means.
Was it useful? Maybe a little. It’s too soon to answer that question in a complete manner.
You have to worship RP and read prisonplanet to think that his campaign was good for the country?
langa I AM a Libertarian and a libertarian and an Objectivist but, while I like RP and donated, I am NOT a messiah-seeking, prisonplanet-reading paulbot.
“And Ron Paul \= the good of the country.”
I thought you claimed to be a libertarian.
GE,
Wrong. A libertarian strives for freedoms at all times. If that violates the tenants of his job, he does it anyway–and gets fired.
Or do true-libertarians not GET fired?
An officer of an organization has a fiduciary duty to said organization. GE is entirely correct.
And Ron Paul \= the good of the country.
Geez.
That’s absurd. His job is to put the good of the party first. Anyone who thinks you can violate the tenants of your job in order to advance an outside political or social agenda is not a libertarian.
“While a member of the LNC, Mr. Benedict actively funded the Presidential campaign of a Republican. He and his fellow LNC members voted to use LNC resources, moneys arising from donations of party members to support our party’s candidates, to support the Presidential campaign of the same candidate.”
I think that it’s a good thing that he put the good of the country above the good of the party.
While a member of the LNC, Mr. Benedict actively funded the Presidential campaign of a Republican. He and his fellow LNC members voted to use LNC resources, moneys arising from donations of party members to support our party’s candidates, to support the Presidential campaign of the same candidate.
He was hardly alone in this. For example, our Presidential candidate’s Leadership PAC spent the larger part of the current election cycle vigorously funding the campaigns of various Republic Senators, men whose stands were the opposite of Libertarian on a wide range of issues.
Mr Benedict, in my opinion, has proven his lack of loyalty to our party.
He is, in my opinion, totally unfit for this position.
I received Wes’s email throwing his name into the ring for the LP ED. I quickly wrote back saying he has my full support. As an alternate on the LNC, I most likely will have no input to the hiring of the Ed, but I will see if there is anything I can do to get support for his candidacy. Go Wes!
Okay, I’m officially entering my name into consideration.
Here is my agenda:
I only require an $84,999 salary and $4,999 relocation money. But I do require continued payments for months after my resignation, health-care for life, and a severance package worth at least five times the average povertarian’s lifetime income.
I think GE should apply. Then after he’s hired, he should strictly enforce the non-initiation pledge, and initiate force against any Libertarian who initiates force.
GE could clearly do better than all the fascist neocon communist socialist racist duck-humpers up at LPHQ.
/lampoon.
I think GE should apply
I’ve met Wes before, I think he’d do a great job. They sure get a lot of candidates in Texas. I’ve always been amazed at how they do it.
Based on my contacts over several years with Wes, I believe he is capable of doing a good job as LP executive director.
Jack Tanner, LP-Florida Treasurer, http://LPF.org
Can we get Hercules to apply? What about Scipio Africanus? He slayed Hannibal Barca.