NY, Tenn. chapters of Boston Tea Party disaffiliate from national

As expected, the New York state chapter of the Boston Tea Party has affiliated from the national party in the wake of Dr. Tom Stevens’s resignation as the national party’s vice chairman. Says party Michigan organizer and potential new vice chair, Todd Andrew Barrett:

National Boston Tea Party Chairman Jim Davidson has announced on the National Committee’s Yahoo Group list that the New York affiliate of the BTP, in light of Dr. Tom Stevens’ resignation and the BTP’s acceptance of his resignation, has voted to disaffiliate itself from the national BTP. The reason is that the affiliate does not want to have anything to do with the national BTP, considering that the affiliate is run by Dr. Stevens and that Stevens himself has said that the national BTP is run “by a couple of malcontents” (whatever that means).

Stevens, in a message to his members of the New York affiliate, says, “My New York State affiliate of the Boston Tea Party has also voted to disaffiliate itself from the national Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party New York will change its name and chose its own path.”

And according to BTP at-large member Rocco Fama, the party’s Tennessee affiliate has also voted to disaffiliate:

It is with great resignation that I announce that the members of the Tennessee affiliate have decided to disband. While the work I put into recruiting members and researching the ballot access laws now seems wasted, I do plan on remaining an active member of the party and staying on the National Committee to work toward building the Boston Tea Party. The mission of the Boston Tea Party is a vital one. Principled libertarians often express disdain for politics with good reason. I share this sentiment. However, as long as there is a political party that calls itself Libertarian, it should promote libertarian values. With the recent nomination of Babar/WAR, it is clear that the fibbertarians, wish to tarnish our philosophy’s good name and we must respond with ever vigilance.

National chairman Jim Davidson remains resolute, saying, “It isn’t always clear what to expect. I think now that Tom Stevens has resigned, we may be able to move forward.”