As a candidate for our Party’s National Committee, as Treasurer, I think it important to speak to where our party is and where it is going. Two years ago, I ran for National Chair as part of the New Path slate. We offered a clear set of proposals. Unfortunately, the delegates had other opinions, and the results are now apparent.
The Impending CrisisTwo years ago, ‘we face an existential crisis’ was James Oaksun’s prophetic warning. How right he was! Party membership and income are still falling. Membership? Some of us remember the start of 2004, when we had 19410 members. By the start of 2009, that was down to 15178 members. At the starts of the next three years, what had happened? In 2010, we were down to 14412 members. By the beginning of 2011, we were down to13872 members, while in the beginning of 2012, we were down to 13,492 members.
There are challenges. Mr. Root’s statements on Presidential choices and the Republican Party have become a controversial. There are a series of proposed amendments to Party Bylaws that will have profound negative consequences for our party and should be rejected. The National Chair’s condemnation of a majority of the members of the LNC — the Gang of Ten — appears to merit propagation. The Credentials Committee has apparently decided to stir up new difficulties on the Oregon matter by indicating that it will decide whether to accept the Oregon delegation or the Reeves faction delegation. The Libertarian Parties of Tennessee and Florida separately condemned the floor fee. Mary Ruwart asks of the floor fee: If $94, why not $9400? The 2016 convention location is again up in the air. Olsen urged all conventions be on Memorial Day. The LNC met in Orlando and set a new record for Executive Sessions. There were issues with the LNC payment for Project Saratoga, and the LNC had to vote to tell staff how to fill out the check. Johnson fundraising continues to crash, and his campaign debt is now at $180,000. We offer a draft resolution to the LNC: A motion to suspend Wayne Root from the LNC, for cause.
Comparing matching points in the election cycle, our total in-come for 2007 was $1,454,411. Four years later, in 2011 Party income was down to $1,428,232. That’s right. Despite four years of inflation, not to mention for 2011 a substantial building fund drive that raised into six digits, party income has fallen. We can still have a future, but we must change course now, or the good ship Liberty will surely ram one iceberg too many and founder.
The National Committee is fixated on formal Bylaws and we need a National Committee whose members are prepared to invest their time in forwarding the party’s activities. Two decades ago, the LNC had a stack of working committees that were doing real politics. We now see a Bylaws proposal for a Style Committee. We need a National Committee that talks about things under their control ‘more radio ads’, ‘better brochures’, ‘active candidate recruitment by us’, and less time setting grandiose goals ‘20,000 members’ with no strategy for getting from here to there. We need a National Committee that focusses on what is good for the party rather than recherche interpretations of parliamentary activity. All two often, I see defenses of some act based on ‘I have the opinion of two certified parliamentarians…’ rather than any consideration of the material effects of the act.
All this must change, or our party will continue to decline.
By the way, we have gone to a model in which the core central work is accomplished by dedicated paid staff rather than volun-teers. Using paid staff is not a bad model, but it does mean we have high fixed costs. At some point, if membership and in-come shrink enough, the costs become unsustainable and operations crash.
First, I advocate a series of short-term steps to free resources for actions on which we can then capitalize. Simultaneously, we should be laying the foundation for efforts that will not pay off in the short term.. We also need major changes in attitude, a national committee of doers rather than talkers. Where do we begin? Our party has Mission Critical Activities. Do them or we die. Then we have Important Activities, things we really really should be doing. Finally we have Worthwhile Activities that would be meritorious to perform if the resources were there.
What are the mission critical activities?Run the National Convention. That’s the only explicit task the Bylaws assign to the LNC. The business meeting does the business of the entire membership, and the costs of the National Convention business meeting should be paid by the entire membership. Surrounding it, the Libertarian National Convention and Exposition should provide a maximum opportunity for out-reach, training, and support.
Do Real Politics. Actions count. Words do not. Roberts’ rules sophistry and Bylaws prettification are not action. There are lots of different ways to do real politics. We must be doing at least some of them.
Raise Money. You raise money effectively by telling people you are going to spend their money on doing politics, you spend the money the way you promised, and you remind them that you keep your promises.
Recruit and Retain Members. No members, no party. Member-ship retention is a key diagnostic. Here in Massachusetts the changes I helped bring in have pushed membership retention up to 80% each year. Our national party should do as well.
Back Office. The back office is a mission critical activity. We have nuts and bolts activities that we absolutely must do right.
What are the important activities?
Create 50 active state parties, not to mention affiliates in D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and wherever else the American flag flies over American citizens.
Fifty State Presidential Ballot Access. Funding activities so that they succeed is a good idea. Underfunding efforts, so that they fail, is a bad idea.
Candidate Recruitment and Support. There are a half-million elective offices, and we need a candidate for each one — minus the offices we close down along the way.
Volunteer Mobilization. The LNC should persuade party supporters to do work for the party, and help them with support materials and training to be more effective.
Public Outreach. The LNC should invest heavily in advertising, press releases, earning media, lobbying, and everything else that puts our party’s name before the public in a positive way.
Support Materials. Producing good support materials is an important positive step. Downloadables that local groups can use are particularly important.
Voter Base Development. We earn a voter base if we do the right political acts.
Grass Roots Organizing. By definition, the LNC cannot be the grass roots. We can supply organizers with tools to make their grass roots work effective. How? For starters, read Saul Alinksky’s final book.
Cooperation. Cooperating with other libertarian groups is an important activity. We should be cooperating and supporting activities of other groups that take our positions, recognizing that we are constrained by tax laws and election codes.
Washington Lobbying. Lobbying is one of the few rational reasons for having some office in Washington, namely it lets us reach people in other parties to express our views. Under modern highly-polarized politics, Washington lobbying will be less effective than it was ten years ago.
More Libertarian PACs. Wes Benedict’s new Texas PAC is a prime example of what the libertarian political movement needs. There need to be many mroe PACs. By definition the LNC cannot create independent PACs, but it can tell people how to perform
Pro-Liberty Affinity Groups. Every other party is surrounded by a cloud of special-interest groups, most nominally targeting a core issue, but most also strongly tied to a particular political party. Ask yourself how often the NRA or NARAL supports a Democrat or a Republican, respectively.
John,
Thanks for sharing.
Like millions of American White Anglo people I am disenchanted with politics today. I really don’t know what Hispanic and Asian immigrants think. I believe the eastern Europeans think we are easy marks. I have encountered a few blacks who think they are moving into power. In the cities they may be correct. Anyone want to go into Philly? Who would want to live in those areas. It’s more tribal than European culture and similar to Islam in thinking in small groups, like, say, the Hatfield and McCoy’s.
Being a Baby Boomer I KNOW we have enough votes to do anything we want, at least those that we agree on. Yet, we get diverted by individual issues. Those with money and power learned in 1960 that TV had the power to…. do just about anything.
Years ago we may have had the luxury of arguing about, bit it seems we no longer have that luxury. That requires the people to have a view of our problems they can trust, presented logically, concisely, factually as understood by all parties. Would would be dumb enough to want to that and get elected, right?
If you think so, you are wrong, for that is what must happen. Our founding fathers struggled for quite a while in Philadelphia in 1976 to create the Deceleration of Independence. They were threatened by hanging, not working to be elected.
The average American has no memory, short attentions span and if they aren’t actively personally invested in the outcome probably don’t care, of know to be frightened.
So, I went on line to look for a new political party I heard about on the radio, but I forgot the name.
I am just a lucky sob who grew up in suburbia on the 1950 & 60’s, the best time and the best place in the history of the world before and perhaps after. However I realize we have come to a crossroads.
So I read this web site and it sure seems like same ol’ same ol’d, a little too radical & even wack a doodle.
Is that your goal? Too many changes will never happen in America, pick the essential threats to the Republic and focus on them, Please.
See comments 5-14 in https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2012/04/gary-johnson-polling-numbers-and-favorability-ratings-drop-in-new-mexico/
If you need more info than that feel free to call me 415-690-6352
Paulie@61
I would like some of those details. If the LP doesn’t have ballot access in a state because petitioners were turned away, I think everyone in the party should be made aware of why.
Maybe they had their reasons, but ballot access is than just state-level politics. It affects the entire national party.
A thread giving an overview (petition efforts and lawsuit) of the OK ballot access would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
We get what we can. The opportunity presented itself on that one from being in the right place at the right time.
Creative phrasing that is completely truthful if parsed correctly.
I will have Part Two posted within a few hours.
Actually, I give a very considerable number of specifics.
Paulie: “What phrase do you use? Engage in politics, I guess?”
That sounds right. Or be politically active. Or affect government policy. I’m sure I could think of others. But the more salient point is that “do politics” can mean many, many things. Every organization that seeks to influence government policy in any way whatsoever can be said to be “doing politics.” Phillies constantly criticizes the LP for not doing politics yet rarely gives specifics. Here he uses the term but at least lays out some particular action items.
Paulie: “It could join lobbying coalitions to get things done, then take an exaggerated share of the credit to its own.”
An “exaggerated share of the credit”? So lie about the influence it had.
Paulie: “For a state example, the Alabama LP participated in an effort in the 90s to defeat a domed stadium boondoggle in Birmingham.”
This is absolutely something that state & local LPs should be engaging in. But that’s not the context here. Phillies specifically said lobbying in Washington, and that’s what some are missing. Washington lobbying isn’t even close to being analogous to lobbying at any other level of government. Lobbying at any level is a resource-consuming activity, but in Washington it’s a wasteful one for a group the size of the LP that detracts from LNC’s core functions.
Paulie: “I agree, and I think George agrees too, which is why he has different levels of priorities for different things to be done as the LP reaches different levels.”
Sure, but I think even mentioning all those things is pointless now. It’s a fantastic projection of “here are all the things the LP should do equal to the Democrats & Republicans & all the groups that support them,” as though those things are all realistic soon, albeit not simultaneous. And I’ve heard him bring all of these things up as action items now, a time when the LP is but a glass of water in the dirty bathtub of partisan politics (the entire libertarian movement might be a bucket or so).
68 p, I don’t disagree. Personally, I’d think bigger-picture stuff – humbly approached but well executed – would be more fruitful.
Thousand flowers blooming s’cool, too…
It was a positive step and we can make many more like it.
66 tk, perhaps. Any one act to stop the State’s advance might well be a kind of keystone to turn the tide, but on its face, I’m doubtful that stopping the fingerprinting was that keystone.
It seems more likely that that effort was a small test, a learning experience. Can we make a difference anywhere? If we can make a difference in one small area, how can we build on that experience? That sorta thing.
RC@63,
“Fingerprints, though, seem off-purpose.”
Depends on what the purpose is.
One of the problems the LP faces is that even if success via electoral politics is possible, it requires certain background conditions.
Ballot access is obviously one of those — a necessary but insufficient one (also required would be otherwise free/fair elections).
Not living in a police state in which elections are irrelevant is another (one unfortunately now in the rearview mirror).
It may be that stopping the fingerprint thing in Alabama delayed the descent of the authoritarian curtain behind which we now live. If so, it bought the LP some time. Unfortunately, not enough.
64 p, there HAD to be opportunity costs, even if it was only researching and making some phone calls.
Still, from what you say, it sounds like a benign experiment. It sounds like y’all got some short term payback, but I’ve not heard that the AL state house has been sold to the highest bidder as yet.
Was the experiment stopped? If so, why?
There was no opportunity cost, and see comment 60 for additional effects.
62 p, I’d say lobbying for ballot access reform seems abundantly appropriate for a thinly resourced state LP, as it seems directly tied to its mission.
Fingerprints, though, seem off-purpose. There’s no doubt a cavalcade of state actions that need to be corrected. Picking one like that may or may not be a good use of time, but for a state LP, I have to wonder what the opportunity cost of such an action was.
Maybe it wasn’t. Other than stopping passage of that bill, what additional liberty-enhancement flowed from that effort, if any?
LPAL lobbied the legislature to stop the drivers license fingerprint in the 90s and prevailed. Several state LPs have lobbied successfully for ballot access reform.
If I am not mistaken most of the Oklahoma money went through the state party, not through national. National only supplemented their effort at the end. I don’t want to get into details this time but their failure had to do with turning away good proven libertarian petitioners who wanted to come in when it started.
I’ll discuss the details on the petition controversies open threads if anyone wants additional details.
They might still make it with the lawsuit and I wish them good luck.
What phrase do you use? Engage in politics, I guess?
True. There are other cost-effective ways to advertise as well.
Probably not by itself. It could join lobbying coalitions to get things done, then take an exaggerated share of the credit to its own. EG Know your customer, getting Barr out of Congress etc.
For a state example, the Alabama LP participated in an effort in the 90s to defeat a domed stadium boondoggle in Birmingham. It played a pretty small role in that and in stopping a drivers license fingerprint scheme, so we leveraged our “successes” to get two matching 5k donations if we raised 5k, which was more than twice what we had ever raised at one time before that anyone could remember. But we did raise 5k which thus turned into 15k. National was impressed enough with that to think we could also raise 15k for ballot access, which was far from true, and was thus persuaded to fund a full party drive in 1998-2000 (yes it took 16 months) and we became the first alt party to get major party status in AL since George Wallace days. As a result, we ran about 60 candidates up and down the ballot in 2002.
All these things work together, they are not isolated elements. Leverage one thing to get another done and so on.
I agree, and I think George agrees too, which is why he has different levels of priorities for different things to be done as the LP reaches different levels.
RJ Harris gets credit for helping get signatures, but he only got a tiny fraction of them. Most were gathered by professional/”mercenary” petitioners, which RJ was not involved in.
Luckily for the LP they were not dealing with Pennsylvania rules or they would have to pay a huge fine for submitting a petition without enough valid signatures.
As far as student groups go, the LP is deferring to Students for Liberty, which while it is libertarian is not LP.
Right and right again.
Glad to see the Phillies thread near convention time is getting more comments than the Root piece about . . . Obama and Rand ?????
For everyone who makes the trip to Red Rock, good luck and be safe.
I can’t make it, I thought it was a little closer . . .
http://www.coxontool.com/index.php/Travels/HomePlace
@47: Not at present, the legislature here is still in session. 😉
@55 Retiring on a million and a half is entirely feasible. Not sure why you thought the contrary. Mind you, I would rather retire on George Soros’s wealth.
However, the LNC does *not* have a million and a half. That’s more than its year income, not its cash on hand. After the convention bills are paid, the LNC may have $200,000.
Damn Phillies if you think no one can retire on a million and a half you are too far out of touch with the common people to be elected to anything ! You have more in common with Republicans than any other Party ! Your life in the People’s Republic of Taxachusetts not withstanding.
Phillies the CLOSET Republican, the truth comes out FINALLY !!!!!!!!! You and Root need to combine efforts – LOL
Clickthrough rates on internet ads are not relevant. The point of ads is to put the party name before the public, not to lure people to a web site.
Indeed, there are tricks for minimizing costs by taking advantage of the very low clickthrough rates on internet political ads.
At the end of March we had $370,000 in the bank. Part of this is NatConReceipts. In Oklahoma we appear to have underspent what was needed to collect enough signatures.
Paulie: “The LP should…have politics? Make sweet politics? Ram politically hard from behind?”
Are you asking me what the proper term would be besides “do politics,” a phrase that nobody else uses?
Paulie: “Advertising: you can do google ads, facebook ads, microtargeted cable TV ads, niche advertising on websites with specific audiences, and many other things.”
Phillies wasn’t only talking about advertising on websites. Do you know what the click-through rates are on most Internet ads?
Paulie: “Lobbying can be done at different levels with varying effectiveness. Even some members of Congress could be made vulnerable (or not) in a close election, or face a challenger (or not) in an otherwise uncontested race, etc.”
Even if the LNC could find members of Congress who’d seriously push libertarian proposals in order not to face a Libertarian candidate at this point in time, which I highly doubt, it wouldn’t be enough to get anything done.
The LNC should just do some things well, not do everything poorly.
@48 & 49 The LP and LNC need targets to aim at to keep everyone pushing for the same important goal ! That project would definitely ensure the LP would become a player someday !
As for Ballot Access I received a form letter from Carla Howell stating the Access Drive fund is almost completely empty and the LP needs donations immediately to stay on target for “49” states. It’s a shame those fascist in OK are not required to reimbure from their own pockets for each signatures gathered and not allowed to reach official Ballot Access ! ie If they voted to restrict access make the SWINE reimburse the LP for those (now useless 40T +) sigs the Harris people gathered. Shear CRIMINAL the tactics they and so many other states use to stop competition!!
Why shouldn’t AE be ahead in Access ? They have the Globalist’s UNLIMITED funds backing the effort. Need more money? Heck they can just print it !!!
It’s aimed for 2021 so the party can grow.
May as well start now regardless of whether we get that far.
I’d like to start combining it with ballot access more.
@48 you’re right. It would take years to pull that off.
The 51-21 idea, while laudable, is not very realistic. A LP campus org on every college and university campus in every state? That’s 346 NCAA Division I schools to start, plus 282 in Division II, plus 449 in Division III, plus 290 NAIA, total 1367–plus the hundreds of community colleges, specialty colleges, and junior colleges. (There are 46 in my state alone where there are 64 counties. Imagine California?)
Each one of those campus chapters would need a charter and a faculty sponsor and continual recruiting, and that ain’t easy to do. On current numbers, that’s one per every 9-10 national members.
I’m not saying it’s impossible; just that it takes a LOT of organization, membership, and continued commitment to make it happen, far more than the LP as a whole has right now and likely would have for the forseeable future.
26 ns, not sure what you mean about keeping Ls – competitors – happy. Can you give an example where the LPCO lobbied its competitors and prevailed?
Please do send it email, as I am on the road as usual; thanks.
50 states is not in the bag for the LP. Just got the new Ballot Access News. Richard Winger has asked me not to share that information, but hopefully I am not revealing too much that the states where AE has finished petitioning (always with a lot more signatures than needed), presuming that none of the petitions are rejected, now put it ahead of the LP. Although it’s still not impossible that both will do so, if I had to pick one or the other I would say AE is much more likely to achieve total ballot access.
@40 The LfA article is much longer than the delegate mailing, which I can send you.
With 50 state ballot access, the Libertarian Party is in the best place to break the two party system.
So, has anyone heard the one about the flea that rammed an elephant so hard from behind that he ended up in a jackasses’ urethra?
Raise the National LP from more than a debate society to a political player.
Our primary resources are money and members. Split the party leadership into two groups with the mission to acquire both with a transparent system on the front page of the LP.
Have them compete with history (publicize numbers) to make it “fun”.
PfT 39 Same as the web article?
I have already mailed most delegates — I may not have a complete list — a modest set of policy proposals.
Point four: The Treasurer is a voting member of the LNC and the ExComm. He is substantially involved in preparing the budget and in guiding the party’s affairs. Apparently you missed these issues.
Every LNC member is responsible for the party’s direction. The notion that the Chair should make all policy choices is corporate CEO management, an approach which fails massively for volunteer organizations.
Considering how much bigger the other parties are I would be worried about falling in.
Ram politically hard from behind?
Why not? Turnabout is fair play after all.
@28 Point 3. As is a matter of pubic record, I am a multimillionaire. I can look at the amount of my own money I actually spent on my Presidential campaign. (If you look at the FEC forms, note that I made a $100,000 loan toward general election expenses, and took the amount back when I did not get the nomination.) I spent about $100,000 of my own money on the campaign.
I can also look at my income tax forms for last year. My AGI was well over twice that. So I did spend money. but I can afford to spend money.
@28 Point two. Most people here have the good sense not to spend retirement money on a political fling. I did not do so either.
@28 et me take this from the top.
You are proposing as a deniable question that one person could walk off with the LNC Bank account. For that to be true, the last whole bunch of LNC Treasurers, National Committees, and staff would have all been so totally incompetent that they have a financial scheme in which all money is left in the checking account, and accessible by one person with check signing power.
I mean, if you raise $100,000 for ballot access, two years hence, you could at least have it stashed in CDs or the like, where it is not subject to being snitched.
I have some doubts about some of those LNC people, but the level of incompetence you are suggesting is totally absurd.
Furthermore, you can readily look up how much money the LNC has. You can’t retire on that.
The LP should…have politics? Make sweet politics? Ram politically hard from behind?
Advertising: you can do google ads, facebook ads, microtargeted cable TV ads, niche advertising on websites with specific audiences, and many other things. Sometimes the ads can get news stories giving them more play, like a few years ago the Chicago LP had ads on the el trains (subway, metro in other cities) that said something like “Do you like to party? Then this may be the party for you” and it stirred up some controversy.
Lobbying can be done at different levels with varying effectiveness. Even some members of Congress could be made vulnerable (or not) in a close election, or face a challenger (or not) in an otherwise uncontested race, etc.
Tru dat.
I have been trying to get something like that going for years.
The treasurer does not hold the money bag. The treasurer plans a budget.
Office employees disburse funds.
Sarwark: “Well, in Colorado, our party leadership does go to the legislature and testifies on bills of interest to our membership. We also are running candidates in every legislative race across the state. Don’t think that incumbent politicians are not interested in what might keep us happy, even though they are from other parties.”
I believe that, Nick. As I’m sure you know, however, the U.S. Congress is very, very far from being the Colorado legislature.
LPCQ@28,
“I’ve never heard a candidate for Treasurer campaign as if they were running for President/Chairman before!”
He’s campaigning on behalf of a slate, not just for himself.
“Treasurers are responsible for safeguarding the associations money NOT running the entire operation.”
The LNC’s treasurer is a voting officer (that’s not the case in all organizations), and thus obligated to indicate his positions on more than just details of finance.
Additionally, the LNC treasurer’s role in crafting the organization’s budget inherently puts him in a policy-related position. Better to know that Candidate X is opposed to Policy Y beforehand than to find out when he submits and argues for a budget proposal with $0 allocated to Y.
Ouch!
Anyone notice the decline in the Party is correlated to divisive actions within the Party tied to over inflated promises of growth in numbers of votes and members. Dating back to Harry Browne’s second run and the factions involved, through Badnarik’s failed Congressional race to Barr. Recently the Ron Paul Republican gambit has damaged the Party even further!
The 51 – 21 project is the program that assures the Libertarian Party will remain and someday make a difference. In association with active robust helping state affiliates, will continue to thrive forever !
What is “The 51-21 Project” ? An active LP campus student group on every College/University Campus in all fifty states and DC by December 31, 2021. All 51 by 2021. Not just a few, but on ALL campus. Get the youth and you have them for a lifetime. CARPE DIEM
BTW – what experience does Phillies have that qualifies him to oversee “our” $1.4M? Resume check please! No one could possibly think Phillies is still pissed about wasting 100s of $Ts and many hours on his P campaign in ’08. Certainly wouldn’t be any need to worry about him holding the money bag this close to his retirement. Would we ? Should we ? Feel free to make your case Phillies, you have less than ten days to do so !!! Although I’ve never heard a candidate for Treasurer campaign as if they were running for President/Chairman before! Treasurers are responsible for safeguarding the associations money NOT running the entire operation.
@14 The original suit indicated Bydlak claimed he was owed both for the Johnson campaign committee and also a similar amount for a Johnson SuperPAC.
@26 That is why I and friends are running: To get an LNC that does something.
@20:
Well, in Colorado, our party leadership does go to the legislature and testifies on bills of interest to our membership. We also are running candidates in every legislative race across the state. Don’t think that incumbent politicians are not interested in what might keep us happy, even though they are from other parties.
Back when we had a political director, the national office could send a similar message to Federal officeholders, e.g. Barr. I miss Ron Crickenberger, but even more so, I miss an LNC that did something.
Phillies: “@20 A half million candidates? Yes, that is the objective. We won’t get there this time, but that’s what the other major parties do. On the way, we need a larger party, but that is the objective.”
It’s an unrealistic objective and one that won’t happen anytime in the near future.
Phillies: “Can lobbying work? We did a variation on that successfully around the turn of the century against one invasive political scheme.”
Are you talking about Know Your Customer? Regardless of what anyone says, the LNC played a small role in that. There was a much greater coalition of organizations onboard that effort, as well as a large number of U.S. Congress members who were already firmly opposed to it.
Phillies: “Do politics? There are large numbers of books on how to do politics. Try reading them.”
I don’t know what you specifically mean by “do politics.” Every activity of any political organization can be considered “doing politics.” Anyway, the term doesn’t even sound right to me…reminds me of how this girl on Jersey Shore says “do sex.”
Phillies: “In fact, I wrote one of them.”
Congratulations. I’ll pass on that one.
Phillies: “Advertising: Ummh, there is this thing called the Internet. It has the nice feature that advertising spending can be varied continuously. Isolated broadcast ads in media centers, notably DC, mean that press people see your ads and realize you are there.”
The Internet? Must be something new.
Seriously, did you see how I already mentioned running ads on lower-trafficked websites? However, those ads don’t have the gravitas like ads on radio or television do for most people.
And how much money do you think it costs to buy broadcast ads in DC?? Not to mention that the DC market is already saturated with political ads.
@20 A half million candidates? Yes, that is the objective. We won’t get there this time, but that’s what the other major parties do. On the way, we need a larger party, but that is the objective.
Can lobbying work? We did a variation on that successfully around the turn of the century against one invasive political scheme.
Do politics? There are large numbers of books on how to do politics. Try reading them. In fact, I wrote one of them. In other parts of this proposal I list things that every political party group should do: Outreach. Candidate recruitment. Activist support. Literature. Etc., etc., etc.
Advertising: Ummh, there is this thing called the Internet. It has the nice feature that advertising spending can be varied continuously. Isolated broadcast ads in media centers, notably DC, mean that press people see your ads and realize you are there.
Meanwhile, the word of the day from urbandictionary.com:
April 27: You know what we should do
A phrase usually uttered before a terrible idea.
Steve:You know what we should do?
Bill:No, what?
Steve:Build a castle, on top of a car. It’s like a motorhome for kings!
in the beginning of 2012, we were down to 13,492 members
Wow, that’s a spectacular reversal of the trend that Dr. Phillies warned us about 26 months ago:
Kudos to the the LP leadership team that has given us 250% of the membership level that George’s scary red line said we’d have today.
P.S. Comment #1 26 months ago was by me: I?ll bet anybody $1000 ? donated to the winner?s choice of the LPUS or an LP affiliate ? that for any future date you choose, LPUS membership will not be as low as the red line on that date. I?m even willing to let you specify that the bet is void if the candidate of your choice is elected LP Chair before that date.
The first thing that came to my mind while reading Phillies’ essay was rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Some reality, a lot of fantasy in this article.
All of the “mission critical” activities seem realistic to me. ‘Do real politics,” a stock Phillies phrase, is vague and one that he never (to my knowledge) specifically defines.
Now we get into some of the fantasies:
A half-million Libertarian candidates? Give me a break. The LP has never even had 10 percent that many members, nevermind Libertarians who run for government offices. The power parties don’t even field that many candidates.
Invest heavily in advertising? The LNC budget isn’t even close to be able to advertise heavily, except perhaps with little ads in smaller alternative weekly newspapers, on relatively lower-traffic websites, or short spots on radio stations in tiny markets or something. Regular press releases can be done at minimal cost, but that’s about it.
Washington lobbying? This must be a joke. First, whom should the LNC lobby? The vast majority of legislators who have no interest in advancing individual liberty? Second, with what should the LNC pressure them? Threats to instruct the LP membership not to contribute to their campaigns?
Affinity groups? Special-interest groups aren’t created by the RNC or the DNC; they’re created by one-issue crusaders in order to influence one of the power parties to further their cause. The LP isn’t in power, nor are there any Libertarians in U.S. Congress or state legislatures. Fail.
We can all think of various activities it would be nice if the LP could do. That doesn’t make those ideas more than pipe dreams.
RC@17,
“My impression is that many/most campaigns run accounts payable balances through election day, but perhaps you have better data on the matter.”
I don’t consider it controversial that campaigns run accounts payable balances.
That’s a standard business practice if for no other reason than efficiency — if you pay the phone bill at the end of the month, instead of every time you make a call, it reduces both your transaction costs and the phone company’s, for example. Ford doesn’t have a guy running up and down the line making sure the workers get their $X every hour; it’s settled up on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.
It’s even reasonable for a campaign to ask staff or vendors to front things at tight spots “and we’ll pay when we can,” with it understood there’s some risk involved.
That’s one side — let’s call it the “good” side — of the line.
The other side — the bad side — of the line is “yeah, we know we promised you $X if you did Y, and you did Y, but fuck you, we’re not paying” or “fuck you, we’ll pay you when we get around to it.”
The line itself is probably not ultra-thin and ultra-bright, and the Johnson/Bydlak case may be in that wide gray area rather than on the sides of the line that the Johnson campaign and Bydlak mutually opposedly assert.
What pushes it toward the “bad” side of the line for me is that the campaign’s strategy for settling it sounds a lot like “fuck you until Uncle Sugar and/or the Libertarian Party bail us out.”
Thank you Dr. Phillies for laying out a plan for the party’s finances. This will be my first LP convention, and I’m looking forward to learning more.
Since he mentioned PACs, I have to put in a personal plug. IowaFreedomFundPAC.com will be launching in a few days, and we’d be happy to be the PAC of choice for Iowa Libertarians. We are transpartisan, but if you want your donation only spent on LP candidates, give by check and designate it as such in the memo line.
16 tk, I’d say that a candidate IS responsible as a general matter for his/her campaign. My impression is that many/most campaigns run accounts payable balances through election day, but perhaps you have better data on the matter.
If I’m correct, I’d be surprised if all candidates write those final check to square up…but again I’m guessing.
RC@10,
If it makes you feel better to read what I wrote as “Johnson’s plan for his campaign to pay its debts is to hector Libertarians into helping his campaign get on welfare,” feel free.
“Are you implying that a candidate is personally financially responsible for his campaign?”
If by “personally financially responsible” you mean “legally liable,” no.
If by “personally financially responsible” you mean “it’s his campaign, what it does or does not do is ultimately his call and he should be evaluated on the basis of what it does or does not do,” absolutely. Who the fuck do you think is responsible for what Gary Johnson’s campaign does or does not do? Dr. Seuss?
George: Great article so far and can’t wait for part 2. I am going to the VTLP convention tomorrow and will put a good word in for your candidacy.
Regarding the law suit – fwiw – from hearing what Gary Johnson said in a fundraiser a couple months ago – it seems the dispute with Bydlak was how much Bydlak was actually owed. The GJ campaign believes the bill for services rendered and received should be roughly half what Bydlak is claiming and the GJ campaign was ready to provide personal funds in order to settle it – but apparently Bydlak was unwilling to accept this lower amount.
Yep.
http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/04/27/gary-johnson-plans-to-file-for-primary-season-matching-funds-on-april-27/
http://hammeroftruth.com/2012/bydlak-v-gary-johnson-et-al-case-dismissed-in-federal-court/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/91408460/Bydlak-v-Gary-Johnson-dismissed
@5 The Bydlak dismissal was on jurisdiction, not substantive grounds “you are in the wrong court room”. That dismissal is readily cured–go to the right court room and refile.
The dismissal was like the LP-ORegon’s successful request to have the first Reeves etc lawsuit dismissed, because all parties had not been included in the suit: the amended suit including the rest of the Reeves State Committee as plaintiffs has now been refiled.
With respect to ‘has the money’, I am still receiving requests for money, and have not yet seen an FEC opinion that the Johnson Republican and Libertarian Presidential drives are the same nominating campaign, as the law requires.
I like what I see in GP’s plan, especially the IDing of “Mission Critical” matters. Simplify them, do them well, then do the important things.
I would say even more important is “truth” and “respect” are what seems to ail the LP. I would contend that the truth actually does set you free, but that it’s equally important to respect that not everyone shares your truth.
BeaverGate, floor fee wrangling, L’Affair Wrights, etc., etc., saw what appeared to me to be a lot of half truth (at best) and disrespect. Tiresome child’s play.
But, then, that’s only my truth! 😉
7 tk: After all, his plan for paying his debts is to hector Libertarians into helping him get on welfare.
me: Are you implying that a candidate is personally financially responsible for his campaign? I’m under the impression that campaigns are separate entities….
Read the plan above now. Certainly sounds good. I have to wonder about execution tho.
Oaksun sounded good when he ran, but unfortunately he was not able to do anything. I understand he had health and family issues that made it impossible.
Hinkle had a lot of good ideas when he ran. Unfortunately few of them have been implemented, or even brought up for any kind of vote or discussion on the LNC. I understand that he has a majority opposition on the committee but shouldn’t all those things he proposed when he ran at least have been brought up for discussion and a vote? What good is it to have a chair with good ideas if none of them ever happen or are even attempted?
The Root-Rutherford plan as published on paper had many good points as well. I was concerned about further Republicanization of the LP so I did not vote for them, but aside from chair and (temporarily) treasurer they did win a majority of the LNC and then expanded it by filling vacancies. So how many of their good ideas from the 2010 campaign are being put into practice? Is Hinkle vetoing them? Not as far as I know.
It seems that there are a lot of people proposing good ideas but few of them are being implemented.
He acknowledges he owes Bydlak money, the differences is Bydlak says he owes twice as much as Johnson says he owes.
Paulie @ 5,
“As I understand it Johnson is now qualified for matching funds. Doesn’t that put him in the black”
Prospectively? Yes. Actually? No, not until he gets a check and it clears and is actually used to pay off his debt.
“especially with the Bydlak lawsuit dismissed?”
Johnson’s campaign reports acknowledge a certain amount of debt, presumably at least some of which is what he owes Bydlak.
Hopefully (from an LP perspective) he’s not the kind of guy who weasels out of debts he acknowledges are valid just because he thinks a government judge has given him adequate cover to do so.
Then again, I wouldn’t count on him not being that kind of guy. After all, his plan for paying his debts is to hector Libertarians into helping him get on welfare.
Thanks George, great article, like Paulie waiting for part 2.
As I understand it Johnson is now qualified for matching funds. Doesn’t that put him in the black, especially with the Bydlak lawsuit dismissed?
@1 That’s because at the time the article was written, we had the February numbers. The March numbers show fundraising back up $20,000 or so, and a debt slightly greater than $150,000.
Two years ago, ‘we face an existential crisis’ was James Oak-sun’s prophetic warning.
iirc that is Oaksun, no dash.
positive article
I haven’t read the whole thing yet, although I did read the New Path book back in 2010.
However, I note that one of the first things I see is The Impending Crisis. Is “positive” in the introduction to the article above editorial?
Hmmm, I must be missing something Gary Johnson’s March period was up 20,000 compared to Feb. for about 62,000 for that month.