First time voter Justine Peters, 18, at the Minnesota LP convention. Photo by Jim Walsh.
By Jim Walsh at the Minnesota Post:
The ultimate freedom movement was moving a little slow Saturday at the Cambria Suites in Maple Grove. On a glorious sunny spring weekend, about 60 people attended the 2015 Libertarian Party of Minnesota State Convention, which took place in a couple of dank motel rooms and a conference room where motions were heard, issues discussed, and representatives elected via a microphone that cut out early and often.
“Andy, where is everybody?” one unimpressed first-time volunteer whined early Saturday afternoon to LPMN executive director Andy Burns, who shrugged happily and kept his eye on the revolution ball, all the while encouraging the scattered dozens to check out workshops of the day on the likes of “Start Your Agorist Business Now!,” “Taking A Bite Out Of The Surveillance State,” and “Turn On Tune In Drop Out.”
Carl Bernstein wasn’t kidding when he recently told a Minneapolis audience that the political system in America is broken, but from the looks of things Saturday, the alternative the Libertarians offer hasn’t gained much traction since the party’s inception in 1972. Still, what the conference lacked in cohesive passion it made up for in the evergreen notion that real change can happen when individuals seek something more, and something to belong to.
“It’s a good group of people and the best collection of misfits you’ll ever want to hang out with,” said attendee Robert Stewart. Some snapshots: