Here’s a central location to keep everyone who is not at the New Orleans convention updated on what’s going on.
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April 29, 2026
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Here’s a central location to keep everyone who is not at the New Orleans convention updated on what’s going on.
Jill Pyeatt is a small-business owner and jewelry designer from Southern California. She currently serves on the Judicial Committee of the Libertarian Party of CA. She can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
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Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is the 84th and current Attorney General of the United
States and former Senator from Alabama.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions signed an order to revive civil asset forfeiture and
allow local law enforcement to ignore state law.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions has stated that people should “obey the laws of the
government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order” in support of separating
children of illegal immigrants.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions has rescinded domestic and gang violence as
qualifiers for asylum seekers.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions supports a constitutional amendment to restrict
federal recognition of marriage to only those between a man and a woman.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, in his words, is a “big fan of the DEA”.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions has instructed federal prosecutors to seek the death
penalty for drug dealers.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions rescinded Department of Justice policies that avoided
harsh mandatory sentences for non-violent drug offenders.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions as Attorney General rescinded the Cole
Memorandum, a Department of Justice policy to limit interference in States that have legalized
marijuana.
Whereas, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions has stated “good people don’t smoke marijuana”.
Whereas, we believe that:
1.) civil asset forfeiture is an affront to the protections guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights.
2.) an appeal to a religious deity cannot be used to justify any law.
3.) those under threat of violence from their government and those not afforded adequate
protections from their government from violence of others should be considered for asylum
protections in the United States of America.
Furthermore, we are not big fans of the DEA. We don’t endorse incarceration or death for
nonviolent crimes. We will not abide unconstitutional Federal agitation in States regarding civil
asset forfeiture or drug law. And finally, we believe… Some Good People… Smoke Marijuana.
Be it resolved, that we, the delegates to the 2018 National Convention, do condemn the U.S.
Attorney General, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, and call for his immediate removal from
office.
Executive Committee
Four officers (Mr. Sarwark, Mr. Merced, Ms. Harlos, and Mr. Hagan) and
three additional members (Mr. Goldstein, Dr. Lark, and Mr. Redpath)
APRC
Ms. Bilyeu, Ms. Adams, Ms. Harlos, Mr. Nekhalia, and Dr. Olsen.
Ballot Access Committee
Mr. Redpath, Mr. Nanna, and Mr. Phillips.
Two other members will be appointed by Nick.
Candidate Support Committee
Mr. Goldstein, Mr. Hagan, Mr. Longstreth, Dr. Olsen, and Ms. Lee.
Historical Preservation Committee
Ms. Harlos, who will also appoint 4 others.
JBH
Resolved, that this convention commends the moral courage shown by the flight crews and airlines who refused to participate in President Trump’s kidnapping of children.
At some point, we will no doubt move to some more automated voting method, but I do have some immediate suggestions:
1) Move nominations and nominating speeches for ALL positions to the front of the agenda, first thing after credentials, adoption of agenda, etc.
2) Print ballots including all candidates nominated at THAT time.
We have a lot of eager beavers who don’t intend to run, then get excited by the second or third day of the convention and throw their hats in the ring. Nothing wrong with that, but let them run as write-ins, and have the people who CAME to the convention already intending to run (and who maybe even campaigned beforehand) make their speeches, and have printed ballots that are easy to read and easy to count. In fact, that would enable a “Scantron” type machine-readable but printed ballot. Feed them into the machine, hand-count write-ins, boom, done.
Go ahead and have the elections at the same time, so that all the candidates have a couple of days to campaign at the convention and let the delegates get to know them.
Fine to use the “token” system for getting into debate, but there won’t be time for that for nominations if we do it at the beginning. I can live with that.
lol, I was honestly surprised that they didn’t have a procedure for that situation. When you get into a place where you start talking about whether the person is honest it is a breakdown of the process. No way someone running for LNC at large should be put in a place where they are one of the main people counting the votes, it sets them up. There were others helping count and other oversight but it did come down to one vote. It is unfair to the secretary that she was put in that situation where there can even be doubt. As the LNC moves forward there needs to be help, at least at convention for that position. It is too labor intensive and as far as the current process goes it creates a natural choke-point. I really thought they would announce that some others would be counting the at large votes since she was running as I assumed there was already a procedure in place. There either isn’t a procedure and that needs to be changed. Or they were in such a hurry they made a mistake. Really though, even if it was an oversight the entire process needs to be looked at. The convention is and will be very big and they need to look at ways to streamline voting while maintaining integrity. I hope they take a serious look at blockchain as a possibility while looking into ways to improve the voting process.
Ms. Mattson has been a competent, diligent, and to the best of my knowledge honest worker for the party in her role as secretary. I do not think for a minute that she would intentionally alter vote counts or anything like that.
My recollection is that there were still more than 600 delegates credentialed as of the voting for LNC. Each of those delegates hand-wrote their choices (as many as they wished — approval voting — from something like 40 candidates) on index cards. Even if every delegate only voted for five candidates, that’s more than 3,000 hand-written votes to count, written in no particular order, no particular level of legibility, etc. I will be incredibly surprised if there WEREN’T some mistakes. Not because of Alicia Mattson, but because that was how we did things.
The votes should be audited, yes.
But there seem to be insinuations about Alicia Mattson’s integrity, and I see no foundation for that. She has been involved with the LP for well over a decade and (although we often disagree on votes and strategy) she has always been fair and honest in the processes she oversees. If there turn out to be any discrepancies between the announced votes and the audited votes (if and when there is an audit), I have no doubt they will have been inadvertent rather than intentional.
Joe Buchman’s request seems very prudent. The votes should definitely be voted without Alicia present. Nothing against her at all, it just looks bad.
Alicia Mattson has posted a more complete list of LNC at large results.
Candidate Votes Percent
Sam Goldstein 327 54.1390728%
Joe B-Henchman 312 51.6556291%
Joshua Smith 269 44.5364238%
Bill Redpath 267 44.2052980%
Alicia Mattson 231 38.2450331%
Steve Scheetz 230 38.0794702%
Daniel Hayes 227 37.5827815%
Joe Buchman 215 35.5960265%
Reza Khosh-Sirat 203 33.6092715%
Christopher Thrasher 184 30.4635762%
Ernest Hancock 120 19.8675497%
Arvin Vohra 115 19.0397351%
Heide Alej-Smith 113 18.7086093%
Brian Ellison 113 18.7086093%
Michael Pickens 110 18.2119205%
Justin O’Donnell 102 16.8874172%
Ben Farmer 97 16.0596026%
Mike Shipley 90 14.9006623%
Jesse Fullington 83 13.7417219%
James Weeks 80 13.2450331%
Drew Layda 75 12.4172185%
Clayton Hunt 70 11.5894040%
Tyler Danke 55 9.1059603%
Traci Baker 53 8.7748344%
Brian Slowinski 52 8.6092715%
Marc Padilla 51 8.4437086%
Andy Jacobs 51 8.4437086%
Caitlin Cloven 46 7.6158940%
Susan Overeem 39 6.4569536%
Ben Leder 30 4.9668874%
Victor Kocher 20 3.3112583%
Tony D’Orazio 20 3.3112583%
Matt Schutter 19 3.1456954%
Joe Paschal 15 2.4834437%
Steven Brenize 10 1.6556291%
Write-In 9 1.4900662%
NOTA 4 0.6622517%
TOTAL VOTES: 4107
TOTAL BALLOTS: 604
2018 LNC At-Large Election Results
More:
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-knpp-stir-podcast-episode-141.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-draft-resolution-for-2018-libertarian.html
Updates from Knapp
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-strategic-note-for-libertarian-party.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/home-sweet-home.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/update-from-new-orleans.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/food-for-thought.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/thanks-to-many-people.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/heres-what-happens-when-bylaws.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/bylaws-debate-may-seem-boring-and.html
https://knappster.blogspot.com/2018/07/yes-i-am-in-new-orleans.html
Therefore, we should scrap the bylaw change on LNC elections and go back to how we used to do it. It sounded good to me when we voted on it a few conventions ago but in practice at that convention and since then it has not worked out well IMO.
Yes, in retrospect, would have been better as a vote on LNC than Mattson. However, I did not vote for anyone who had been associated in any way that I knew of with supporting Joshua Smith, Augustus Invictus et al.
Anyone still in NOLA at the convention hotel today/tonight and feel like hanging out? Call or text me 205-534-1622. I have a couple of boxes of wine I can share, but it would have to be in your room or if we can get away with it in the common areas of the hotel, my suitemate here has 2 dogs who are not necessarily cool with humans they have not already gotten to know. New Orleans area locals and those staying at other hotels/accomodations of whatever sort welcome too, but I have no interest in walking around in the rain so would prefer to hang out here at the Hyatt Regency if anyone wants to join me.
OK, Here’s Joe Bishop-Henchman report and link to livestream. YAY.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/189510455174837/permalink/235344280591454/
Joe Bishop-Henchman shared a link.
10 mins
JBH NOTES FROM 7/3/18 LNC MEETING:
I hustled straight from the LNC results announcement to take my seat at the LNC meeting. I was totally unready to take notes so apologies if I got anything wrong here – let me know and I will correct it.
Here is the new LNC:
Chair: Nick Sarwark
Vice-Chair: Alex Merced
Secretary: Caryn Ann Harlos
Treasurer: Tim Hagan
Rep/Alternate for Region 1: Richard Longstreth / Craig Bowden
Rep/Alternate for 2: Stephen Nekhalia / Victoria Paige Lee
Rep/Alternate for 3: Elizabeth Van Horn / Dustin Nanna
Rep/Alternate for 4: Jeff Hewitt / Kenneth Olsen
Rep/Alternate for 5: Jim Lark / Susan Jane Hogarth
Rep/Alternate for 6: John Phillips / Philip Anderson
Rep/Alternate for 7: Whitney Bilyeu / Erin Adams
Rep/Alternate for 8: Jim Rosenbeck / Jeff Lyons
At-Large Members: Sam Goldstein, Joe Bishop-Henchman, Joshua Smith, Bill Redpath, Alicia Mattson
We heard public comment from many great LP activists, including:
• Asking us to establish the Youth Engagement Committee as we were directed by the Convention’s adopted resolution introduced by Matt Long of Connecticut
• Asking whether there is a mechanism for rescinding life memberships
• A question about our parental rights stance that the Chair referred to the next Platform Committee
• A series of suggestions from Starchild that I couldn’t keep up with, but I asked that the Secretary distribute them by email
• A Pennsylvania delegate requested that we never have a convention on July 4 weekend again
• Several comments expressing dissatisfaction with our current Convention election balloting and counting process. One comment was by our Parliamentarian from the Convention, who got an ovation.
We did a few introductory things, such as collecting all our emails (mine is [email protected] but party business will transition to an lp.org account when it is set up), letting us know about training, conflicts of interest reporting, and orientation we will have to do.
We then proceeded to appointee committees that need to be filled immediately for pending business. Other committees, some of which are all-LNC and some of which are a mix of LNC and non-LNC members, will be filled in the future. Mr. Goldstein made a great suggestion to put it all in one email or something to members, announcing the openings and seeking applicants.
We voted to establish the Executive Committee, consisting of the four officers (Mr. Sarwark, Mr. Merced, Ms. Harlos, and Mr. Hagan) and three additional members (Mr. Goldstein, Dr. Lark, and Mr. Redpath).
We established the APRC (a Board committee that approves/vetoes staff-proposed emails to members, press releases, and other outward facing communication), after some discussion of whether its structure is optimal, which I hope the LNC will return to in the future. Appointed were Ms. Bilyeu, Ms. Adams, Ms. Harlos, Mr. Nekhalia, and Dr. Olsen.
We appointed three LNC members to the Ballot Access Committee: Mr. Redpath, Mr. Nanna, and Mr. Phillips. Two other members will be appointed by Nick.
We appointed the 5 LNC members to the Candidate Support Committee, as they have pending items to act upon: Mr. Goldstein, Mr. Hagan, Mr. Longstreth, Dr. Olsen, and Ms. Lee.
Ms. Harlos, now our Secretary, was reappointed Chair of the Historical Preservation Committee. She will pick the other members, and expressed that she planned to re-appoint the existing members for mid-project continuity reasons.
Mr. Hagan reported that the gala raised $93,000, which is a lot! Ms. Mattson said that compared to the 2016 (election year) banquet of $105,000 and the 2014 banquet of $23,000. Mr. Sarwark added that there are still pending pledges so our final number may be higher.
Mr. Redpath was appointed Assistant Treasurer.
We set the next LNC meeting for September 8-9 in Phoenix, staring at 9:00 am that Saturday. We discussed but did not set a meeting for December.
The livestream is posted at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/115932084.
Don’t forget you can follow the LNC hijinks here: http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business/2018/thread.html
And don’t forget the essential declaration of independence
https://www.facebook.com/CarolMoore1776/posts/10160822762975599
Phew, I’m tired from just watching it all and skimming this thread.
At your leisure, what happened at LNC meeting or did they have one?
Thanks.
“Isn’t the point of approval voting is to not accept anyone who gets above a 50% threshold.”
There being so many candidates and so many time, the convention voted to suspend the rules as follows:
1) One round of voting.
2) Those among the top five recipients who received a majority would be elected.
3) Any among the top five who did NOT receive a majority would receive an up or down vote from the body. Yes, they’re elected, no they are not. If the latter for any, we’d deal with that when we got to it.
4) We never got to it. The convention hit a hard adjournment time (we had to get out of the venue) before the first ballot votes were counted.
Steve Scheetz missed election by 1 vote. 🙁
Above should read “who doesn’t get above 50%.”
I need to go help walk dogs. Can anyone help cover?
Isn’t the point of approval voting is to not accept anyone who gets above a 50% threshold. . .
Is anyone physically in the LNC meeting following along here? Or anyone else watching the livestream?
EC was chosen? I drifted off for a minute. Sounds like APRC is being filled now?
Candidate Support Committee: Bunch of people expressed interest. I did not hear a vote but they appear to have moved on?
Harlos reappointed chair of historical committee,
Sounds like we may still be in public comments?
Got the livestream up now but missed the last few minutes, can anyone fill that part in?
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/libertarian-party1 is supposed to have LNC meeting.
I had to go up to my room but will try to liveblog the rest of it if I can. Anyone who is there please fill in what I missed, or fill us in on the highlights if I can’t get the livestream to work up here due to network speed.
Jill, I do not plan to shut up about immigration because it is being used as a Trojan Horse invasion to destroy liberty. What I am refering to is not even really immigration, it is a manipulated – by Marxists and globalist elites – invasion. It has nothing to do with libertarianism.
CA/NV Region 4 Hewitt, alt Brent Olsen
Region 2 Nekhalia alt Victoria Paige -Lee
Region 7 Bilyeu, Adams
Region 8 reported above earlier
Region 6 John Phillips alt Phil Anderson
Region 3 Van Horn/Nanna
Region 1 reported earlier
Region 5 Lark, Hogarth
At Large Joshua Smith, Alicia Mattson, Sam Goldstein, Bill Redpath, Joseph Bishop-Henchman
The At-large reps have been announced on Facebook: In order of their amount of votes:
Sam Goldstein, Joe B-Henchman, Joshua Smith, Alicia Mattson, Bill Redpath
Eventually, but they are actually not yet available, as in the ballots are still being counted.
Will the at large and judicial committee results be posted here?
Since you asked, Andy–
I actually watched your speech and thought about what a good activist for liberty would be if you would only SHUT UP ABOUT IMMIGRATION.
At Large ballots will not be finished being counted before we need to leave the room. Maneuvering now to wrangle the parliamentary procedure around that.
Just because they voted the way you voted it does not mean they agree with you twisted account. There were people from both the “left” and “right” sides of libertarianism backing that resolution.
I am not expecting to win, in large part because the LP has a “good old boy” establishment network much like the Democrats and Republicans. I am also not one of the most well known people to run, and there were a lot of people running.
I took notes before getting on stage, and given that there was no practice time, and that speeches were limited to 3 minutes, I only made it about 2/3 or maybe 70% of the way through my list of talking points.
I stand by every word. Apparently a lot of people in the room agreed with me.
That is a very twisted account of the resolution mentioned at 17:36.
We’ll have vote results for At Large, hopefully soon.
Non-delegates from “Liberty” Hangout, resolution to welcome racists and other bigots as long as they claim they support the NAP failed. Resolutions to accept anarcho-communists also failed.
Motion to praise the airline crews and staff who have refused to cooperate with Trump’s kidnapping of children passed almost unanimously with the singular objection of David Macko. Macko also had some harebrained resolution to shut down the Mueller investigation which no one except him wanted to suspend the rules to entertain.
I had multiple people, including some I did not know beforehand, approach me and said that they liked the speech, and that they voted for me.
For some reason I can’t explain, the picture made by the Liberkids made me cry! Maybe there’s some hope for us.
Unanimous resolution to ask Trump to pardon Ross Ulbricht.
LNC meeting in Foster 1 or Foster 2 right after the conclusion of the convention.
Resolution to abolish ICE and some other fedgov agency passed unanimously.
People sitting around me seemed to agree with me. What do those reading here think, if you were here or watch(ed) the video?
Banquet last night raised more money than 2016.
Paul’s description of my impromptu speech was not the most accurate. I have received positive feedback from multiple delegates.
Afterparty in Elite A.
He was nominated but chose to withdraw. I missed it when he was originally nominated.
I thought I heard he was nominated (Burke). I guess I was wrong.
Burke withdraws. A classy move.
Richard Burke gives a speech to decline nomination.
Robert Murphy …
Roger Roots…
Dan Reale…
Phillies spoke for NOTA. Missed one due to passing out, Now Jim Turney.
David Demarest then Suzanne Gilmore
He’s running?
Alicia Dearn
Dear Lord: Please don’t let Richard Burke get on the Judicial Committee.
Michael Kielsky, and possibly speaker(s) for NOTA
Geoff Neale, Greg Hersch (sp?) ….
Tricia Sprankle, Ruth Bennett…
Tom Knapp …
Then Chris Wiest.
Then Andy Craig, Mark Hinkle…
Correction Darryl Perry, Chuck Moulton, then D. Frank Robinson.
followed by Alex Spencer Diaz, then Chuck Moulton
Ted Brown first up for JudCom
Jim Turney and Suzanne Gilmore, also both of Florida, have also been nominated.
Darryl Perry, D. Frank Robinson, and others also nominated.
Missed the rest of the judicial nominations, due to voting going on on LNC at large. Will try to keep up with them as they get speeches.
Judicial Committee nominations.
Yes, I was the first candidate nominated.
Yes, I accept.
Those who would like me to shut up every once in awhile should vote for me, since if elected I will decline to publicly comment on things that I think might end up on the Judicial Committee’s plate.
I heard correctly, there was a NOTA speaker. Time extended for an hour for the balloting.
then James Weeks, and if I heard correctly NOTA
Next Joshua Smith, Christopher Thrasher, Arvin Vohra…
Heidi Alejandro-Smith
Brian Slowinsky is next.
Mike Shipley is God.
Mike Shipley….
I think they meant Matthew Schutter.
Next up Steve Scheetz, Matthew Shepard (sp?)…
Joe Paschal, Michael Pickens, then Bill Redpath.
Next up Mark Padilla.
Susan…Oakley? I didn’t catch her name right.
Correction to above, I think I misheard “Drew Layda” when Alex said “Ben Leder.”
lol on the “Andy Report” @ 14:42.
surprised at no “cultural marxism” or “immigrant hordes” references.
Justin O’Donnell is up next. Merced will speak for him, after objection is defeated on a voice vote.
Ben Leder, Alicia Mattson…
After that Victor Kocher, then Drew Layda.
Andy Jacobs impersonated a meth user on stage (he actually never uses hard drugs and rarely uses drugs of any kind), promoted the LP giving more work to a convicted signature forger to gather signatures ( 🙂 ) then was virtually dragged off the stage by Alex Merced, who is chairing the convention because Nick Sarwark is speaking on behalf of some of the candidates.
Mohammad-Reza Khosh-Sirat is up now.
Next Joe Bishop-Henchman, Clayton Hunt, Andy Jacobs.
Next up: Goldstein, Hancock, Hayes.
After Farmer, Jesse Fullington
Next up Tony D’Orazio (no speakers), then Brian Ellison, then Ben Farmer.
Fun fact RE: Florida:
For the first time since 2006 (when a Libertarian for Governor ran without party affiliation – otherwise 2002), Florida will have no Libertarian on the ballot in the majority of the state. Instead, the recent activity is a handful of people have non-partisan (often uncontested or extremely low-population) local positions with little to no power, and then, of course, there are elected state leaders in hate groups.
But I guess since Larry Sharpe admittedly wants white nationalists to join the LP, maybe he wants the LP to be a white nationalist halfway house?
Caitlin Cloven speech. Then Tyler Danke.
Someone who did not have speakers. Then Joe Buchman.
After some wrangling, settled on 3 minutes per at large nominating speeches. That’s about two hours of speeches if everyone takes their full 3 min. Starting with Traci Baker.
AD,
Well stated.
I do disagree, though. The next presidential candidate of any party who is either qualified to run that behemoth or actually does run that behemoth if elected will be the first such presidential candidate.
“While I cannot read your mind, my guess is that you would be DELIGHTED if catastrophically unqualified Weld’s only opponents were catastrophically unqualified trolls.”
Nope. And I am not saying that just to argue with you. I want a robust nominating campaign and debates in 2020. I really do. But they have GOT to be people qualified at some level to run a multi-trillion dollar, 2.7 million behemoth…even IF their campaign platform is to dismantle some portion of that behemoth.
It would very much disappoint me if we end up in 2020 with NO choice but to nominate the only even remotely qualified option that we have (as happened in 2016).
Please, bring me someone in 2020 who can LEGITIMATELY challenge Governor Weld. I want him challenged.
Half hour break for lunch.
Hagan re-elected 67% and change followed by Layda with 20% and change. All others low single digits.
Suspension of the rules passes. I did not quite follow exactly what the procedure will be. Treasurer’s results being shown and in some cases disputed state by state. Looks to me like Hagan will be re-elected.
Phillies motion to elect the top 5 does not get 2/3.
Quoth AD:
“I’m just going to be very disappointed if such a faction decides on a catastrophically unqualified troll as their standard-bearer at the 2020 Convention.”
While I cannot read your mind, my guess is that you would be DELIGHTED if catastrophically unqualified Weld’s only opponents were catastrophically unqualified trolls.
—–
Don’t worry, we assumed there was going to be a “Never Weld” movement.
I’m just going to be very disappointed if such a faction decides on a catastrophically unqualified troll as their standard-bearer at the 2020 Convention.
—-
Yes, there is going to be a “Never Weld” movement.
As part of that movement, I do not yet have a candidate of preference OTHER than Weld.
Weld is cyanide. I am not going to support cyanide. I will support NOTA rather supporting strychnine, ricin, etc.
At-large nominations closed, except any losing candidates for treasurer. Now will go to motions to suspend the rules.
“Vohra already has one thing going for him: He’s not William Weld.”
Don’t worry, we assumed there was going to be a “Never Weld” movement.
I’m just going to be very disappointed if such a faction decides on a catastrophically unqualified troll as their standard-bearer at the 2020 Convention.
Spangle nominated by someone else. Declines.
Point of inquiry whether all of those nominated are dues paying party member.
Nomination of Chris Spangle withdrawn. It seems Mary Ruwart meant Chris Thrasher, who was already nominated. Drew Layda nominated.
potus.
Vohra already has one thing going for him: He’s not William Weld.
Perry declines.
30-40 nominations so far. Darryl Perry nominated.
“Vohra nominated and indicates he will also run for presidential nomination.”
To quote Snake Plissken, “The president of what?”
Mark Padilla nominated. Matt Schutter nominated. Clayton Hunt nominated.
Joe Paschal nominated.
Alicia Mattson nominated.
James Weeks nominated.
Mike Shipley nominated. Ben Framer nominated.
Vohra nominated and indicates he will also run for presidential nomination. Slowinsky nominated. Marcos Miralles nominated but does not accept.
Mohammad-Reza Khosh-Sirat. Justin O’Donnell.
Andy Jacobs nominated for At Large. Sam Goldstein.
Ernie Hancock nominated. Tyler Danke nominated.
Redpath nominated for At Large. Michael Pickens nominated. Chris Spangle nominated for at large. Scheetz nominated for at large. James Weeks nominates Harambe. Missing a bunch of these.
“That would be a lot better than what he actually meant, which is praise for the Miralles leadership and what they have accomplished in that state”
I have not been greatly involved in LPF since beginning to concentrate on platform committee, but my impression is that Mr. Miralles has concentrated on cultivating winning candidates for local office — which was the platform he was elected on.
Whether or not he has been a great chair is a question I’m not especially interested in debating, especially since I hear that he is not seeking re-election.
The LPF would have had its alt-right infestation problem regardless of who was elected chair. I don’t envy any chair the problem of trying to navigate the issues that problem raises, nor have I been involved enough to offer an opinion on how well he has done at navigating them.
In any case, LPF remains one of the largest and most active state LPs. We’re running the candidates. We’re fighting the policy issues. We have our problems. We’ll deal with those problems as best we can. And as we do, I personally don’t need any goddamn gas from people who think it’s inappropriate to talk positively about us.
Mattson says she will accept nomination for At Large.
Harlos elected Secretary on first ballot.
Should be 50.505% up top for Merced ^^
My bad, should be 50.505% up top ^^^^^ ( I can’t do basic math, screen was blurry)
Joe Buchman …
My bad, should be 50.05% up top ^^^^^ ( I can’t do basic math, screen was blurry)
The ones I heard so far: Chris Thrasher, Joshua Smith
Alex Merced 333 votes 60.605%
Joe Hauptmann 193 votes 29.331%
Arvin Vohra 68 votes 10.344%
Sam Goldstein 58 votes 8.633%
NOTA 5 votes 0.760%
Write-in 2 votes 0.304%
658 votes total
At large nominations were suspended until end of vice chair race.
Merced wins VC on third ballot, barely.
Resolution to remove Sessions passes, after being amended to clarify that *some* (not all) good people smoke marijuana, contrary to what Sessions said (that no good people smoke marijuana).
“That would be a lot better than what he actually meant, which is praise for the Miralles leadership and what they have accomplished in that state.”
+1
Again, to beat the dead horse a little more, even IF Mr. Sharpe had some legit reason to believe leadership in Florida were doing some good things, a seasoned politician would know, given what’s gone on down there, that praising them publicly would be categorically off-limits.
If need be, one picture of some of those guys down there in the LPFL getting published in an NYC newspaper, connected to a Sharpe quote, and his campaign is over.
Elijah Boyd of AL gets applause for getting certified for the ballot after a recount. Puts forth a resolution to call for the removal of Jeff Sessions. Various minor amendments considered.
LOL. That would be a lot better than what he actually meant, which is praise for the Miralles leadership and what they have accomplished in that state.
Resolution calling for removal of Jeff Sessions being read.
Agreed.
“I’m sorry…Mr. Sharpe said other states should be more like LPFL? Please expound. That is distressing.”
I finally found something I agree with Mr. Sharpe on — pineapple on pizza is a violation of the non-aggression principle.
As far as the Libertarian Party of Florida is concerned, I’m pretty sure he meant that other states should have me.
Resolution to grant honorary life membership to a surviving member of the Committee to Form a Libertarian Party passes.
“Yes, that’s what he said and yes, I agree it is distressing.”
Its perplexing too.
If he possessed even a modicum of the quintessential political tendency to self-preservation, one wonders why he would go out on a limb to say such a thing. He’s running for governor of New York, for pete’s sake.
If I were him, I’d be terrified that, if I miraculously managed to get some traction, some enterprising opponent in the race would dig though my past and make a connection I don’t want them making.
“No state is great” fails to get 2/3
Announcement that VA US Senate candidate Matt Waters is certified for the ballot.
Next resolution “no state is great” … Nick clarifies that OKlahoma can still be OK.
Power bottom unity, as amended, fails to get 2/3.
Yes, that’s what he said and yes, I agree it is distressing.
Announcement that Illinois signatures not challenged.
Power bottom unity resolution amended.
I’m sorry…Mr. Sharpe said other states should be more like LPFL? Please expound. That is distressing.
Starchild speaking reluctantly against.
Various resolutions being considered. The ones I caught were condemning criminalization of speech against Israel, which passed unanimously, and power bottom unity which is being debated now.
At large nominations are next.
Speech from Mark Tippetts for Governor: TX
https://mark4gov.com/
Voted for Weeks on the first two ballots. Undecided on this next one, since it is either Vohra or one of Vohra’s attackers. Mostly wavering between Vohra and NOTA.
Steve Scheetz also belatedly makes concession. Endorses Merced.
Weeks received speaking time to endorse, urged his supporters to just vote their own consciences as to the best candidate.
Weeks allowed to make concession speech over objection, does not endorse anyone.
Weeks eliminated from the next ballot for VC, which would make the next ballot Weeks, Vohra, Merced, Hauptmann and Goldstein. Phillies proposes also eliminating Vohra from next ballot.
Chris Wiest moves to suspend the rules to drop the bottom two. It does not get 2/3. Vohra will remain on the next ballot.
Vohra makes it seem like he is about to withdraw, then does not.
There was an attempt to suspend the rules to remove Vohra as well. It failed.
Alex Merced 251 votes 44.112%
Joe Hauptmann 159 votes 27.944%
Sam Goldstein 80 votes 14.060%
Arvin Vohra 43 votes 7.557%
James Weeks 29 votes 5.097%
NOTA 4 votes 0.703%
Write-in 3 votes 0.527%
total votes 569
Weeks eliminated for vice chair.
Clayton Hunt of the Audacious Caucus backed with other Audacious Caucus members nominating Audacious Caucus treasurer Robert Paulson as they wave their dildos high.
Paulson was not here for himself. Something about a mishap at a toga party last night?
I assume that was Brad Thomas for himself, although I did not hear him actually say his name.
Other regional news that I know of so far:
Region 7 re-elected Bilyeu and Adams. Region 5 re-elected Jim Lark and elected Susan Hogarth as alternate. What did the remaining regions do, anyone know?
Dale Thomas nominating Brad Thomas for Treasurer
Hagan up for himself.
Jason Smith for Hagan.
Joe Buchman for Tim Hagan.
Layda up for himself.
Heise for Layda.
Michael Heise for Drew Layda, followed by Tim Perkins for Layda.
Sam Goldstein nominating Drew Layda for treasurer.
Jim Gray speaking. I don’t think this is a nominating speech at least as far as I can tell. Nominating speeches for Treasurer are supposed to be coming up.
Harlos as pink haired Statue of Liberty for herself.
Agreed.
Mary Ruwart up for Harlos.
Susan Hogarth up for Caryn Ann Harlos.
Paulie,
Hope springs eternal … well, until the ballots are counted, anyway.
The Audacious Caucus and LibSoc Caucus already won. The LibSoc Caucus got its chair candidate onto the debate stage. LPAC got its vice chair candidate past the first ballot. They’ve changed the conversation, which is the most anyone can hope for their first time out at a national convention.
Mattson up for herself.
Bill Redpath up for Mattson.
Jeff Hewitt is up for Alicia Mattson.
Jeff Wood is up for himself.
Matt “Chairman Meow” Kuehnel is up first for Jeff Wood.
Secretary nominations are next. Jeff Wood clarified that he is a dues paying national member, so he will be nominated along with Alicia Mattson and Caryn Ann Harlos.
As far as anything I have noticed on FB Alex is solid on issues. The only reason I can’t support him is that he was on board with Joshua Smith. But now that Smith will not be chair, I will not be mad if Alex wins, not nearly to the extent that I would have been if Smith won. I’m just personally not going to vote for him but that’s it.
Yes, but I’ll stick by my prediction regarding VC. Lots to be happy about on chair race, platform and bylaws, I agree. So far, so better than I expected. But if Weeks wins I’ll buy you lunch.
That’s correct. I can see Weeks possibly picking up some but not all Scheetz votes, and maybe some but not all Vohra votes if Vohra gets eliminated first. I don’t see any scenario under which he picks up enough Hauptmann/Goldstein/Merced votes to win regardless of which of those is eliminated in which order.
“Anyone at NOLA have any idea how Weeks beat Sheetz?”
Weeks got on stage, broke the ice with a slight feint toward stripping again to get a laugh and let everyone relax from that possibility, then gave a barn-burner of a talk that convinced people.
It’s just that simple. The emerging theme of the convention this year is “fuck respectability politics, let’s be libertarians again after 10 years of hoping like hell people won’t notice we aren’t Republicans ,” and he’s a great poster boy for that theme.
Now we just need to get him to the third ballot and on in for the big win.
Anyone at NOLA have any idea how Weeks beat Sheetz? Is it all audacious people voted for him but the radical caucus was split between Sheetz(good guy) and Vorha(If I was there I would have voted for him)? That was the big shocker for me. Also, anyone know how Alex Merced is on issues?
I’ve heard great things about his work ethic, but for whatever reason most people tend to go one way or the other on principles, with the non-principled proclaiming that is is some how pragmatic. I haven’t heard anything about his leanings.
A big thank you to all who voted on Bylaws and the Platform, I think in general there were some wins there. It is actually easier to explain real principles to new potential voters than watered down versions. (I.E. opposing the entire drug war because it is unconstitutional, creates more drug addiction and violent gangs vs, marijuana isn’t that bad for you in my opinion so lets legalize that like alcohol).
Jim,
What makes you think there can be only one reason to vote for or against Weeks (or for or against anyone else)?
The party seems to be feeling more libertarian, and less embarrassed about being libertarian, than usual this year. No telling what might happen.
People aren’t failing to vote for Weeks because they thought he had no chance of winning. Weeks basically ran on a platform that he would out-Vohra Vohra,. People aren’t voting for Weeks because they don’t want that stuff coming from the Vice Chair.
Those who wouldn’t vote for Weeks because he had no chance of winning should reconsider now that he’s survived the first ballot (and eliminated the Radical Caucus’s endorsed candidate).
Voting for Vice Chair will resume tomorrow morning with a second ballot, as no candidate was able to secure a majority on the first ballot. Geiger will be removed from the pool of candidates (having received under 5%), as will Scheetz (having been the lowest vote-getter above 5%). So barring anyone pulling out of the race, the second ballot candidates for Vice Chair will be Alex Merced, Joe Hauptmann, Sam Goldstein, Arvin Vohra, and James Weeks.
Alex Merced 260 votes 35.519%
Joe Hauptmann 180 votes 24.590%
Sam Goldstein 119 votes 16.257%
Arvin Vohra 66 votes 9.016%
James Weeks 44 votes 6.011%
Steve Scheetz 43 votes 5.874%
Matthew Geiger 11 votes 1.503%
NOTA 8 votes 1.093%
Write in 1 vote 0.137%
Total 732 votes
Address from NH state rep Brandon Phinney speech while VC votes counted.
You are going to have to do it yourself, David
Not sure but I think this is the first time we have a 3rd term chair. And, when is the last time a chair candidate got 517 or more votes in a non-presidential year?
Weeks for himself.
Weeks quoting PROUDHON! W00T!
Someone from Colorado speaking for power bottom unity and Weeks, followed by Jeff Wood for Weeks.
Someone speaking for NOTA. Don’t recognize, did not catch name.
Did anyone catch the exact Florida total? I haven’t spoken with the entire delegation, but the only Florida delegate I personally know to have supported Smith was the state chair, who spoke for him.
I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Josh several times, and while I did not support him and believe I had good reasons to support Nick instead, I don’t think he’s the kind of bad guy one might think he is from just looking at his most avid supporters.
Goldstein for himself.
Daniel Hayes for Sam Goldstein.
Jill, the lack of experience argument is frequently used against Libertarian Party candidates for political office, especially at the higher levels. Going by this logic, nobody should vote for a Libertarian Party candidate for President, Governor, US Senate, US House, etc…, since they typically have little to no experience.
I thought Harry Browne and Michael Badnarik were much better presidential candidates than Bob Barr and Gary Johnson, even though Barr and Johnson had experience in high level offices and Browne and Badnarik did not have any experience in political office.
Erin Adams for Sam Goldstein.
Merced for himself.
Someone else speaking for Merced, don’t recognize him and didn’t catch the name.
Sharpe speaking for Merced.
Someone speaking for 71Republic’s Matthew Geiger for national chair.
Vohra speaking for himself.
So how much money did Josh Smith raise for each of those 175 votes? I mean, he probably could have done better with simple bribes. I wonder how much money Nick spent.
Several people for Scheetz,
Various people (I was distracted), then Hauptmann for himself.
I heard, second hand, that he will.
the alt right vote.
O’Donnell up first. Drops out and endorses Merced.
Wow, it wasn’t even close! I’m glad, although I also don’t care for Weld. I just didn’t see anything in Josh’s background that would indicate he was the person for the job.
Perhaps he should run for At-Large. That way, he’d get LNC experience we’d learn a bit about how he handles things.
It looks like Josh Smith wasn’t able to win Washington or New York, but he got Alabama and Florida – 22% total.
Nick won first ballot – 65%
Thanks Chris. That’s pretty overwhelming.
Total : 790
Nick Sarwark 517 65.433%
Joshua Smith 175 22.152%
Christopher Thrasher 46 5.823%
NOTA 33 4.177%
Matthew Kuehnel 13 1.646%
John Keil 4 0.506%
Matthew Schutter 1 0.127%
Write-in 1 0.127%
Daniel Behrman 0 0%
It appears Sarwark was re-elected. Screen was not up long enough for me to catch the exact numbers.
Jill: The same New York with Alex Merced and Larry Sharpe? That’s interesting.
New York posted theirs on FB: 22 of 33 votes for Nick.
Nominations open for vice chair while ballots are distributed for chair.
Valerie Sarwark with baby in tow speaking for Nick Sarwark.
Jeff Hewitt speaking for Sarwark.
Ruth Bennett speaking for Sarwark.
Tom Mahon is up for Sarwark.
After much wrangling the ruling is overturned and O’Donnell gets his speech.
Ruling overturned. O’Donnell speaking.
Sarwark appeals Vohra’s ruling to allow Justin O’Donnell 10 minutes to speak for NOTA.
Fun fact:
The live YouTube feed has RLC folks vouching for Josh Smith.
Wow, I guess Larry Sharpe really is up on stage vouching for an alcoholic deadbeat dad with no experience for chair.
Smith is up for himself.
Sharpe says other state LPs should be more like Florida. Ugh.
No, I was right the first time. Now Sharpe is up for Smith.
I’m all confused.He may be nominating Thrasher?
Official NOTA speeches voted down.
Now Marcos Miralles is up for Joshua Smith.
I’m confused. I thought some of those were NOTA speeches already.
Thrasher is up for himself.
These were not Thrasher speeches. I think that was another NOTA speech.
The guy speaking is making a speech which is some version of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-cpL–0AQA
Met Andy a few minutes ago while I was handing out Stick With Nick signs at the door of the meeting hall. We said hi and shook hands. This is obviously evidence that the End Times have come 😀
Speeches for Thrasher.
Keil says a vote for Sarwark is a vote for Weld. Sounds like BS to me.
John or Jeremy Keil (sp?) making a speech for NOTA in the guise of making a speech for himself.
Daniel Behrman (sp?) is speaking. I had no idea he was running and he is not saying anything about why he would be a good chair. He is wearing a giant yellow taxation is theft hat and making a taxation is theft speech.
Kuehnel makes a speech for power bottom unity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUnZ1YHXg8s
Brian Ellison nominates Matt Kuehnel.
Overturned.
Back from lunch. Officer nominations have started beginning with chair. Motion passed to reduce candidate and nominator time from 10 minutes to 5.
Yay! We’re proud of Jeff Hewitt! Whooppee!
(He’s been recognized for an award).
Platform finished. I was struggling to keep up with what was happening so as to vote on it so did not get much of a chance to keep covering it here. Next is awards ceremony.
Agreed!
Besides, how many times do people have to keep telling Andy that the regime does not own the whole country.
Great stuff. They are doing the job I would like to be doing but have not done very well this time.
Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, David Ricardo, Henry George, Benjamin Tucker et al would not disagree.
In terms of rents from intellectual property, even many(if not most) so-called AnCaps say rent is theft
https://libertarianconvention.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Report-of-the-2018-Libertarian-Party-Platform-Committee-FINAL.pdf
Where I came in today we added sex workers rights and I believe polyamory. Anyone who can catch us up on what I missed before that?
He’s right about that.
I disagree with him, but there’s a libertarian case to be made that real estate as it is currently distributed is largely based on theft, either directly or thru the fruits of coercion. .That would make rent in the real world im effect trafficking in stolen goods.
I think it was the impersonator (Nathan) this time, but it’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference. dL’s theory is that Andy actually is Nathan. I don’t think he is but who knows?
The only change was to get rid of the idiotic prior sentence. However, platform debate is still going on. I’m not up enough on Roberts to know whether the plank may be further revisited, or whether I missed it already being revisited earlier this morning. I was late getting here, had to help my roommate walk her dogs.
I previously posted this comment in the wrong thread.
Luke Henderson is putting together “Mud Report: The Down and Dirty of the 2018 Libertarian Party Convention” to track some of the events of the convention:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1049Q9QXff6NbXq6bjSo7xYs5kxmFDFVqZxTn9l0GThc/
Also, there is no such thing as unrestricted movement of people, unless of course you do not believe in property rights, which means that I have the right to move into your backyard. If I do not have the right to move into your backyard, that means that there are restrictions on the movement of people.
That’s a ridiculous analogy. It’s not even an analogy. It’s just some stupid thing that people say.
Since the immigration plank has already been talked about, can we have the next couple days without Andy saying the same thing over and over about immigration? We get it, Andy. You don’t like it. We don’t need to keep hearing it.
Also, there is no such thing as unrestricted movement of people, unless of course you do not believe in property rights, which means that I have the right to move into your backyard. If I do not have the right to move into your backyard, that means that there are restrictions on the movement of people.
How was immigration resolved? Immigration was never in dispute. What has been in dispute is Marxists and globalists using a mass invasion of Marxists, theocrats, criminals, and welfare seekees, in order to destabilize countries so they can bring about their New World Order (of course the typical leftist is a dupe, or “useful idiots” for the globalists, and sadly, some in the LP are as well).
“was the platform amended to make it crystal clear that no welfare (taxpayer money) is to be expended on non-citizens who are free to travel to America?”
It didn’t need to be amended to make that crystal clear. It is already crystal clear that no welfare (taxpayer money) is to be expended on anyone.
Kuehnel is not a fan of Marx, nor Marx’s position on immigration. He is deluded himself into thinking that “true communism is anarchism,” like Kropotkin.
Commie Kuenel thinks that the LP should prioritize abolishing ICE, and he does not believe in property rights. See my comments above about Marxist tactics.
He also reiterated the idiotic claim that rent is theft.
Paulie, the bylaws and platform reports are here:
https://libertarianconvention.org/delegate-documents/
Sarwark suite is 2732.
Andy,
Apologies, the post must have been a spammer as it is no longer there, but you are incorrect on Marx. Immigration prevented Marx’s revolution in what he described as “The Irish Question.” He wanted to deport the Irish until he could achieve his utopian government.
Paul, I do not know what you are talking about, as I posted no such link.
Paul, people voting a certain way does not really win an argument. Lots of people vote for lots of stupid stuff all the time.
Also, it is a documented fact that it is a Marxist takeover tactic to flood large numbers of people into a region in order to destabilize it and make it ripe for a Marxist takeover.
Did Andy just unironically post an IPRX link? Lol.
Right-wing Marxists are so weird.
“immigration was positively resolved as well”
Asking for a friend who leans heavily libertarian: was the platform amended to make it crystal clear that no welfare (taxpayer money) is to be expended on non-citizens who are free to travel to America?
Confirmed the guy who was ejected was the same one who started the fistfight with Ethan Owens in the bar last night and threatened violence against Knapp. The correct spelling is Burnes. Knapp described Burnes as a cowboy hat wearing guy from Texas.
lol, sorry I had to delete that.
I already posted it earlier. Same as the old text just without the idiotic last sentence at the end of the plank until today.
So no one has the full text yet for 3.4?
I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought we would be swamped with alt reich dog whistlers. The platform results and chairs/vice chairs tokens make me more optimistic.
Marx made a pragmatic case for restricting movement “until everyone accepted his politics,” too. His argument was even laced with “pragmatic” racism and religious bigotry, too!
“Property is theft” is more of a Proudhon (mutualist) thing than a Marxist thing, which isn’t that far from the ancap position of rejecting government titles and licenses for land.
Everyone voted. You lost the argument, Marxist Andy.
Regional caucuses in 1 hr. Region 7 is in Elite B where the lunch was. My wifi hotspot is MIA so I probably won’t be able to cover anything there. Convention wifi seems to be decent so far. Chairs and Vice Chairs debates will follow.
I believe we affirmed opposition to torture, failing to make mention of an exception for consensual torture. Let us know if I report(ed) anything inaccurately.
There’s a convention website which has the full schedule, and I believe the platform and bylaws committee reports with the changes that were proposed etc but I am no longer seeing it linked on the main page at LP.org. Or maybe that was not where I saw it to start with. Anyone have that link handy?
Sarwark hospitality suite…2732?
Oh, and who can forget the LP presidential candidate from 2016 who thinks government should force private bake shops to bake cakes for gay weddings against their will.
Tokens for debate
Sarwark 252
Joshua Smith 108 or 158?
Matt Kuehnel 50
Christopher Thrasher also qualified for the debate. I thought he quit the party.
Others got too few to qualify.
Vice Chair – Merced had overwhelming number (200 plus) followed by Goldstein and Hauptmann. Scheetz and Vohra – not sure in which order. Weeks did not qualify due to only 5 candidates and podiums. Suspension to allow 6 candidates failed. Vohra hinted he will voluntarily share his podium and mic with Weeks.
Business is done for the day.
… What is the FULL text of 3.4 at this point? The live stream was a bit visually confusing on that, imo.
I suppose this should not be a surprise given that people are taking Council on Foreign Relations member Bill Weld is being taken seriously as a potential candidate for 2020, and there is some Libertarian Socialist Caucus that apparently thinks rent is theft.
The left wing commie influence in the LP is strong.
Thank God or Goddess for that! I’m pleased the abortion plank wasn’t removed, and immigration was positively resolved as well, in my opinion.
The Marxist/globalist point of view is that since National governments exist, this means that everyone on the planet has the “right” to go onto any property, regardless of the conscent of the property owners, and regardless of any other factors that are in place.
The left wing commie influence in the LP is strong.
Platform debate appears to be going pretty well. I believe we affirmed taxation is theft.
Psycho who was out of order ejected from the hall. I believe he was the same “Mises” Caucus wack job who started a fistfight and was removed from the bar here on the 3rd floor late last night, and also the same one who threatened physical violence against Tom Knapp.
Joe Burns or something like that.
Now debating a plank about expressing opposition to torture. Someone pointed out that consensual torture was not considered.
That is correct.
How is unrestricted movement inline with property rights? There’d be no taxpayer funded commons if not for the state. Saying that people have a “right” to go anywhere means that property rights don’t matter.
I though freedom of movement was debated, and the communist anti-movement people lost.
For those not here https://www.lp.org/livestream-of-2018-new-orleans-lnc-convention/
Currently on 2.4, government finance and spending.
Jeff Wood appears to be parodying the Radical Caucus thumbs up/thumbs down signs by walking around the hall holding a dildo up (or down?). Jeff represents the same caucus which brought the Weeks strip show to the last convention.
Before that they started on the radical caucus group on FB which I created and moderated at the time. At the time they insisted that the caucus had no right to create any bylaws or rules. However their caucus now has bylaws and rules.
Woohoo!
I did not know Sarwark used to be wrong on this, but I’m glad he realized he had been wrong.
I’m confident in my positions, one of which is that whether or not someone is correct has nothing to do with how quick they are on their feet or how good they look on video. Your points have all been addressed many times in these pages and changing the format to video doesn’t help your weak points become any more strong even if you happen to appear to be better in some given format. Additionally, being confident in my positions does not mean that I am obligated to debate them with anyone who wants to debate me at any time. My time belongs to me and I have no such obligation.
Appears that the winning interpretation was that majority report gets considered first. Only the majority report was considered and the much abused final sentence “However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health or property.” has now been struck from article 3.4 of the platform which now reads
“We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders.”
Now moving on to parental rights plank.
It looks like the free trade/ immigration plank has been restored by overwhelming vote. Sarwark, who originally supported the modification in 2006, rose to give an impassioned argument for it’s removal. Said he was gravely wrong.
Paul, if people are so confident in their positions, they should be willing to defend then in person and on video, and to have it posted online for the world to see. Also, none of us have any way of knowing who all have read which posts.
Wrangling over whether majority report gets up or down vote first, or whether we debate between the various minority reports first.
I haven’t talked to a whole lot of people yet so I don’t know which rooms the hospitality suites will be in. Anyone want to post any here?
Currently debating changes to free trade and immigration plank.
Can anyone who was paying closer attention earlier catch us up on what was done earlier?
Sorry folks; I am here but not fully engaged yet, just caught up on email and IPR comments and only halfway paid attention yet to either my reporting or delegate duties. I’ll try to do better moving forward.
Got here late last night and spent a chunk of the day moving rooms, getting my internet and electrical power supply set up, etc, etc. So just now halfway up to speed.
Why bother? What could you possibly say in a video debate that you have not already said in IPR comments?
“What is the new rate?”
It depends on how early you renew. The effect is not intentional, and was mentioned here at IPR by Dr. Phillies when the recommendations were first released by the bylaws committee. It is an unintended side effect of the kind that happens when the question gets called instead of the matter getting debated.
Mark Passio and Barb Arrested For Exercising Free Speech Near Liberty Bell And Independence Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0vS8VTZ4Sw
“Thomas L. Knapp
July 1, 2018 at 14:16
The convention just raised sustaining dues for anyone who renews early.”
What is the new rate?
I said several years ago that minimum dues should be increased due to inflation since they were put in place more than 25 years ago. I voluntarily raised my minimum contribution to at least $50 a year to the LNC (sometimes I’ve done more than that), but given how pissed off I am about the way the party has been operating, I actually purposely let my dues expire for awhile to LP national, and I only recently renewed them (I did make a donation to a state party prior to this), but I did so at the minimum rate of $25. Hopefully, some big positive changes will come out of this convention.
The convention just raised sustaining dues for anyone who renews early.
DJ, you mean like this, in reference to the Declaration of Independence?
Philadelphia Freedom at Independence Hall?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4bcPSPH3Zs&t=28s
I know many of you regard yourselves to be too knowledgeable to accept an interdiction, but, the Party needs help and guidance. Fortunately knowledge isn’t biased in its origin-
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”—Thomas Paine, December 1776
Imagine living in a country where armed soldiers crash through doors to arrest and imprison citizens merely for criticizing government officials.
Imagine that in this very same country, you’re watched all the time, and if you look even a little bit suspicious, the police stop and frisk you or pull you over to search you on the off chance you’re doing something illegal.
Keep in mind that if you have a firearm of any kind while in this country, it may get you arrested and, in some circumstances, shot by police.
If you’re thinking this sounds like America today, you wouldn’t be far wrong.
However, the scenario described above took place more than 200 years ago, when American colonists suffered under Great Britain’s version of an early police state. It was only when the colonists finally got fed up with being silenced, censored, searched, frisked, threatened, and arrested that they finally revolted against the tyrant’s fetters.
No document better states their grievances than the Declaration of Independence.
A document seething with outrage over a government which had betrayed its citizens, the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, by 56 men who laid everything on the line, pledged it all—“our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor”—because they believed in a radical idea: that all people are created to be free.
Labeled traitors, these men were charged with treason, a crime punishable by death. For some, their acts of rebellion would cost them their homes and their fortunes. For others, it would be the ultimate price—their lives.
Yet even knowing the heavy price they might have to pay, these men dared to speak up when silence could not be tolerated. Even after they had won their independence from Great Britain, these new Americans worked to ensure that the rights they had risked their lives to secure would remain secure for future generations. The result: our Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
Imagine the shock and outrage these 56 men would feel were they to discover that 242 years later, the government they had risked their lives to create has been transformed into a militaristic police state in which exercising one’s freedoms is often viewed as a flagrant act of defiance.
Indeed, had the Declaration of Independence been written today, it would have rendered its signers terrorists, resulting in them being placed on a government watch list, targeted for surveillance of their activities and correspondence, and potentially arrested, held indefinitely, stripped of their rights and labeled enemy combatants.
The danger is real.
We could certainly use some of that revolutionary outrage today.
Certainly, we would do well to reclaim the revolutionary spirit of our ancestors and remember what drove them to such drastic measures in the first place.
Then again, perhaps what we need is a new Declaration of Independence.
Re-read the Declaration of Independence for yourself and ask yourself if the abuses suffered by early Americans at the hands of the British police state don’t bear a startling resemblance to the abuses “we the people” are suffering at the hands of the American police state.
If you find the purple prose used by the Founders hard to decipher, here’s my translation of what the Declaration of Independence would look and sound like if it were written in the modern vernacular:
There comes a time when a populace must stand united and say “enough is enough” to the government’s abuses, even if it means getting rid of the political parties in power.
Believing that “we the people” have a natural and divine right to direct our own lives, here are truths about the power of the people and how we arrived at the decision to sever our ties to the government:
All men and women are created equal.
All people possess certain innate rights that no government or agency or individual can take away from them. Among these are the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The government’s job is to protect the people’s innate rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The government’s power comes from the will of the people.
Whenever any government abuses its power, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish that government and replace it with a new government that will respect and protect the rights of the people.
It is not wise to get rid of a government for minor transgressions. In fact, as history has shown, people resist change and are inclined to suffer all manner of abuses to which they have become accustomed.
However, when the people have been subjected to repeated abuses and power grabs, carried out with the purpose of establishing a tyrannical government, people have a right and duty to do away with that tyrannical Government and to replace it with a new government that will protect and preserve their innate rights for their future wellbeing.
This is exactly the state of affairs we are under suffering under right now, which is why it is necessary that we change this imperial system of government.
The history of the present Imperial Government is a history of repeated abuses and power grabs, carried out with the intention of establishing absolute Tyranny over the country.
To prove this, consider the following:
The government has, through its own negligence and arrogance, refused to adopt urgent and necessary laws for the good of the people.
The government has threatened to hold up critical laws unless the people agree to relinquish their right to be fully represented in the Legislature.
In order to expand its power and bring about compliance with its dictates, the government has made it nearly impossible for the people to make their views and needs heard by their representatives.
The government has repeatedly suppressed protests arising in response to its actions.
The government has obstructed justice by refusing to appoint new judges and has demanded that the Court comply with the government’s dictates.
The government has allowed its agents to harass the people and steal from them.
The government has directed militarized government agents—a.k.a., a standing army—to police domestic affairs in peacetime.
The government has turned the country into a militarized police state.
The government has conspired to undermine the rule of law and the constitution in order to expand its own powers.
The government has allowed its militarized police to invade our homes.
The government has failed to hold its agents accountable for wrongdoing and murder.
The government has jeopardized our international trade agreements.
The government has taxed us without our permission.
The government has denied us due process and the right to a fair trial.
The government has engaged in extraordinary rendition.
The government has continued to expand its military empire and occupy foreign nations.
The government has eroded fundamental legal protections and destabilized the structure of government.
The government has declared its federal powers superior to those of the states.
The government has ceased to protect the people and instead waged war against the people.
The government has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of the people.
The government has employed private contractors and mercenaries to carry out acts of death, desolation and tyranny, totally unworthy of a civilized nation.
The government has pitted its citizens against each other.
The government has stirred up civil unrest and laid the groundwork for martial law.
Repeatedly, we have asked the government to cease its abuses. Each time, the government has responded with more abuse.
An Imperial Ruler who acts like a tyrant is not fit to govern a free people.
We have repeatedly sounded the alarm to our fellow citizens about the government’s abuses. We have warned them about the government’s power grabs. We have appealed to their sense of justice. We have reminded them of our common bonds.
They have rejected our plea for justice and brotherhood. They are equally at fault for the injustices being carried out by the government.
Thus, for the reasons mentioned above, we the people of the united States of America declare ourselves free from the chains of an abusive government. Relying on God’s protection, we pledge to stand by this Declaration of Independence with our lives, our fortunes and our honor.
That was 242 years ago.
In the years since early Americans first declared and eventually won their independence from Great Britain, we—the descendants of those revolutionary patriots—have somehow managed to work ourselves right back under the tyrant’s thumb.
Only this time, the tyrant is one of our own making: the U.S. government.
The abuses meted out by an imperial government and endured by the American people have not ended. They have merely evolved.
“We the people” are still being robbed blind by a government of thieves.
We are still being taken advantage of by a government of scoundrels, idiots and cowards.
We are still being locked up by a government of greedy jailers.
We are still being spied on by a government of Peeping Toms.
We are still being ravaged by a government of ruffians, rapists and killers.
We are still being forced to surrender our freedoms—and those of our children—to a government of extortionists, money launderers and professional pirates.
And we are still being held at gunpoint by a government of soldiers: a standing army.
Given the fact that we are a relatively young nation, it hasn’t taken very long for an authoritarian regime to creep into power.
Unfortunately, the bipartisan coup that laid siege to our nation did not happen overnight.
It snuck in under our radar, hiding behind the guise of national security, the war on drugs, the war on terror, the war on immigration, political correctness, hate crimes and a host of other official-sounding programs aimed at expanding the government’s power at the expense of individual freedoms.
The building blocks for the bleak future we’re just now getting a foretaste of—police shootings of unarmed citizens, profit-driven prisons, weapons of compliance, a wall-to-wall surveillance state, pre-crime programs, a suspect society, school-to-prison pipelines, militarized police, overcriminalization, SWAT team raids, endless wars, etc.—were put in place by government officials we trusted to look out for our best interests and by American citizens who failed to heed James Madison’s warning to “take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties.”
In so doing, we compromised our principles, negotiated away our rights, and allowed the rule of law to be rendered irrelevant.
There is no knowing how long it will take to undo the damage wrought by government corruption, corporate greed, militarization, and a nation of apathetic, gullible sheep.
The problems we are facing will not be fixed overnight: that is the grim reality with which we must contend.
Frankly, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, we may see no relief from the police state in my lifetime or for several generations to come. That does not mean we should give up or give in or tune out.
Remember, there is always a price to be paid for remaining silent in the face of injustice.
That price is tyranny.
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-danger-is-real/
“Thomas Knapp
July 1, 2018 at 13:55
The convention just closed the “back door” which would have allowed the 7/8ths requirement to modify the Statement of Principles to be changed by a lower vote threshold.”
I am glad that did not pass. Changing the Statement of Principles is a bad idea.
The convention just closed the “back door” which would have allowed the 7/8ths requirement to modify the Statement of Principles to be changed by a lower vote threshold.
Andy: This should be the theme song for this convention.
Me: This should be the theme song for this convention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyot2S8yN7w
I am at the convention right now, and I have a video camera with me, so if anyone wants to debate me, and have it put on video and posted online, I’m here. I am in the convention hotel right now.
I chose to attend the annual family glamping trip to Yosemite (which starts next week) instead of going to New Orleans, but I knew I’d want to be there when it happened. I do indeed feel that way.
I hope everyone has a good time, there’s a minimum of nonsense (fighting), and there are good outcomes!
This should be the theme song for this convention.
Johnny Horton: Battle of New Orleans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_iRIcxsz0
Unfortunately, my flight got delayed by about 4 hours, and then it got canceled. There were 3 other Libertarians who were supposed to be on that flight who I carpooled with to another airport where we caught another flight. This causes me to miss the Take Human Action Bash from the Mises Caucus, much to my disappointment. I did run into LP Mises Caucus founder Michael Heise, and he said the event was a big success. They showed a surprise video address from Ron Paul toward the end of it.