It’s home stretch time—just two months until LP Convention 2006! It’s time to get cracking folks! It’s time for a home stretch push to get the word out, lobby convention delegates, and to achieve consensus on what we should push for. More on this later. First some good news:
We have received over $550 in donations since the last newsletter. Thank you! This means that we have enough money in the treasury to run a magazine sized (8”x10”) in the June LP News. (But that will deplete most of the treasury. If you want us to run some more web ads, please donate.)
We have data to bolster our arguments. Go to
www.quiz2d.com/stats and see how 30,000 people responded to the multiple-choice Nolan Chart quiz there. An article based on this data has been submitted to LP News editor Daniel Cloud. He previously indicated interest in running an article based on this data, so odds of publication are high.
The site has an elegant new look. Please
check it out. Hopefully, the new look will inspire more visitors to join—and more members to get voting.
“The Late Great Libertarian Bait and Switch” by Carl Milsted, Jr. There are two definitions of the word "libertarian" out there. They are not consistent. One gets used to recruit and pump up our numbers. The other gets used internally. This constitutes a bait and switch. Make sure you at least peek at this one. The graphic is a hoot!
“Setting Priorities: What Changes do we Push?”by Kristan Overstreet. The national convention of the Libertarian Party is coming up very fast. We have dozens of proposals, proposals to replace, proposals to uphold, proposals to delete. What gets pushed first, and where?
“The Grand American Consensus” by David Brin. Freedom and resistance to authority is deeply engrained in the American psyche. So why isn't libertarianism more popular? Part III in an ongoing series by author and science futurist David Brin.
It’s Lobbying Time!
It may be two months to convention time, but already we are running out of time to lobby for our cause.
The deadline for the June issue of LP News is early May. Please consider writing a letter to the editor. You could talk about what needs to be fixed in the platform, or fixing/getting rid of the Pledge, or about the Caucus. The Old Guard is writing; we need to be writing as well.
The Bylaws Committee is already locking down its list of proposals for consideration. Please go to
www.lp.org/bylaws and register for their discussion board. Let the committee know which proposals you like, and which you dislike. Make sure to set the filter to look at proposals that haven't been discussed recently!
The Pledge is part of the Libertarian Party’s bylaws. Bylaws can only be changed during non-presidential year conventions. This means that we are stuck with an Oath that technically demands that all LP members be anarchists for the next four years – unless we do something about the Pledge this year.
As I write this, we have a very strong consensus, 20-103, against keeping the existing membership pledge. We also have an even stronger consensus 100-13 in favor of not having a pledge at all. If you think we should have no pledge, please let the bylaws committee know your feelings. Also, please write a letter to LP News. And soon!
If you think we should have a pledge, only one that doesn’t demand anarchy next Wednesday, please have a look at the growing list of pledge proposals. If there is strong consensus in favor of any of these proposals, I will submit them to the bylaws committee as alternatives to simply getting rid of the pledge.
To this end, I have just recently posted four new pledge proposals to the list:
I believe that the government should be shrunk down to: 1. That which is
needed to protect natural rights, and 2. Ensuring the production of vital
public goods which truly cannot be produced by voluntary means.
_____________________________________________
Please click on the links and vote—for or against as you see fit. Also please look at the prior pledges that have been submitted by others. We need consensus on this issue pronto!
Since we do already have strong consensus against the existing pledge, I think should be what we emphasize in our last LP News advertisement before the convention. Fortunately, I have a really eye-catching graphic suitable for such an ad. See the following…
The Late Great Libertarian Bait and Switch
by Carl Milsted, Jr.
Guess What? You’re a Libertarian!
This is the what we tell people when they score in the Libertarian area of the World’s Smallest Political Quiz.
No You’re Not! You’re a Socialist!
This is what many people find out after they sign our membership pledge, the pledge which demands completely voluntary government and demands it immediately.
For the complete essay, which originally appeared at freemarketnews.com, click here.
Now, imagine an expanded version of the table above, with more material from the article and a pitch for the Caucus, printed as an ad in LP News. What do you think?
Setting Priorities: What Changes do we Push?
by Kristan Overstreet
Crunch time has come for reform efforts in 2006. The national Libertarian Party convention is near the end of June. If we are to submit proposals for change to the bylaws and platform, we need to do so in the next two to three weeks. We have to decide, and decide now, what our specific program for change is going to be.
But what proposals should we push? We have at least two proposals for every plank in the platform- keep the old or say nothing. We have proposals for bylaws changes, platform changes, even changes to the Statement of Principles. The alternatives run into the hundreds- and we have little, if any, consensus. We're not going to have the opportunity to put all of these things up to a vote- not even if we only present one option for everything we discuss here. At most we might get twenty changes to the platform for a vote. We need to set our priorities- and here are some guidelines to consider.
Bylaws Changes First: Our list of bylaws changes is much shorter than the same list of platform changes. Essentially, they consider only of support for zero-dues, the repeal or change of the membership pledge, a sunset rule for platform planks, and changing the name of the party. Bear in mind that the purists are already moving to have zero-dues repealed at the convention. They will be stronger than ususal during bylaws debate. These changes are the most vital to future Libertarian viability... so these changes should get top priority for proposal and support.
It's Easier to Delete than Amend: It only takes a plain majority to remove a platform plank—but two-thirds to add a new one or change an existing one. Obviously, with so much wrong with the platform, we can't afford to waste any time on a proposal that won't pass if it costs us a proposal that might have passed. Every platform plank which we would rather say nothing at all rather than have the existing plank goes to the top of our agenda. If a proposal to delete has over 50% approval, and the highest proposal to amend is less than 70%, the proposal to delete should get priority. Remember: it is better to be silent, and be thought an idiot, than to speak, and remove all doubt.
If We Can't Agree, Move to Delete: On some proposals we currently have two, three, or more proposals which all have approval ratios of below 50%. We don't want the current plank. We don't want the proposed changes our fellow reformers forward. We don't want to be silent. In these cases, when we don't seem to know what we want, we must recall that a platform is meant, among other things, to unite the party. Any issue on which we cannot unite should be set aside; therefore, add any divisive plank to the list to delete, and put them in the second tier of priority.
(And do please read the rest, rate the strategy and comment if you
see fit. We need to hone our strategy for this convention.)
The Grand American Consensus
by David Brin
It is a cherished belief, among many of those calling themselves “Libertarians,” that present-day American society is a monstrosity—one created either by grand stupidity or the machinations of scoundrels in high places. It is dogma that, despite the high-sounding rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence, “the system” today serves to suppress individual creativity and freedom. To a great many Libertarians, the uprising of 1775-1783 was a revolution betrayed.
Ironically, this is exactly the way numerous American leftists would also describe today's United States. In each case, the pictured demon is authority, imposing a rigid system that constrains opportunity and limits human potential. Pushing aside the awkward details, it's astonishing how similar these two movements are in one respect—the nature of the dream world they would have their distant descendants inhabit.
You have received this email newsletter because you have signed up for membership or subscribed at www.ReformTheLP.org using this email address. If you did not sign up, then someone else must have used your email address! If so, let us know and we will promptly remove you from this list. Also, if you wish to terminate your subscription/membership, write us at the same address.
