LET'S DRINK A VIRTUAL TOAST TOGETHER ON THE EVE OF JULY 4, 2006 FOR A MAJOR VICTORY IN THE LP!!! 8-) we have surely made history in the LP this weekend folks—there is some SERIOUS excitement on behalf of the entire reform movement!
we made a few mistakes - mostly by not having people coordinated enough on the mics, and an assigned parliamentarian, but we would have probably still lost on the pledge issue. but now we have more people ready to work together on the pledge issue for 2008.
regardless, what has happened is far better than simply abolishing or changing the pledge! Tony Torres, an LRC member from VA likened it to the South losing Gettysburg and going on to win the Civil War! 8-)
when the final results from the platform retention vote was posted on the big screens, our ex-chair Mike Dixon said, "it looks like there is a lot of red on the screen!" (the percentage fields for failed planks were marked in red) from that point on, the convention floor was eerily quiet—i don't think people knew what really happened! by the way, Mike Dixon ran the convention meeting so well, adding witty humor, keeping the convention very lighthearted and fun - i believe he helped our "perfect storm" go more smoothly than it could have.
almost immediately after the final votes were displayed, while everyone was still in shock witnessing the platform being reduced by about 80%, Aaron Star, delegate from CA, rose to the mic and requested a suspension of the rules to make the motion that the rest of the remaining platform be stricken, leaving only the SOP as part of the platform - you could have heard a pin drop! we tried to uphold this motion, but it didn't pass - i cannot recall the resulting vote, but i think it wasn't far from 50/50.
an additional serendipitous nuance that made this event even more special, is that this was indeed the last chance we ever had in voting down planks en masse. you see, the bylaws committee was going to suggest to the delegation to entirely eliminate the plank retention vote, but in committee, Carl Milsted battled hard to at least change the plank retention system rather than abolish it, so they did. while the new system is better for focusing on individual planks, it would not have allowed us to accomplish what has happened for the first time in LP history!
at the time i am writing this email, the blog was last updated before the final platform retention vote results were. i believe Bonnie Scott left out that the War on Drugs plank was voted to retain. therefore, the remaining planks as best as i can recall are:
Right to Bear Arms
Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Communication
War on Drugs
(combined/edited:)
Corporate Welfare, Monopolies and Subsidies
Property and Resource Rights
Crime and Victimless Crime
Postal Service and Public Utilities
Reproductive Rights
Sexuality and Gender
Immigration
Government Debt
Conscription
at this point, i don't know how to exactly describe it, but there was serious synergy going on at our "perfect storm" in Portland. somehow, many different efforts came together without any prior convention coordination, and complemented one another very nicely.
in addition, our LRC pre-convention meeting room was full—at least one casual observer claimed it was the most heavily attended break out meeting! i would say there was at least 40 or more attendees, many of whom had attended purely based on the delegate mailing we did—and by the way, as Suelinda Milsted put it, "the mailing was worth every penny!"
from the various Fri & Sat night parties we attended, we also got a sense that many other states have been moving in the reform direction, or at least primed for it. many states have already disavowed the official LP pledge, the statement of principles, and platform. there is a wave of momentum for reform that has gotten MUCH larger after this convention, and it is time for all of us who have expressed an interest in putting our energies into LP reform to "hang 10"!
but remembering the famous words of Han Solo, we must not get cocky kids! we have much to talk about, many decisions to make, and serious strategies to work on. we can fully expect the "Empire to Strike Back"! here are notes from our post-convention meeting, plus some of my own additions:
LRC post-convention meeting notes 7/2/06
(and additions by bbc on 7/3/06)
Encourage pledging $$$ immediately to LP—write in on your checks, or send correspondence, that you are pledging because of the results of the plank retention vote.
Recruitment—we need delegates for 2008! blog, email, get the word out about what happened; LRC will send an official eNewsletter by the end of this week, official press release will be included.
request LRC member donations to begin ad campaign to recruit more members?
direction of NEW platform:
remove the Libertopian element from the planks?
if there will be a Libertopian vision, where would it be? do we need one?
possible to alter the format of the platform in committee between conventions? (research what happened before the 2004 ATL convention)
replace Transitional Action with Benefits? (very incremental change)
move to have smaller format? (less incremental change)
incorporation of program? (which now doesn't have to conform to the national platform, upon bylaws change)
research states which disavowed the National Platform & Pledge
contact and urge those state excomm's to join the LRC
Lessons - what worked / didn't work?
stickers regarding the platform retention vote handed out to every delegate in person on the floor was brilliant—thanks Chuck!
we need people designated to work the mics ALWAYS!
parliamentarians needed for our delegation!
have a more clearly designed consensus and plan for the 2008 convention in order to send to the delegation in advance, and on the floor
more to come...
regarding point 1, Chuck Moulton, our new National Vice Chair and very active LRC member wanted me to send you this message in this post-convention update: “We must demonstrate that our vision is better in the free market of ideas by joining the LP, making donations, and starting monthly pledges. Be sure to mention that your generosity is a response to the platform changes.”
i agree with Chuck fully, and i further suggest that you encourage all other reformers to do so at this point. we will certainly make this clear in our upcoming LRC eNewsletter.
Kevin Rollins & i began drafting an official press release on the plane ride back today, and he has now put the finishing touches on it - it's just been uploaded to the www.FreeLiberal.com site! please start sending this press release to all media throughout the nation:
Press Release
Libertarian Party Gets Practical in Portland
Reform Caucus Finds Huge Victory at Libertarian Convention
(Portland, OR) In a dramatic weekend at the Libertarian Party National Convention in Portland, OR, Libertarian Reform Caucus (LRC) members worked to substantially alter the party platform. The Libertarian Party (LP) is more ready than ever to attract a broad base of support from the public, according to caucus participants.
“Our goal at the Portland convention was to achieve some degree of reform, which would allow the party to present a less utopian political program and offer reasonable, practical, and achievable solutions to problems facing America today. In doing so, we would expect the party to grow into a viable political organization which so many Americans are currently longing for,” explained Bernard Carman, one of the founders of the reform group.
After two stages of balloting, 80 percent of the original platform planks were removed by the delegates. Never before in its 35 year history has the party’s official statement of its positions changed so drastically. The magnitude of the victory somewhat surprised caucus members such as Carman.
“We never expected this kind of success to be had at this convention, as our LRC movement has only recently begun. The delegates were obviously tired of seeing the party continue being a minor player in the political arena. At the convention many delegates spontaneously jumped on board the reform bandwagon,” he said.
Reformers were also pleased to see reform-minded individuals elected to the party’s national committee. William Redpath of Leesburg, VA, who reformers view as a moderate, was elected as LP Chair, and Libertarian Reform PAC board member Chuck Moulton of Philadelphia, PA was elected as LP Vice Chair.
On the convention results, Moulton commented, “The Libertarian Reform Caucus has achieved great success at effectuating positive change on the Libertarian Party platform. All libertarians are now welcome in the party.”
The Libertarian Reform Caucus was founded in 2005 by the Libertarian Party of Buncombe County, NC. It currently has nearly 700 members. More information can be found about the LRC at www.ReformTheLP.org.
this is an historic day, for the LP for sure, and potentially for this nation of ours. thank you all for all the hard work, and i thank you in advance for your future hard work in our LP reform efforts.
Additional Thoughts
by Carl Milsted, Jr.
My brain is still fogged from lack of sleep and emotional exhaustion,
so I have delegated the task of announcing our results to Bernard, as you see above. For those who want more details on how the convention went, see the stories on Third Party Watch
and Hammer of Truth. Do note that we also got coverage on
Politics 1 and
elsewhere.
A large number of "Thank Yous" is in order:
All of you who made the long trip to Oregon to make this happen. This was an expensive sacrifice. We won because you were more willing
to pay the price than many on the other side of this debate. (A personal indulgence: I'd appreciate an email from those of you who showed up; my memory bandwidth is limited. A picture would be extra
nice as I have a horrible time remembering names/faces without
multiple contacts.)
Chuck Moulton for printing handouts and the all-important stickers, as well as risking his Vice Chair campaign by associating so tightly with our cause.
Brendan Kelly for making last-minute photocopies of some of our
handouts.
Those who served on the Platform Committee: Guy McClendon, Brian
Holtz, David Aitken and Tim West. (Did I miss any?)
All of you who donated to the PAC. The mailing and the ads were
crucial. (I would like to names, but I omitted a permission to do
so box on the form. Dumb me. Drop me a line to let me know if I have
permission.)
All of you who promoted the Caucus on their blogs. Special kudos
go to Tim West who kept plugging the Caucus on his Liberty for Sale
blog and science fiction author David Brin who lent his celebrity
status to our fringe of the fringe cause.
All of you who took the time to go through the existing platform and vote plank-by-plank. That was tedious and dull work, but very important.
All who contributed platform proposals and essays, and those who voted and ranked them.
And yes, those of you who did nothing but sign your name to our
Statement of Purpose. You lent credibility to our cause.
We did not do it all alone. Thank yous are also in order to many players outside the Caucus:
To the other members of the Bylaws committee who put up with a certain
very opinionated LRC member—especially Dan Karlan who played fair
on the pledge issue despite his disagreements.
To all the other moderates/incrementalists who showed up to the
convention.
To those who worked behind the scenes to ensure that this convention
was stacked with realistic politicians. (I'll forgo naming names
here.)
To all the swing voter delegates who took the time to read our
mailing.
To Ernie Hancock, who played the role of honorable opposition. We
had an excellent email debate over whether the LP should be a pure
protest organization or a political party trying to win office. He
publicized the debate and gave the delegates a fair chance to choose
between the alternatives.
Action Items
The game is not over. The platform is less bad, but it is incomplete
and a bit messy. Also, there are still a couple of positions in the
platform that are deal-killers to a great many libertarians.
Two major items need to be addressed now.
We need to prove that we were right. We claimed that the
overly radical platform was keeping people out. Well, this is mostly fixed.
Let's recruit active, donating members now. If you are not
a member of the LP, please consider joining now. I suggest including
a letter with your check indicating why you consider the LP worth
joining. (And after doing so, can you please update the LP membership
status field in your member profile?)
We need to dominate the next platform committee. Getting
rid of planks can be done from the floor. Crafting good replacements
is best done from within the platform committee. If you are
interested in serving on the next platform committee, send me an
email.
There will be more action items in the future, but these are the time
critical ones.
The web site needs to be upgraded to reflect the new existing platform. This will take a while. Your webmaster needs a break, and
also has some other pressing business with certain insiders.
(This may lead to some big news in the future.)
Please hold off on submissions for a few months. (Comments and votes
on the site are, of course, welcome.)
