Greetings. It has been quite a while since the last newsletter. Much has happened since then, much to report. Membership has hit the 1000 mark! Bernard Carman, Robert Capozzi and Brian Holtz were recently interviewed on Angela Keaton’s Liberated Space program. Robert Capozzi was interviewed on Freedom Works!/The Paul Molloy Show. Carl Milsted was interviewed on Left Right and Correct

Hopefully, we can get back to shorter, more frequent newsletters, but for now, here’s a big one. In this issue:

New home pages.
A platform format based upon the Libertarian Party’s “Greatest Hits.”
Libertarian Reform PAC rents table at upcoming Porc Fest.
Many new essays, including quite a collection by Tim Crowley.
Rethinking the Libertarian Party slogan.

New Home Pages

For years, the home page has served two functions:

To let members know what’s new.
To introduce new people to the Caucus.

This approach was nicely comprehensive, but it led to an overly long page. Members had to scroll down quite a bit to see all of the new, new essays and new platform proposals. First time visitors could get the wrong impression when skimming this page, interpreting the most recent essays as the consensus of the Caucus.

We have remedied these problems by splitting the home page into two separate pages:

www.reformthelp.org is now just an intro page. The news in the center column has been replaced with a graphical tutorial layout of our visions for the Libertarian Party. Skimmers should be able to get the right idea in a few minutes.
If you click the banner or “Home” on the menu bar, you are taken to the what’s new page. Here, we have two columns for listing recent proposals and essays, along with breaking news. (The info page can be reached by clicking “About Us” on the menu bar.)

We have also streamlined the left sidebar for these home pages, and upgraded the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Please visit these pages – and log in! There is much voting to do!

The Greatest Hits Platform Format

Between the Atlanta reformatting in 2004 and the Portland Purge in 2006, the Libertarian Party platform is a bit of a mess. Many Caucus members have indicated that it’s time to scrap the platform and start from scratch. There is much to be said for this approach, but it is challenging. We would need to achieve consensus on such a complete rewrite well before Denver, sell the new rewrite to a great many delegates before they arrive, and get many more Caucus members to show up in Denver than we had in Portland.

Brian Holtz has come up with a brilliant way out of this dilemma, a way to produce a clean rewrite and appeal to traditionally minded Libertarian delegates: rewrite the platform using language from past LP platforms!

The result is a platform that reads like a classic LP platform – minus the extremism, anarchism, internal controversies, and bloated laundry lists.

Check it out! Note how Brian has color coded all the text to indicate which platforms each sentence came from, and which text is new. Please indicate whether or not you like this approach to the platform.

Do note that approval of this approach does not have to entail approval of every clause. Each plank has also been broken out onto a separate page for individual approval and/or amending. At the moment, the best way to request an amendment is through the comments area. In the near future, we hope to have a better system – a subject for a future newsletter.

Table at Porc Fest

The Libertarian Reform PAC has rented a table at the 2007 Porcupine Freedom Festival – Porc Fest – at Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford NH. This is an opportunity to recruit from the Free Staters, a mix of small and big L libertarians. (And unlike state conventions, the PAC can rent a table at Porc Fest without having to set up reporting to a state equivalent of the FEC.)

Our table is for Friday and Saturday, June 22^nd and 23^rd. If you are planning on attending Porc Fest, or are in New Hampshire and have the time, we need your help manning this table. Please contact Executive Coordinator, Bernard Carman (coordinator@reformthelp.org) if you are able to help.

Recent Essays

Tim Crowley has been cranking them out – five new essays since the last newsletter. Three of the essays are examples of state organization in action. The other two are some very interesting articles on wordsmithing:

Platform Phrasing with Frank Luntz as your guide. by Tim Crowley. Pollster Frank Luntz has identified several phrases for the 21st Century in his new book "Words That Work". Here are the ones that I could write down, along with a few of my own ideas.

Purist Vs. Pragmatist Doctrine, according to Mindwars by Ian McFadyen by Tim Crowley. The book “Mindwars” discusses the dynamics of doctrines in general with its list of 25 tenets that are true of all doctrines—good or bad. I have added some commentary for each which is intended to illuminate the Purist vs. Pragmatist docrinal controversy. If the LRC intends to change the LP's basic doctrine, it would be useful to see what effects will be created.

Along similar lines, Mike Smitley has written a provocative on Internet marketing:

Consistency in Branding the LP by Mike Smitley. It is important in marketing any widespread organization or company that the organization's brand and message are consistently conveyed at all levels.

And we also have new essays by Lillian Simmons, Michael McNeil and Devin Ray Freeman. Keep an eye out on our new “What’s New” page to stay up to date on the latest postings.

Rethinking the Party Slogan

For years, the LP has called itself “The Party of Principle.” This sounds good; it tells the world we are not corrupt. But it also creates problems: which principle(s)? If all LP members must agree on the exact same principle(s), then it must be a small debating society. Those who don’t go with the flow get harassed as being “unprincipled.”

Perhaps it is time for a new slogan, one more appropriate for a broader coalition of freedom lovers. Also, a slogan change would be a clear mandate to HQ staff for a real rebranding effort.

Then again, bringing up this issue could be provocative, mobilizing the purists to a greater ferocity.

Either way, please vote and express your opinion! We have a long list of potential slogans to choose from. Yes, the list is long, but they are all on one page. Plus, we have some silly ones thrown in to make it fun.

Oh, and there is also a new essay on the subject:

Party of Principle – the Inherent Contradiction by Carl Milsted. Since the creation of the Libertarian Reform Caucus, I've been called “unprincipled” repeatedly. So be it. It's time to put an end to “The Party of Principle.” It's about freedom!

The tone of this one is a bit belligerent; it started quite a firestorm on the Internet. If you disagree with it; if you think the Caucus should play incremental nice ball, make your views known by voting/commenting accordingly. Remember, the views of the Caucus are the views of the voters, not those of the essayists.