Wednesday, January 03, 2007
The LP is not just about getting people elected
More Libertarian Party stuff:
I want to point out something I think is important and that is being missed in many intra-LP discussions. I have never heard anyone say that the LP should soley focus on education or activism as opposed to running candidates. Every radical Libertarian I have spoken with wants a mixture of those activities. I have heard several people within the LP say what Sean Haugh put into words so well when he wrote that "[R]unning Libertarian candidates to win is the first item on our agenda, if not the only one."
So it seems to me that the internal debate we are having isn't no candidates vs candidates - although it is often framed that way - but is rather a mixture of methods vs sole focus on electing candidates. The radicals I know within the LP seem to favor a mixture of methods, while there seems to be an increasing push from some more moderate members of the LP toward an 'elections only' focus. To support this focus, they tend to cite a single (election) focus 'mission statement' which I have never seen in an LP member-voted document such as the platform or bylaws.
I have seen a lot of talk running around about a mysterious LP mission statement and similar 'action plans' and 'strategic plans', but those statements seem to me to be the transitory products of committees rather than the express long-term goals of the members of the LP.
When I look for what is written by and for the membership to be the Party's goal I find this unambiguous statement in the Preamble to the Platform:
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. ... These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
And in the Bylaws I find a section labeled Purposes, which says in its entirety:
The Party is organized to implement and give voice to the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles by: functioning as a libertarian political entity separate and distinct from all other political parties or movements; moving public policy in a libertarian direction by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office; chartering affiliate parties throughout the United States and promoting their growth and activities; nominating candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, and supporting Party and affiliate party candidates for political office; and, entering into public information activities.
So those who favor elections-only should in fact be quite pleased, because the emphasis here is heavily on elections. And radicals are pretty much OK with that. However it is not soley on elections. It seems to me that if people believe the LP's focus/mission/whatever should be solely focused on elections, or, again in Sean Haugh's words, that "running Libertarian candidates to win is the first item on our agenda, if not the only one," the burden of proof is on them to go to the party membership and have the bylaws and/or platform changed to reflect that understanding.
Of course I hope that does not happen, nor do I expect that the membership would make such a choice. Furthermore, I think moderates who want an election-only focus know this, which is why I think they have tried to work through committees, etc., thus creating a tension between 'insiders' and the Party's base, who naturally feel that the Party's mission and purposes are spelled out quite clearly in the documents THEY approved by voting.
And, as an appendix, let me take note of this statement in the Bylaws section labeled Purposes: ... functioning as a libertarian political entity separate and distinct from all other political parties or movements ... . This statement is the basis of my contention that reprinting articles from Republicans (complete with links to their site) on the front page of the LP website (as was done as recently as last week) is contrary to our bylaws as well as to common sense.
I want to point out something I think is important and that is being missed in many intra-LP discussions. I have never heard anyone say that the LP should soley focus on education or activism as opposed to running candidates. Every radical Libertarian I have spoken with wants a mixture of those activities. I have heard several people within the LP say what Sean Haugh put into words so well when he wrote that "[R]unning Libertarian candidates to win is the first item on our agenda, if not the only one."
So it seems to me that the internal debate we are having isn't no candidates vs candidates - although it is often framed that way - but is rather a mixture of methods vs sole focus on electing candidates. The radicals I know within the LP seem to favor a mixture of methods, while there seems to be an increasing push from some more moderate members of the LP toward an 'elections only' focus. To support this focus, they tend to cite a single (election) focus 'mission statement' which I have never seen in an LP member-voted document such as the platform or bylaws.
I have seen a lot of talk running around about a mysterious LP mission statement and similar 'action plans' and 'strategic plans', but those statements seem to me to be the transitory products of committees rather than the express long-term goals of the members of the LP.
When I look for what is written by and for the membership to be the Party's goal I find this unambiguous statement in the Preamble to the Platform:
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. ... These specific policies are not our goal, however. Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.
And in the Bylaws I find a section labeled Purposes, which says in its entirety:
The Party is organized to implement and give voice to the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles by: functioning as a libertarian political entity separate and distinct from all other political parties or movements; moving public policy in a libertarian direction by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office; chartering affiliate parties throughout the United States and promoting their growth and activities; nominating candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States, and supporting Party and affiliate party candidates for political office; and, entering into public information activities.
So those who favor elections-only should in fact be quite pleased, because the emphasis here is heavily on elections. And radicals are pretty much OK with that. However it is not soley on elections. It seems to me that if people believe the LP's focus/mission/whatever should be solely focused on elections, or, again in Sean Haugh's words, that "running Libertarian candidates to win is the first item on our agenda, if not the only one," the burden of proof is on them to go to the party membership and have the bylaws and/or platform changed to reflect that understanding.
Of course I hope that does not happen, nor do I expect that the membership would make such a choice. Furthermore, I think moderates who want an election-only focus know this, which is why I think they have tried to work through committees, etc., thus creating a tension between 'insiders' and the Party's base, who naturally feel that the Party's mission and purposes are spelled out quite clearly in the documents THEY approved by voting.
And, as an appendix, let me take note of this statement in the Bylaws section labeled Purposes: ... functioning as a libertarian political entity separate and distinct from all other political parties or movements ... . This statement is the basis of my contention that reprinting articles from Republicans (complete with links to their site) on the front page of the LP website (as was done as recently as last week) is contrary to our bylaws as well as to common sense.
Labels: LP
¶ 4:57 PM
