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IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 MELTDOWN, WHAT CAN THE LP LEARN FROM CONVENTIONGATE?

Published on in Activism/Free Market/Information/Opinion/Politics/Poor Pratt's Almanack
IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 MELTDOWN, WHAT CAN THE LP LEARN FROM CONVENTIONGATE?

Quote from my post in ‘LNC – Business Discuss’ [with minor wordsmithing for clarity] in response to comments by Marc Montoni (LPRC 3rd iteration Co-founder ) and others regarding the chart showing LP committee staffing and appointment details/responsibilities posted by Nicholas Sarwark, LP Chair.

Three points:

1. Chair model:

Regardless of the strengths or shortcomings of strong or weak chair models, both models exist in an elective top-down political structure with all its democratic blessings and cronyism-prone faults. Hmmm. Top-down institutional authoritarian structure has not worked well for our tyranny of the majority government in the long run. Perhaps we need to look beyond the chair model and examine the underlying structure to determine faults and solutions.

2. Stepping back from emotions:

Many of us had the unfortunate opportunity to watch all of the LNC meetings, practice sessions, and the virtual convention. I believe the LNC meetings and the virtual convention were recorded. Personally, I am certainly glad that the more vocal LNC members and the rampaging, er, wise and professional majority of delegates stepped back from their emotions and made well considered thoughtful decisions (facetiously speaking).

Obviously, observations about who exhibited emotional behavior are subjective. However, my stomach is not up to watching the embarrassing replays. Once was enough. The evidence I saw was pretty clear and reminiscent of the stripper disruption during the 2016 LP national convention in Orlando. The same evidence was witnessed by many if not most of the delegates. They may want to watch the recordings again to refresh their memories.

3. Role of emotions:

Emotions are a critical part of our makeup. Emotions, appropriately used, are an effective early warning system to alert the brain about incoming information that may require engaging the brain and our self-aware rational capacity to perform objective analysis and design and implement solutions to address, mitigate, or build on the objective conclusions. Despite occasional emergency snap decisions that can be prepared for in advance, substituting emotions for the rational brain process rarely works well.

Emotions also play a critical feedback role to celebrate successes of our rational brain processes and actions. Unfortunately, ConventionGate provides little opportunity for celebration but presents ample opportunities to learn from mistakes. We shall see on the latter. The future of the LP may depend on it.

Summary:

Personally, I think the chair model and bylaws/RONR debates are the least of our problems. Obviously, Covid-19 was a significant contributor to our ConventionGate debacle. The LP had and may still have an opportunity to lead by example in comparison to our duopoly political neighbors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We are stuck with our top-down elective structure for the time being. Are we capable of rising above our structural faults? ConventionGate was not a good start. How will we conclude this ugly LP chapter? Time will tell.

My personal emotional and objective reactions to ConventionGate:

My, how politics brings out the best in us. Well, that’s not very honest, is it? Let me rephrase. My, how top-down emotionally driven politics brings out the worst in us [insert “upchuck”].

My objective and emotional response concerns include how potential LP candidates and members will react to this sorry spectacle.

Of even more concern to me is the reaction of existing members. Some may react by excluding or expelling various factions they disagree with using a skewed non-hybrid second sitting in a fit of un-Libertarian-like opportunism or spite. Others may give up the ghost of liberty in this current snapshot of the LP and move on to more freedom friendly homes focused on our free market home turf.

My gosh, how did the words “Liberty”, “Freedom”, and “Free Market” creep into this political discussion?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeMarketAction/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2999904110089338&set=a.2011194558960303&type=3&eid=ARCDMhaA4lU6Rl3IPme5NojcQJlyyy5O2Tx1pkqpB1NnJ3xRLffBjnG5pe9p_IXT6TtPGkwZWpoMduZc

Thoughts?

D. Pratt Tseramed, June 11, 2020
David.Demarest@R2FF.org, 402-493-0873

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Macho Man Covid-19 Optics Best Way For LP To Win Voters And Recruits?

Published on in Activism/News/Opinion/Politics/Poor Pratt's Almanack
Macho Man Covid-19 optics best way to win LP voters and recruits?

I appreciate the spirit and enthusiasm behind macho statements about heroic Libertarian defiance of the Covid-19 disease. These bravely spoken chest-thumping comments, however, remind me of the lyrics to the song ‘Macho Man’ by The Village People:

Macho in the eyes of some may strike voters and potential Libertarian recruits as insensitive foolishness at best.

See this thought-provoking video by Arvin Vohra on the moral issue of excluding higher risk delegates and attendees from a physical convention, not to mention bad optics for the LP.

Posted by Arvin Vohra on Saturday, May 2, 2020

After all the hard work put in by the COC and others on this convention, why take moral and optic shortcuts now?

If the LNC is going to lead by example, the ten day delay might provide a window of opportunity for soul searching as to personal motives for ignoring practical priorities and moral imperatives and ways to save face before we are stuck with a June or July physical or hybrid convention that could easily be canceled due to causes outside our control.

If June or July physical or hybrid convention is canceled, what then? Punt? Better to go with a May virtual Zoom LNC/state delegation chair convention that will maximize delegation participation, campaign length, and ballot access, with ZERO, I repeat, ZERO CANCELLATION RISK.

Here are the practical priorities and moral imperatives as I see it:

1. Health safety is a moral imperative and an opportunity for the LP to set an example

2. Accommodation of voting rights for ALL delegates, including those with health issues or concerns that limit attendance options is a moral imperative. This will be an ongoing issue that will have to be resolved in the future with or without pandemics.

Like it or not, virtual meetings will increase delegate participation in votes. If we limit ourselves to physical conventions, it will not bode well for the future of the Libertarian Party.

Electronic meeting technical difficulties MIGHT compromise a few delegates votes. However, a physical non-hybrid convention will DEFINITELY eliminate far more delegate votes through inability to attend.

3. Early selection of candidates and LNC/Judicial Committee members will allow candidates to promptly launch campaigns and leave us with a fully functioning LNC and legitimized Judicial Committee. Both committees are faced with challenging times ahead.

4. 50-state ballot access risk will build if we miss a Memorial Day virtual meeting opportunity for LNC members and state delegation chairs

5. Limiting conventions to physical events will skew votes by age, health, wealth, and random happenstance preventing physical attendance, and could open the door to disruptive and detrimental shenanigans made possible by skewed attendance.

Today’s vote to postpone convention decisions for ten days is not all bad. The door is left open for further due diligence and soul-searching that may increase the likelihood of wise decisions. Today’s vote is a second chance for Libertarian leaders to shine.

Thoughts?

D. Pratt Tseramed, May 2, 2020

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What Do You Think Is The Primary Purpose Of The Libertarian Party And Movement?

Published on in Activism/Free Market/Opinion/Politics/Poor Pratt's Almanack
What do you think is the primary purpose of the Libertarian Party and movement?

In the midst of the challenging Covid-19 pandemic on top of a hectic presidential election season, have you stopped to smell the roses?

On the other hand, have you stepped back recently to reflect on the purpose of the Libertarian Party and movement?

This post started with a Facebook discussion initiated by Tom Arnold, our ‘Libertarian Santa Claus’ with a magnificent white beard that I am trying to emulate during our extended quarantine.

Tom’s post struck a chord and prompted a number of thoughtful responses. Rob Stratton’s contribution caught my attention. Rob suggested that the primary purpose of the LP is education.

Rob’s education purpose suggestion was particularly timely in tandem with tonight’s LPTV town hall topic of homeschooling during the pandemic.

LNC Chair Nicholas J. Sarwark’s guests were Lauren Daugherty, former LNC Interim Executive Director, and Kerry McDonald, Cato alternative education adjunct scholar.

.

Click the following link to watch a replay of tonight’s stimulating LPTV town hall on homeschooling challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.facebook.com/libertarians/videos/2588827881359487/?notif_id=1587078407458052&notif_t=live_video_invite

I agree with Rob Stratton’s suggestion that education is the primary purpose of the Libertarian Party and movement, but with the following caveats.

Education can take many forms, including classroom, on the job training, self-education, online, homeschooling, working on collaborative projects, school of hard knocks, and brainstorming like we are doing right now.

Disregarding the topic at hand for a moment, step back and think about your favorite form(s) of learning. What comes to mind?

For many Libertarians, the education tool of choice is leading by example and making and keeping commitments that reflect our principles as they tackle ambitious projects like voluntary free market governance and steadily moving the needle toward freedom.

We are all in this together. We can help each other achieve our personal and shared Libertarian goals by offering our personal precise definition of the purpose of the Libertarian Party.

Don’t be bashful. Take the plunge and enlighten us with your suggestions on the purpose of the Libertarian Party and movement. All of us, both party members and movement activists, will benefit from your thoughtful suggestions.

Thoughts?

D. Pratt Tseramed, April 17, 2020

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Do You Have The Courage To Follow In The Footsteps Of Our Founding Fathers And Create Your Own Personal Constitution?

Published on in Activism/Free Market/Opinion/Politics/Poor Pratt's Almanack
Personal Constitution

Do you agree that our heroic Constitution unfortunately suffers from flaws and omissions that opened the door for today’s cancer of Socialist-leaning, non-competitive, tyranny of the majority, big brother, institutional authoritarian government?

If so, are you willing to create your own personal ‘constitution’ in preparation for the coming solution, voluntary competitive governance, once we out-compete coercive government social service monopolies and pull the taxation legs out from under statist government causing it to collapse like a house of cards?

Think about it. A free market competition between personal constitutions; privatized social services including protection and adjudication not to mention healthcare, education, retirement savings; charity, and, last but most important, voluntary competitive governance consisting of mutually agreed upon rules for economic and social interactions.

Are you up to creating your own personal constitution and testing the waters in the free market? Here’s a little-known fact. We already exercise our unspoken personal constitutions all the time in our free market transactions and personal relationships with others.

Do you think it might help to formalize and document your personal constitution? How about a Libertarian contest to rate personal constitutions or, better yet, celebrate their diversity. They might even add to our already outstanding Libertarian Party Statement of Principles (SoP).

Thoughts?

D. Pratt Tseramed, February 12, 2020

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