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