June 2009 Libertarian Strategy Monthly
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June 2009
Page 1
Libertarian Strategy Monthly Herding Cats Since May 2009 Volume 1 | Number 2
Monday, June 1, 2009
“A little matter will move a party, but it must be something great that moves a nation.” Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792 In This Issue: Pages 2-4 Opinion
Building Local Organizations/Considering Running For Chair
Pages 4-6 Opinion
Strategic Objectives for All Party Groups
Pages 6-7 Opinion
The Trouble With Liberty
Pages 7-9 Opinion
Activism On Twitter
Privacy Alert:
Issue Brief:
From The ACLU
From The Congressional Budget Office
A report released by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General found that the FBI’s terrorist watchlist may contain a 35 percent error rate. The audit revealed that large portions of the list are governed by no formal processes for updating or removing records.
John Monds Campaign
“This report strongly suggests that hundreds of thousands of people are being wrongly identified as terrorists,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. Last year, the ACLU noted the addition of the one millionth record on the terror watchlist.
Pages 11-12
Read Full Press Release:
Pages 10-11 News & Analysis
60% Lack Confidence in Economic Decisions
Pages 13-15 News & Analysis
Libertarians Launch Alternative Press Service
Pages 11 News & Analysis
News & Analysis
Nick Taiber For City Council
Pages 12-15 News & Analysis
Today, Social Security’s revenues each year are greater than its outlays, but as the baby-boom generation (people born between 1946 and 1964) continues to age, growth in the number of Social Security beneficiaries will accelerate, and outlays will grow substantially faster than revenues. CBO projects that outlays will first exceed revenues in 2019 and that the Social Security trust funds will be exhausted in 2049. If the law remains unchanged, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will then no longer have the legal authority to pay full benefits. To Read Full Report:
http://www.aclu.org/priv acy/gen/39527prs20090 506.html Opinion
Senator Gravel in South Korea
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpd ocs/96xx/doc9649/0820SocialSecurityUpdate.p df Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009
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Opinions of our guests, expressed in the opinions section, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Jake Porter or J.D. Porter Consulting.
Building Local Organizations: A Basic Foundation Conversing With Jake By Jake Porter Building local organizations from coast-tocoast is absolutely critical to the success of electing Libertarians to public office where they can work to implement a libertarian agenda which will make every American prosper. In order to develop local organizations we need candidates, with a record of community involvement, who have in place both a volunteer and a voter base. Candidates: The purpose of a political party is to run and elect candidates to forward the political agenda of the party. Local offices, particularly non-partisan offices, are often winnable for libertarians. Likewise, it is possible for libertarians to become appointed to local boards where they can gain valuable political experience and name recognition which will benefit them in future elections. Also, when we run credible campaigns for local office our candidates running for higher office tend to do better in those communities. Volunteer Base: A candidate with no volunteers stands little chance of being elected to public office. This is why we © 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
need to bring the party back into the Libertarian Party. Local events are a great way to network with fellow libertarians. For example, a monthly coffee, a supper club, Business, Non-Profit, or a trip to and Political Services the bar after work all are E-mail: great [email protected] networking events. www.jakeporter.org Libertarians will become more open to volunteering when their new friends run for office. On the other hand, it is important to make certain the local group does not turn into a complete social club where nothing is ever accomplished; however, there is no reason why we can’t have fun while doing real politics.
J.D. Porter Consulting
Voter Base: Now that you have candidates and a volunteer base your group is ready to build a base of voters. Most people don’t like politics enough to volunteer or run office. We are the rare exception. We are the leaders who must influence the voters through our political activism. With voter registration lists, campaigns can effectively target their district with yard signs, direct mailings, door hangers, and door-to-door efforts. If someone is not going to be receptive to the idea of voting for you, it is best not to waste time and money trying to sell the voter on something he or she does not want. Likewise, if someone has not voted since Ronal Reagan last ran for President, it might not be a good idea to spend time and money pandering to
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 them. On the other hand, if someone is a registered Libertarian they may be willing to donate or volunteer. At the very least, they should be offered a yard sign. Remember, to build a local organization, we need candidates, a volunteer base, and a voter base.
J.D. (Jake) Porter, a 2008 Business Administration graduate, previously served as Chief of Staff to the George Phillies Presidential campaign, Iowa Coordinator for the 2008 Bob Barr Presidential campaign, and worked as Business Manager for the Saint Joseph Telegraph. Today, he is the owner of J.D. Porter Consulting, is the Alternate to Region 6 of the Libertarian National Committee, and resides in the state of Missouri.
Considering Running For Chair By Jake Porter My fellow Libertarians! Our party is faced with tremendous opportunities presented to us by the Republicans and Democrats on a daily basis. Everyday, the American people can clearly see that President Obama is spending an enormous amount of money which creates and astronomical amount of debt this country may never be able to repay. The Republicans had eight years in power to cut government spending. Not only did they fail to do so, they actually greatly increased government spending. Neither major party respects our civil liberties, such as the right to a trial or the right to have private phone
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 3 conversations without having Uncle Sam's ear pressed to the phone listening to the most private details of your personal life. We need to take full advantage of these opportunities. We cannot sit back and wait for someone else to build an organization for us. Like everyone who has lived in Iowa, I clearly know that "If you build it, they will come". How do we build it? We must have party leaders with the leadership skills and the previous proven experience to unite the party with a vision of the success we will have when we accomplish our goals.
www.rationalreview.com
As we saw at our National Convention last year, our party is very much divided. As I see the vicious party infighting, I cannot help but think of how many issues we all agree on. I am reminded of a Monty Python movie: a man asks a group if they are the "Judean People's Front". The group becomes angry and responds that they are "The People's Front of Judea" and the only people they hate more than the Romans are "The Judean People's Front". Sometimes I think the only groups we dislike more than our opponents are the other party factions. I offer a solution. When like minded people are active and busy working towards a positive vision of the future, they are less likely to fight with each other and are far more likely to accomplish their goals.
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 If we are to accomplish anything productive we must first have goals and a vision of our objectives. Those goals should include electing more candidates, increasing vote totals, increasing members, increasing fundraising, and creating member satisfaction with our direction. A member is just like a customer at a business. If they are not satisfied, they may very well leave and never return. In the next few weeks, I will be more specific about goals and objectives. It is time that we unite our party around achievable goals and objectives. To reach our goals and objectives, we must have leaders who have worked with the various party factions and who have already demonstrated an ability to motivate libertarians. That is why when I was asked to run for Chair, I had to, at the very least, think strongly about it. I have led large groups of people. I have education, political, and business experience. For example, I have a degree in Business Administration, have worked on several local and statewide campaigns, and I have worked in sales. I also have been able to motivate libertarians from all party factions as can be seen when I was Iowa Coordinator for the Bob Barr Presidential campaign or when I served as an At-Large Representative of the Libertarian Party of Iowa. After much thought, I am announcing that I am considering a run for Libertarian National Committee Chair in 2010. Sometime in the next few months I will make the final decision. In the meantime, please visit my website at
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 4 www.jakeporter.org/chair and discuss with me ways that we can work together to build our party.
Jake Porter Region 6 Alternate Libertarian National Committee
Strategic Objectives for All Party Groups By Dr. George Phillies Above All, Remember The Objective of a Political Party is To Elect Its Candidates to Political Office and thereby put its agenda into effect. To attain this objective, we need to • • •
build a strong party perform needed housekeeping tasks create pre-conditions for victory
Building a strong party is based on core activities such as Outreach, Incitement, Local Activism, and creation of a strong Voter Base. Housekeeping tasks are activities that don't actually elect anyone to office, but that must be done in order to have successful election campaigns: Keeping Promises, Information Management, and Fund-Raising.
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Pre-conditions for victory are the groups and operations that will get us Money (PACs and friendly fundraising supports), Ideas and Friends (Think Tanks and Special Interest Groups), Press (Libertarian-Friendly Media), People (Candidates and Incumbents), and Patronage (Using Resources to Help Our Friends).
Each of the other major parties can win elections because it has a vote base of 25 or 35% of the electorate -- people who show up and vote for their party simply because it is their party. The parties also spend money on advertising. That advertising only moves the 20-30% of the electorate who will consider voting for more than one party. Without a strong voter base on which to build, advertising avails you next to nothing. Building a voter base by regularly running candidates is critical to our success.
How do we build a strong party? •
•
•
•
Outreach puts our ideas before the public. We may use letters to the editor, speakers' bureaus, press releases, or web sites. The Internet is an effective way to mobilize large numbers of people very quickly on issues that they care about. However, half of America does not use the Internet at all; the Internet cannot replace all other outreach methods. Incitement is the task of persuading Libertarians to Stand Up For Liberty! by running for office and by offering their time and talent as volunteers. Without volunteers, our party will not go very far. Local Activism is the basis for political victory. It is local activists who speak to their neighbors, get out the vote, distribute pushcards and lawn signs, and hold placards for their friends, our candidates. It is local campaigns that can involve people, because they are small enough that one person can believe that she personally can make a difference in the campaign. The Voter Base is people who Vote Libertarian! because there is a Libertarian on the ballot.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
What is housekeeping?: Revolution 101 In his follow up to his 2005 CD “Bits n Pieces” Frank Worley takes on the issues of our time with REVOLUTION. http://cdbaby.com/cd/worley2 •
•
Keeping Promises -- we must perform the deeds that show we are a serious, law- abiding, promise keeping organization: comply with our own by-laws, comply with state and Federal laws and filing requirements, deliver products as promised to the membership [for example, publishing newsletters on the promised regular basis.] Information is the lamp that leads us through the dark toward victory. We have volunteers, donors, contacts -- we need to keep track of them. We have issues, positions, press releases, and web sites, usefully kept where they can be accessed and
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009
•
examined. There are election laws and filing deadlines; candidates and campaign treasurers need to be reminded of them. Fundraising is a housekeeping action. It's something that needs to be done. It should use a substantial part of our total time, especially for our elected officials. However, money will not buy us victory. As the Forbes presidential campaign is showing, money without solid local organization is basically ineffective.
The Libertarian Answer to Daily Kos www.thedailyliberty.com What are pre-conditions? We cannot see the exact path that will give us a Libertarian victory in our lifetimes. We can, however, identify circumstances that would exist as part of a victorious Libertarian Party machine. We can work to attain those circumstances, as discussed in previous letters. How do we get from here to there? The final objective is electing a Libertarian Majority. It remains worthwhile to emphasize that election campaigns are an effective way to build a stronger party, encourage Libertarians to support housekeeping tasks, and create the pre-conditions needed for a Libertarian future. Many people are not interested in donating an evening a month to a talking shop. The same © 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 6 people will donate much more than an evening a month, if they see that their time is being spent in a constructive and effective manner.
The Trouble With Liberty BY THE LIBERTY SENTINEL Liberty, otherwise known as personal responsibility is as important to humanity as a belief in a higher power. Those who know liberty, usually know god well. Liberty is all about personal choice, self-ownership and the right to live and to pursue happiness in the complete absence of government intervention. The problem with liberty is that so many who support it are so busy being individuals that they can never seem to get together enough to work as a group towards a common goal. Thus, they work themselves into a constant cycle of defeat. Today we have an extraordinary opportunity and an extraordinary challenge and I fear it will slip through our fingers like so many in the past. The “Tea Party” tax protests are a sign that true conservatives, the concept of intervals ruling government not the other way around, is alive and well in America. Many libertarians and freedom fighters will join these protests but fail to see the grand opportunity that is presented. A strong and definitive political base. A group of people willing to take time to make a difference if only - they were inspired by the right leaders. Yes, I said the dreaded word. Inspired. Take a hard look at each presidential
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campaign of the last 30 years and you will see who inspired and who did not. Barrack Obama is excellent in the inspirational part of politics. So good that this relatively inexperienced lawmaker is now the most powerful man in the world having defeated a war hero, and long time lawmaker who clearly would have made a better “mechanical” president.
Its also important to understand the great Democrat-Republican contradiction. Liberal Democrats say you can have an abortion, can’t own a gun and cannot be sentenced to death even if you kill a child. Republicans say you CAN be sentenced to death, you CAN’T have an abortion but, you can have an AK-47 to shoot the federal officer who comes to arrest you for trying to have one.
George Bush (senior) was another example. He won in 1988 based almost entirely on the communication abilities of his predecessor (Ronald Reagan) and yes “a thousand points of light.” Bill Clinton was simply better at it.
Saying we are pro-choice on everything simply isn’t good enough.
We libertarians are really good at chastising our enemies on how they have violated the constitution and how they have forgotten the principals of liberty. What we have failed to do (aside from organize right, raise enough money and get the mechanics of elections right) is inspire people.
www.libertyforamerica.com So much about the voting process is about getting people to the polls to pull the right lever for the candidate of choice. And so much of that is done by our adversaries by choosing emotional hot buttons: abortion, gay marriage, gun control vs. the 2nd amendment.
If, as Tip O’Neil said, “all politics is local”, then we must make it personal to the individual voter. We must reach out and touch them in a way they have not been touched before. We must organize ourselves to a specific end goal, and start on a political journey with a clear and specified destination: control of both houses of congress and a president in the White House. We must be willing to inspire voters and we must be willing to do that one other thing we libertarians are so reluctant to do: COMPROMISE. If you wish to sit around news groups and discussion groups and yell at each other endlessly…………. If you want to win elections. We might have something to talk about.
Ten 10 Steps to Effective Liberty Activism on Twitter By George Donnelly http://georgedonnelly.com/
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 Are you a liberty-lover looking to connect with like-minded folks for mutual gain? Then Twitter - a service that enables you to broadcast short messages and find a network - is for you. We libertarians are so few and far between that networking is critical. It’s a force-multiplier. It’s a survival strategy.
Tons of Liberty-Advancing Ways to Use Twitter Twitter has tons of practical uses that will advance your reputation, the causes you care about and the profile of liberty, including •
• • • • •
stimulate folks to be more conscious of the importance of liberty; radicalize existing liberty-lovers; share breaking news of government idiocy; gain new collaborators for your liberty efforts; disseminate examples of free market practicality; and demonstrate the considerable but often hidden strength of the liberty movement.
How to Get the Most out of Twitter With that in mind, here are 10 steps on how liberty-lovers can leverage Twitter for liberty activism. 1. Check out the above video for an introduction to Twitter, sign up for a Twitter account and choose a short but meaningful username. 2. For your avatar, use a well-lit photo of yourself genuinely
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
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8 Ways To Advertise Your Campaign: Brochures-are an effective way to establish name recognition in doorto-door campaigning. Additionally, they are great to give away at events. Cable-television ads are often an affordable way to target voters and establish name recognition. Direct Mail-is a method to target your base, reach out to volunteers, and hopefully obtain some financial support. Door Hangers-allow you to target your supporters reminding them to vote. It is also a great way to reach voters who are not home. Facebook Advertisingallows you to reach college students effectively without a huge financial cost. Google AdWords-Allows you to target ads based on location, website, or specific search terms. Newspaper-is an effective way to reach influential leaders. Radio-is a very effective and affordable way to reach your target market. Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009
3.
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smiling in which your face occupies a large part of the frame. It makes a difference! Fill out your bio and take advantage of the “More Info URL” field to link to your blog, Facebook page, OpenID profile or anything else that enables people to connect with you further. Take advantage of the full 160 characters and include key words such as libertarian, anarchist, voluntaryist, Ron Paul fan and/or Free State Project Look for people you already know that are on Twitter and follow them. Post your thoughts on something timely and/or post a link with your commentary. Don’t post that you don’t know what to post, that you’re eating dinner (unless it’s some kind of special dinner), that you’re paranoid because you’re being followed or anything else that others probably wouldn’t find interesting. Find some libertarian thought leaders (see below for suggestions) on Twitter, follow them and engage with them. Find something they said that sparks your interest and reply to it. Post at least once per week and ideally a few times per day. When someone new follows you, follow them back if they seem like a genuine person (and not a marketing front). Even those with whom you disagree or who don’t get liberty can be a valuable part of your network. Politeness matters. Rudeness does not go down well on Twitter and it’s best to avoid it.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 9 10. Remember that Twitter is all about engaging others in productive and stimulating conversation. Everything else flows from that. Have fun!
Keep Trying New Things I’m no social media expert Your Ad Here! so consider this a basic Contact: introduction to get you jdporterconsulting@g started until mail.com you feel comfortable for advertising rates enough to perform your own experiments. Oh and don’t forget to follow me at twitter.com/georgedonnelly.
P.S. Libertarian Thought Leaders on Twitter Here are some good liberty-lovers to get started following on Twitter. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
@eastcoaster1237 @jay4liberty @bradspangler @libertysnippet @libertypile @andrewtaranto @Jesuspower @sheeplescareme @aretepraxis @goodiemonster @leahita @ithacannoyed @dezine @LibertyCafe @LibertyMaven
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 News and Analysis
60% Lack Confidence in Washington’s Economic Decisions http://www.rasmussenreports.com/pu blic_content/most_recent_videos2/busi ness/60_lack_confidence_in_policyma kers_economic_decisions According to a recent poll conduced by Rasmussen Reports, 60% of Americans lack confidence in the economic decisions being made by our elected officials in Washington D.C.. This is of course terrible news for the country; however, it provides an excellent opportunity for Libertarians to take advantage of. The economy is becoming an issue that we no longer have to convince the American people to agree with us on. They already agree with us. We just have to let them know that we have the only candidates that are actually in tune with the American public on the issue of the economy. How do we do this? Real leadership is standing up and telling the truth. The truth is that we can blame Wall Street all we want, but this economic problem goes much deeper. We need leaders who will challenge young people to save and invest money instead of borrowing and spending on unnecessary items. We need leaders who will encourage entrepreneurship and stop scaring people with visions of failure. Instead, we need leaders who led by example by not being afraid to fail at something such as starting a new business. People are not attracted to people or candidates who complain all time. © 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 10 People want to be around people who have a vision of improving the way of life. Libertarians have the vision; we just need to be able to explain that vision in a positive manner which will attract volunteers and voters.
www.stjtelegraph.org
Libertarians launch alternative press outreach service In an age of short news cycles and fierce competition for media attention, America’s political parties have to move fast to “get the message out.” Members of the Libertarian Party launched a collaborative effort on Wednesday to maximize their party’s positive media exposure. “Our goal is to produce timely, accurate press releases covering the Libertarian Party’s principles, positions and activities, then assist reporters by connecting them with knowledgeable interview subjects,” says Thomas L. Knapp, coordinator of the Center for Libertarian Press Information. The group formed after a series of official party communiques which they believe inaccurately portrayed the Libertarian Party and fumbled important facts. “Instead of complaining, we decided to build a better mousetrap,” says Knapp, 42, of St. Louis, Missouri. “Libertarians tend toward self-reliance and personal responsibility. When we realized we couldn’t rely on our paid headquarters staff to get the job done, we sat down and put together a volunteer
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 project to take care of business.” The Center is not controlled or endorsed by the Libertarian National Committee, the party’s governing body. CLiPr.info’s operating plan includes a fast-moving review process designed to get releases out in hours rather than days without sacrificing accuracy of information or adherence to the party’s platform and statement of principles. “Our process gets a release into the field — on the wire services, on reporters’ desks, up on the web — in about four hours from proposal to proofreading and content review to finished product,” says Knapp.” The Libertarian Party, founded in 1971, is America’s third largest political party. Hundreds of Libertarians serve in elected or appointed public office. The party’s presidential candidate, former US Representative Bob Barr of Georgia, received 523,686 votes in the 2008 election. The Center for Libertarian Press Information’s web site is located at http://www.clipr.info.
John Monds Running a Professional Campaign for Georgia Governor In 2008, John Monds became the first Libertarian to ever receive one million votes in his race for Georgia Public Service Commission District 1.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 11 He received 33% of the vote in a two way race. Monds, has a Bachelors Degree in Banking and Finance. Additionally, he has won several public service awards and has experience serving on many committees and boards. Now, John Monds is running for Governor of Georgia. John has already been interviewed on Fox’s Atlanta affiliate, and local radio. Additionally, the campaign has professional looking videos and a professionally designed website. The John Monds campaign for Georgia Governor promises to be a race Libertarian candidates and Libertarian campaign managers should watch to analyze tactics and learn from. You can find out more about the Monds campaign for Governor at the official campaign website: www.votemonds.com
Nick Taiber Runs For Cedar Falls, Iowa City Council’s AtLarge Position From the LPIA Newsletter, Libertarians In Action: I am throwing my hat in the ring for a Cedar Falls at-large council position. Currently LPIA District 1 representative, I have lived in Cedar Falls since 2004 and decided now is the time to leverage my unique perspective, bountiful energy, and careful leadership for Cedar Falls. Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 Friends and family have always been supportive of a run. But when certain city leaders approached me, I was convinced that the city would benefit from my contribution. While a few miles short of a true exploratory committee, I found my views to be surprising compatible with a sampling of voters. Since this is a non-partisan election, I’m not advertising myself as a libertarian, but I work it in most conversations. The philosophy is new to many, so wrapping the discussion in real city issues seems to work well. I have three themes: (1) Effective/Efficient Government; (2) Economic Development; and (3) Quality of Life. Each theme is laced with libertarian ideology with the main goal of delivering policies and services at the highest taxpayer return within the mandate of city government, all while respecting essential liberties and freedoms. I’m thrilled to be running and look forward to November 3rd. More information can be found on my website: www.nicktaiber.com
Senator Gravel in South Korea Former United States Senator and unsuccessful candidate for the 2008 Democrat and Libertarian Party Presidential nomination, Mike Gravel is in South Korea promoting the Korean National Initiative.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 12 While running for President, Senator Gravel frequently spoke in support of a national initiative for the United States. On May 13, we received the following email from Senator Gravel: Many keen observers of our representative democracy comment again and again about our broken political system, especially because of the corrupting influence of money on our elected representatives. Too often, the resulting public policy provides benefits to the corporate-military-industrial complex rather than enhancing the public interest.
June Calendar June 8 200th Anniversary of Thomas Paine’s death June 9 John Hospers, 1918 June 15 Magna Carta, 1215 June 17th Harry Browne, 1933 During my many years in elective office, I saw the tradeoffs and pay-offs (direct and indirect) that are common in the political arena. I saw how difficult it was – and is – for the most well intentioned elected
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 officials to bring about the needed changes because of our flawed government structure. And, typically, in their attempts to navigate a flawed system, the legislators themselves become flawed. How can we achieve public policy that more closely reflects the public interest? Bring the people – American voters – into a decision-making role in government as citizen-lawmakers in partnership with their elected representatives. The National Initiative for Democracy (NI4D), a legislative proposal that amends the Constitution and provided legislative procedures in a Federal Statute, does just that: empowers citizens (you and I) to be able to vote on the public policies that affect our lives – empowers citizens (us) as lawmakers. I ran for president to bring attention to the National Initiative. As a result: • • •
• •
•
There is a growing list of volunteers We are sending out monthly news letters Other people than myself are now speaking out about this in public People are planning film projects about NI4D More and more people are blogging about the National Initiative A very real grass-roots effort has begun which will be difficult to ignore
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 13 •
NI4D is far more well known today than before I ran for president.
However, the problem now is that the Obama presidency has generated a renewed optimism that representative government may work this time. Donations have greatly decreased. It will take some time before Americans realize that electing a new cadre of politicians will not bring change. As I said in the campaign: “follow the money if you want to know the kind of government you're going to get.” Wall Street continues to rule the economy, banks are getting most of the stimulus, and the military defense budget grows. The rhetoric of White House policy is considerably improved and sounds cooperative but with one thousand military bases around the world, our nation's policy remains imperialistic, even though we are broke and going the way of all empires. I continued to speak out against these misguided policies and offered the obvious solution: empower American citizens as lawmakers. At a conference on direct democracy, last October in Switzerland, a professor from South Korea heard me speak about the National Initiative and asked if it could be applicable in Korea. My research before and since my subsequent trip to South Korea has convinced me that South Korea is one of the likeliest venues in the world to enact a National Initiative.
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 Democracy is a lot fresher in the minds of Koreans, evidenced by the people’s candlelight protests. They have the highest per capita savings rate in the world, so are the least likely nation to be affected by the global meltdown. Korea is one of the most Internet-wired nations in the world. And English is a mandated educational requirement from kindergarten on. Most significantly, the South Korean Constitution is superior to our own. •
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•
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Article 1 of the Korean Constitution states:“all power emanates from the people” . Only the people can amend the Korean Constitution – they did eight times. The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times - not once by the people. American federal elections are conducted by state and local governments and as a result are subject to partisan corruption. The Korean Constitution creates a non-partisan Central Election Management Committee to conduct all elections. Korean citizens enjoy a lifetime voter registration regardless where they live.
The host of my initial trip (Korea Democracy Foundation) was not able to extend financial support for my return trip to Korea due to delays in government funding,. Nevertheless, some members of the Foundation and others have facilitated setting up lectures at universities and civic organizations. The title of my lecture says it all: “This Generation of
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 14 Koreans has a Rendezvous with Destiny.” I use the lecture to motivate volunteers from the audience to join teams committed to inform Koreans about the Korean National Initiative (KNI) and to seek its enactment by Korean voters in a national election. KNI is a recast of the American National Initiative. In three weeks starting from scratch, I have been able to develop eight teams with more than sixty members. The quality of the volunteers is awesome. Teams meet weekly and have 5 to10 members; when they acquire more than 10 members, they will replicate themselves into new teams. I personally meet with each of the teams to get them organized. The team strategy is the beginning of a grassroots educational movement to acquaint Koreans about the empowerment opportunity of the National Initiative. I firmly believe we can succeed in enacting the National Initiative in Korea. The global attention generated by this success will become the catalyst to enact the National Initiative in the U.S. The KNI will then become the 21st century national model for direct democracy copied by most G-20 countries. My wife, Whitney, and I are funding my present trip in Korea from our modest personal resources. We cannot continue beyond June, even though my message is resonating with Koreans. The fees, when available, for my lectures do not cover all of my living and travel
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 expenses. It will take at least five months before I can secure the government authority for a foundation in Korea that will then permit us to raise funds from Koreans. The Democracy Foundation (the sponsor of the National Initiative) needs funding to prosecute its programs in the U,S. and to finance my travel expenses until we can do a Korean fund raising campaign. I desperately need your help. Therefore, I am appealing to you – the 8,000 supporters on my Facebook political account, and the 20,000 in the U.S. National Initiative database – to make a donation to keep the National Initiative vision alive. I hope you will respond to this appeal. The situation is critical and the opportunities enormous. I need your help, and I need it now. Thank you in advance and for your help in promoting direct democracy. Follow our progress at www.mikegravel.us and at www.NI4D.US.
Page 15 To donate please visit: https://demofound.org/donate.htm To learn more about Senator Gravel: www.mikegravel.us To learn more about the National Initiative: http://ni4d.us To order Mike’s book Citizen Power: http://citizen-power.us
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Libertarian Strategy Monthly
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Libertarian Strategy Monthly Herding Cats Since May 2009 Volume 1 | Number 2
Monday, June 1, 2009
“A little matter will move a party, but it must be something great that moves a nation.” Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1792 In This Issue: Pages 2-4 Opinion
Building Local Organizations/Considering Running For Chair
Pages 4-6 Opinion
Strategic Objectives for All Party Groups
Pages 6-7 Opinion
The Trouble With Liberty
Pages 7-9 Opinion
Activism On Twitter
Privacy Alert:
Issue Brief:
From The ACLU
From The Congressional Budget Office
A report released by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General found that the FBI’s terrorist watchlist may contain a 35 percent error rate. The audit revealed that large portions of the list are governed by no formal processes for updating or removing records.
John Monds Campaign
“This report strongly suggests that hundreds of thousands of people are being wrongly identified as terrorists,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. Last year, the ACLU noted the addition of the one millionth record on the terror watchlist.
Pages 11-12
Read Full Press Release:
Pages 10-11 News & Analysis
60% Lack Confidence in Economic Decisions
Pages 13-15 News & Analysis
Libertarians Launch Alternative Press Service
Pages 11 News & Analysis
News & Analysis
Nick Taiber For City Council
Pages 12-15 News & Analysis
Today, Social Security’s revenues each year are greater than its outlays, but as the baby-boom generation (people born between 1946 and 1964) continues to age, growth in the number of Social Security beneficiaries will accelerate, and outlays will grow substantially faster than revenues. CBO projects that outlays will first exceed revenues in 2019 and that the Social Security trust funds will be exhausted in 2049. If the law remains unchanged, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will then no longer have the legal authority to pay full benefits. To Read Full Report:
http://www.aclu.org/priv acy/gen/39527prs20090 506.html Opinion
Senator Gravel in South Korea
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpd ocs/96xx/doc9649/0820SocialSecurityUpdate.p df Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009
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Opinions of our guests, expressed in the opinions section, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Jake Porter or J.D. Porter Consulting.
Building Local Organizations: A Basic Foundation Conversing With Jake By Jake Porter Building local organizations from coast-tocoast is absolutely critical to the success of electing Libertarians to public office where they can work to implement a libertarian agenda which will make every American prosper. In order to develop local organizations we need candidates, with a record of community involvement, who have in place both a volunteer and a voter base. Candidates: The purpose of a political party is to run and elect candidates to forward the political agenda of the party. Local offices, particularly non-partisan offices, are often winnable for libertarians. Likewise, it is possible for libertarians to become appointed to local boards where they can gain valuable political experience and name recognition which will benefit them in future elections. Also, when we run credible campaigns for local office our candidates running for higher office tend to do better in those communities. Volunteer Base: A candidate with no volunteers stands little chance of being elected to public office. This is why we © 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
need to bring the party back into the Libertarian Party. Local events are a great way to network with fellow libertarians. For example, a monthly coffee, a supper club, Business, Non-Profit, or a trip to and Political Services the bar after work all are E-mail: great [email protected] networking events. www.jakeporter.org Libertarians will become more open to volunteering when their new friends run for office. On the other hand, it is important to make certain the local group does not turn into a complete social club where nothing is ever accomplished; however, there is no reason why we can’t have fun while doing real politics.
J.D. Porter Consulting
Voter Base: Now that you have candidates and a volunteer base your group is ready to build a base of voters. Most people don’t like politics enough to volunteer or run office. We are the rare exception. We are the leaders who must influence the voters through our political activism. With voter registration lists, campaigns can effectively target their district with yard signs, direct mailings, door hangers, and door-to-door efforts. If someone is not going to be receptive to the idea of voting for you, it is best not to waste time and money trying to sell the voter on something he or she does not want. Likewise, if someone has not voted since Ronal Reagan last ran for President, it might not be a good idea to spend time and money pandering to
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 them. On the other hand, if someone is a registered Libertarian they may be willing to donate or volunteer. At the very least, they should be offered a yard sign. Remember, to build a local organization, we need candidates, a volunteer base, and a voter base.
J.D. (Jake) Porter, a 2008 Business Administration graduate, previously served as Chief of Staff to the George Phillies Presidential campaign, Iowa Coordinator for the 2008 Bob Barr Presidential campaign, and worked as Business Manager for the Saint Joseph Telegraph. Today, he is the owner of J.D. Porter Consulting, is the Alternate to Region 6 of the Libertarian National Committee, and resides in the state of Missouri.
Considering Running For Chair By Jake Porter My fellow Libertarians! Our party is faced with tremendous opportunities presented to us by the Republicans and Democrats on a daily basis. Everyday, the American people can clearly see that President Obama is spending an enormous amount of money which creates and astronomical amount of debt this country may never be able to repay. The Republicans had eight years in power to cut government spending. Not only did they fail to do so, they actually greatly increased government spending. Neither major party respects our civil liberties, such as the right to a trial or the right to have private phone
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 3 conversations without having Uncle Sam's ear pressed to the phone listening to the most private details of your personal life. We need to take full advantage of these opportunities. We cannot sit back and wait for someone else to build an organization for us. Like everyone who has lived in Iowa, I clearly know that "If you build it, they will come". How do we build it? We must have party leaders with the leadership skills and the previous proven experience to unite the party with a vision of the success we will have when we accomplish our goals.
www.rationalreview.com
As we saw at our National Convention last year, our party is very much divided. As I see the vicious party infighting, I cannot help but think of how many issues we all agree on. I am reminded of a Monty Python movie: a man asks a group if they are the "Judean People's Front". The group becomes angry and responds that they are "The People's Front of Judea" and the only people they hate more than the Romans are "The Judean People's Front". Sometimes I think the only groups we dislike more than our opponents are the other party factions. I offer a solution. When like minded people are active and busy working towards a positive vision of the future, they are less likely to fight with each other and are far more likely to accomplish their goals.
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 If we are to accomplish anything productive we must first have goals and a vision of our objectives. Those goals should include electing more candidates, increasing vote totals, increasing members, increasing fundraising, and creating member satisfaction with our direction. A member is just like a customer at a business. If they are not satisfied, they may very well leave and never return. In the next few weeks, I will be more specific about goals and objectives. It is time that we unite our party around achievable goals and objectives. To reach our goals and objectives, we must have leaders who have worked with the various party factions and who have already demonstrated an ability to motivate libertarians. That is why when I was asked to run for Chair, I had to, at the very least, think strongly about it. I have led large groups of people. I have education, political, and business experience. For example, I have a degree in Business Administration, have worked on several local and statewide campaigns, and I have worked in sales. I also have been able to motivate libertarians from all party factions as can be seen when I was Iowa Coordinator for the Bob Barr Presidential campaign or when I served as an At-Large Representative of the Libertarian Party of Iowa. After much thought, I am announcing that I am considering a run for Libertarian National Committee Chair in 2010. Sometime in the next few months I will make the final decision. In the meantime, please visit my website at
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 4 www.jakeporter.org/chair and discuss with me ways that we can work together to build our party.
Jake Porter Region 6 Alternate Libertarian National Committee
Strategic Objectives for All Party Groups By Dr. George Phillies Above All, Remember The Objective of a Political Party is To Elect Its Candidates to Political Office and thereby put its agenda into effect. To attain this objective, we need to • • •
build a strong party perform needed housekeeping tasks create pre-conditions for victory
Building a strong party is based on core activities such as Outreach, Incitement, Local Activism, and creation of a strong Voter Base. Housekeeping tasks are activities that don't actually elect anyone to office, but that must be done in order to have successful election campaigns: Keeping Promises, Information Management, and Fund-Raising.
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Pre-conditions for victory are the groups and operations that will get us Money (PACs and friendly fundraising supports), Ideas and Friends (Think Tanks and Special Interest Groups), Press (Libertarian-Friendly Media), People (Candidates and Incumbents), and Patronage (Using Resources to Help Our Friends).
Each of the other major parties can win elections because it has a vote base of 25 or 35% of the electorate -- people who show up and vote for their party simply because it is their party. The parties also spend money on advertising. That advertising only moves the 20-30% of the electorate who will consider voting for more than one party. Without a strong voter base on which to build, advertising avails you next to nothing. Building a voter base by regularly running candidates is critical to our success.
How do we build a strong party? •
•
•
•
Outreach puts our ideas before the public. We may use letters to the editor, speakers' bureaus, press releases, or web sites. The Internet is an effective way to mobilize large numbers of people very quickly on issues that they care about. However, half of America does not use the Internet at all; the Internet cannot replace all other outreach methods. Incitement is the task of persuading Libertarians to Stand Up For Liberty! by running for office and by offering their time and talent as volunteers. Without volunteers, our party will not go very far. Local Activism is the basis for political victory. It is local activists who speak to their neighbors, get out the vote, distribute pushcards and lawn signs, and hold placards for their friends, our candidates. It is local campaigns that can involve people, because they are small enough that one person can believe that she personally can make a difference in the campaign. The Voter Base is people who Vote Libertarian! because there is a Libertarian on the ballot.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
What is housekeeping?: Revolution 101 In his follow up to his 2005 CD “Bits n Pieces” Frank Worley takes on the issues of our time with REVOLUTION. http://cdbaby.com/cd/worley2 •
•
Keeping Promises -- we must perform the deeds that show we are a serious, law- abiding, promise keeping organization: comply with our own by-laws, comply with state and Federal laws and filing requirements, deliver products as promised to the membership [for example, publishing newsletters on the promised regular basis.] Information is the lamp that leads us through the dark toward victory. We have volunteers, donors, contacts -- we need to keep track of them. We have issues, positions, press releases, and web sites, usefully kept where they can be accessed and
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009
•
examined. There are election laws and filing deadlines; candidates and campaign treasurers need to be reminded of them. Fundraising is a housekeeping action. It's something that needs to be done. It should use a substantial part of our total time, especially for our elected officials. However, money will not buy us victory. As the Forbes presidential campaign is showing, money without solid local organization is basically ineffective.
The Libertarian Answer to Daily Kos www.thedailyliberty.com What are pre-conditions? We cannot see the exact path that will give us a Libertarian victory in our lifetimes. We can, however, identify circumstances that would exist as part of a victorious Libertarian Party machine. We can work to attain those circumstances, as discussed in previous letters. How do we get from here to there? The final objective is electing a Libertarian Majority. It remains worthwhile to emphasize that election campaigns are an effective way to build a stronger party, encourage Libertarians to support housekeeping tasks, and create the pre-conditions needed for a Libertarian future. Many people are not interested in donating an evening a month to a talking shop. The same © 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 6 people will donate much more than an evening a month, if they see that their time is being spent in a constructive and effective manner.
The Trouble With Liberty BY THE LIBERTY SENTINEL Liberty, otherwise known as personal responsibility is as important to humanity as a belief in a higher power. Those who know liberty, usually know god well. Liberty is all about personal choice, self-ownership and the right to live and to pursue happiness in the complete absence of government intervention. The problem with liberty is that so many who support it are so busy being individuals that they can never seem to get together enough to work as a group towards a common goal. Thus, they work themselves into a constant cycle of defeat. Today we have an extraordinary opportunity and an extraordinary challenge and I fear it will slip through our fingers like so many in the past. The “Tea Party” tax protests are a sign that true conservatives, the concept of intervals ruling government not the other way around, is alive and well in America. Many libertarians and freedom fighters will join these protests but fail to see the grand opportunity that is presented. A strong and definitive political base. A group of people willing to take time to make a difference if only - they were inspired by the right leaders. Yes, I said the dreaded word. Inspired. Take a hard look at each presidential
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campaign of the last 30 years and you will see who inspired and who did not. Barrack Obama is excellent in the inspirational part of politics. So good that this relatively inexperienced lawmaker is now the most powerful man in the world having defeated a war hero, and long time lawmaker who clearly would have made a better “mechanical” president.
Its also important to understand the great Democrat-Republican contradiction. Liberal Democrats say you can have an abortion, can’t own a gun and cannot be sentenced to death even if you kill a child. Republicans say you CAN be sentenced to death, you CAN’T have an abortion but, you can have an AK-47 to shoot the federal officer who comes to arrest you for trying to have one.
George Bush (senior) was another example. He won in 1988 based almost entirely on the communication abilities of his predecessor (Ronald Reagan) and yes “a thousand points of light.” Bill Clinton was simply better at it.
Saying we are pro-choice on everything simply isn’t good enough.
We libertarians are really good at chastising our enemies on how they have violated the constitution and how they have forgotten the principals of liberty. What we have failed to do (aside from organize right, raise enough money and get the mechanics of elections right) is inspire people.
www.libertyforamerica.com So much about the voting process is about getting people to the polls to pull the right lever for the candidate of choice. And so much of that is done by our adversaries by choosing emotional hot buttons: abortion, gay marriage, gun control vs. the 2nd amendment.
If, as Tip O’Neil said, “all politics is local”, then we must make it personal to the individual voter. We must reach out and touch them in a way they have not been touched before. We must organize ourselves to a specific end goal, and start on a political journey with a clear and specified destination: control of both houses of congress and a president in the White House. We must be willing to inspire voters and we must be willing to do that one other thing we libertarians are so reluctant to do: COMPROMISE. If you wish to sit around news groups and discussion groups and yell at each other endlessly…………. If you want to win elections. We might have something to talk about.
Ten 10 Steps to Effective Liberty Activism on Twitter By George Donnelly http://georgedonnelly.com/
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 Are you a liberty-lover looking to connect with like-minded folks for mutual gain? Then Twitter - a service that enables you to broadcast short messages and find a network - is for you. We libertarians are so few and far between that networking is critical. It’s a force-multiplier. It’s a survival strategy.
Tons of Liberty-Advancing Ways to Use Twitter Twitter has tons of practical uses that will advance your reputation, the causes you care about and the profile of liberty, including •
• • • • •
stimulate folks to be more conscious of the importance of liberty; radicalize existing liberty-lovers; share breaking news of government idiocy; gain new collaborators for your liberty efforts; disseminate examples of free market practicality; and demonstrate the considerable but often hidden strength of the liberty movement.
How to Get the Most out of Twitter With that in mind, here are 10 steps on how liberty-lovers can leverage Twitter for liberty activism. 1. Check out the above video for an introduction to Twitter, sign up for a Twitter account and choose a short but meaningful username. 2. For your avatar, use a well-lit photo of yourself genuinely
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 8
8 Ways To Advertise Your Campaign: Brochures-are an effective way to establish name recognition in doorto-door campaigning. Additionally, they are great to give away at events. Cable-television ads are often an affordable way to target voters and establish name recognition. Direct Mail-is a method to target your base, reach out to volunteers, and hopefully obtain some financial support. Door Hangers-allow you to target your supporters reminding them to vote. It is also a great way to reach voters who are not home. Facebook Advertisingallows you to reach college students effectively without a huge financial cost. Google AdWords-Allows you to target ads based on location, website, or specific search terms. Newspaper-is an effective way to reach influential leaders. Radio-is a very effective and affordable way to reach your target market. Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. 8.
9.
smiling in which your face occupies a large part of the frame. It makes a difference! Fill out your bio and take advantage of the “More Info URL” field to link to your blog, Facebook page, OpenID profile or anything else that enables people to connect with you further. Take advantage of the full 160 characters and include key words such as libertarian, anarchist, voluntaryist, Ron Paul fan and/or Free State Project Look for people you already know that are on Twitter and follow them. Post your thoughts on something timely and/or post a link with your commentary. Don’t post that you don’t know what to post, that you’re eating dinner (unless it’s some kind of special dinner), that you’re paranoid because you’re being followed or anything else that others probably wouldn’t find interesting. Find some libertarian thought leaders (see below for suggestions) on Twitter, follow them and engage with them. Find something they said that sparks your interest and reply to it. Post at least once per week and ideally a few times per day. When someone new follows you, follow them back if they seem like a genuine person (and not a marketing front). Even those with whom you disagree or who don’t get liberty can be a valuable part of your network. Politeness matters. Rudeness does not go down well on Twitter and it’s best to avoid it.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 9 10. Remember that Twitter is all about engaging others in productive and stimulating conversation. Everything else flows from that. Have fun!
Keep Trying New Things I’m no social media expert Your Ad Here! so consider this a basic Contact: introduction to get you jdporterconsulting@g started until mail.com you feel comfortable for advertising rates enough to perform your own experiments. Oh and don’t forget to follow me at twitter.com/georgedonnelly.
P.S. Libertarian Thought Leaders on Twitter Here are some good liberty-lovers to get started following on Twitter. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
@eastcoaster1237 @jay4liberty @bradspangler @libertysnippet @libertypile @andrewtaranto @Jesuspower @sheeplescareme @aretepraxis @goodiemonster @leahita @ithacannoyed @dezine @LibertyCafe @LibertyMaven
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 News and Analysis
60% Lack Confidence in Washington’s Economic Decisions http://www.rasmussenreports.com/pu blic_content/most_recent_videos2/busi ness/60_lack_confidence_in_policyma kers_economic_decisions According to a recent poll conduced by Rasmussen Reports, 60% of Americans lack confidence in the economic decisions being made by our elected officials in Washington D.C.. This is of course terrible news for the country; however, it provides an excellent opportunity for Libertarians to take advantage of. The economy is becoming an issue that we no longer have to convince the American people to agree with us on. They already agree with us. We just have to let them know that we have the only candidates that are actually in tune with the American public on the issue of the economy. How do we do this? Real leadership is standing up and telling the truth. The truth is that we can blame Wall Street all we want, but this economic problem goes much deeper. We need leaders who will challenge young people to save and invest money instead of borrowing and spending on unnecessary items. We need leaders who will encourage entrepreneurship and stop scaring people with visions of failure. Instead, we need leaders who led by example by not being afraid to fail at something such as starting a new business. People are not attracted to people or candidates who complain all time. © 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 10 People want to be around people who have a vision of improving the way of life. Libertarians have the vision; we just need to be able to explain that vision in a positive manner which will attract volunteers and voters.
www.stjtelegraph.org
Libertarians launch alternative press outreach service In an age of short news cycles and fierce competition for media attention, America’s political parties have to move fast to “get the message out.” Members of the Libertarian Party launched a collaborative effort on Wednesday to maximize their party’s positive media exposure. “Our goal is to produce timely, accurate press releases covering the Libertarian Party’s principles, positions and activities, then assist reporters by connecting them with knowledgeable interview subjects,” says Thomas L. Knapp, coordinator of the Center for Libertarian Press Information. The group formed after a series of official party communiques which they believe inaccurately portrayed the Libertarian Party and fumbled important facts. “Instead of complaining, we decided to build a better mousetrap,” says Knapp, 42, of St. Louis, Missouri. “Libertarians tend toward self-reliance and personal responsibility. When we realized we couldn’t rely on our paid headquarters staff to get the job done, we sat down and put together a volunteer
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 project to take care of business.” The Center is not controlled or endorsed by the Libertarian National Committee, the party’s governing body. CLiPr.info’s operating plan includes a fast-moving review process designed to get releases out in hours rather than days without sacrificing accuracy of information or adherence to the party’s platform and statement of principles. “Our process gets a release into the field — on the wire services, on reporters’ desks, up on the web — in about four hours from proposal to proofreading and content review to finished product,” says Knapp.” The Libertarian Party, founded in 1971, is America’s third largest political party. Hundreds of Libertarians serve in elected or appointed public office. The party’s presidential candidate, former US Representative Bob Barr of Georgia, received 523,686 votes in the 2008 election. The Center for Libertarian Press Information’s web site is located at http://www.clipr.info.
John Monds Running a Professional Campaign for Georgia Governor In 2008, John Monds became the first Libertarian to ever receive one million votes in his race for Georgia Public Service Commission District 1.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 11 He received 33% of the vote in a two way race. Monds, has a Bachelors Degree in Banking and Finance. Additionally, he has won several public service awards and has experience serving on many committees and boards. Now, John Monds is running for Governor of Georgia. John has already been interviewed on Fox’s Atlanta affiliate, and local radio. Additionally, the campaign has professional looking videos and a professionally designed website. The John Monds campaign for Georgia Governor promises to be a race Libertarian candidates and Libertarian campaign managers should watch to analyze tactics and learn from. You can find out more about the Monds campaign for Governor at the official campaign website: www.votemonds.com
Nick Taiber Runs For Cedar Falls, Iowa City Council’s AtLarge Position From the LPIA Newsletter, Libertarians In Action: I am throwing my hat in the ring for a Cedar Falls at-large council position. Currently LPIA District 1 representative, I have lived in Cedar Falls since 2004 and decided now is the time to leverage my unique perspective, bountiful energy, and careful leadership for Cedar Falls. Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 Friends and family have always been supportive of a run. But when certain city leaders approached me, I was convinced that the city would benefit from my contribution. While a few miles short of a true exploratory committee, I found my views to be surprising compatible with a sampling of voters. Since this is a non-partisan election, I’m not advertising myself as a libertarian, but I work it in most conversations. The philosophy is new to many, so wrapping the discussion in real city issues seems to work well. I have three themes: (1) Effective/Efficient Government; (2) Economic Development; and (3) Quality of Life. Each theme is laced with libertarian ideology with the main goal of delivering policies and services at the highest taxpayer return within the mandate of city government, all while respecting essential liberties and freedoms. I’m thrilled to be running and look forward to November 3rd. More information can be found on my website: www.nicktaiber.com
Senator Gravel in South Korea Former United States Senator and unsuccessful candidate for the 2008 Democrat and Libertarian Party Presidential nomination, Mike Gravel is in South Korea promoting the Korean National Initiative.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 12 While running for President, Senator Gravel frequently spoke in support of a national initiative for the United States. On May 13, we received the following email from Senator Gravel: Many keen observers of our representative democracy comment again and again about our broken political system, especially because of the corrupting influence of money on our elected representatives. Too often, the resulting public policy provides benefits to the corporate-military-industrial complex rather than enhancing the public interest.
June Calendar June 8 200th Anniversary of Thomas Paine’s death June 9 John Hospers, 1918 June 15 Magna Carta, 1215 June 17th Harry Browne, 1933 During my many years in elective office, I saw the tradeoffs and pay-offs (direct and indirect) that are common in the political arena. I saw how difficult it was – and is – for the most well intentioned elected
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 officials to bring about the needed changes because of our flawed government structure. And, typically, in their attempts to navigate a flawed system, the legislators themselves become flawed. How can we achieve public policy that more closely reflects the public interest? Bring the people – American voters – into a decision-making role in government as citizen-lawmakers in partnership with their elected representatives. The National Initiative for Democracy (NI4D), a legislative proposal that amends the Constitution and provided legislative procedures in a Federal Statute, does just that: empowers citizens (you and I) to be able to vote on the public policies that affect our lives – empowers citizens (us) as lawmakers. I ran for president to bring attention to the National Initiative. As a result: • • •
• •
•
There is a growing list of volunteers We are sending out monthly news letters Other people than myself are now speaking out about this in public People are planning film projects about NI4D More and more people are blogging about the National Initiative A very real grass-roots effort has begun which will be difficult to ignore
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 13 •
NI4D is far more well known today than before I ran for president.
However, the problem now is that the Obama presidency has generated a renewed optimism that representative government may work this time. Donations have greatly decreased. It will take some time before Americans realize that electing a new cadre of politicians will not bring change. As I said in the campaign: “follow the money if you want to know the kind of government you're going to get.” Wall Street continues to rule the economy, banks are getting most of the stimulus, and the military defense budget grows. The rhetoric of White House policy is considerably improved and sounds cooperative but with one thousand military bases around the world, our nation's policy remains imperialistic, even though we are broke and going the way of all empires. I continued to speak out against these misguided policies and offered the obvious solution: empower American citizens as lawmakers. At a conference on direct democracy, last October in Switzerland, a professor from South Korea heard me speak about the National Initiative and asked if it could be applicable in Korea. My research before and since my subsequent trip to South Korea has convinced me that South Korea is one of the likeliest venues in the world to enact a National Initiative.
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 Democracy is a lot fresher in the minds of Koreans, evidenced by the people’s candlelight protests. They have the highest per capita savings rate in the world, so are the least likely nation to be affected by the global meltdown. Korea is one of the most Internet-wired nations in the world. And English is a mandated educational requirement from kindergarten on. Most significantly, the South Korean Constitution is superior to our own. •
•
•
•
Article 1 of the Korean Constitution states:“all power emanates from the people” . Only the people can amend the Korean Constitution – they did eight times. The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times - not once by the people. American federal elections are conducted by state and local governments and as a result are subject to partisan corruption. The Korean Constitution creates a non-partisan Central Election Management Committee to conduct all elections. Korean citizens enjoy a lifetime voter registration regardless where they live.
The host of my initial trip (Korea Democracy Foundation) was not able to extend financial support for my return trip to Korea due to delays in government funding,. Nevertheless, some members of the Foundation and others have facilitated setting up lectures at universities and civic organizations. The title of my lecture says it all: “This Generation of
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 14 Koreans has a Rendezvous with Destiny.” I use the lecture to motivate volunteers from the audience to join teams committed to inform Koreans about the Korean National Initiative (KNI) and to seek its enactment by Korean voters in a national election. KNI is a recast of the American National Initiative. In three weeks starting from scratch, I have been able to develop eight teams with more than sixty members. The quality of the volunteers is awesome. Teams meet weekly and have 5 to10 members; when they acquire more than 10 members, they will replicate themselves into new teams. I personally meet with each of the teams to get them organized. The team strategy is the beginning of a grassroots educational movement to acquaint Koreans about the empowerment opportunity of the National Initiative. I firmly believe we can succeed in enacting the National Initiative in Korea. The global attention generated by this success will become the catalyst to enact the National Initiative in the U.S. The KNI will then become the 21st century national model for direct democracy copied by most G-20 countries. My wife, Whitney, and I are funding my present trip in Korea from our modest personal resources. We cannot continue beyond June, even though my message is resonating with Koreans. The fees, when available, for my lectures do not cover all of my living and travel
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
June 2009 expenses. It will take at least five months before I can secure the government authority for a foundation in Korea that will then permit us to raise funds from Koreans. The Democracy Foundation (the sponsor of the National Initiative) needs funding to prosecute its programs in the U,S. and to finance my travel expenses until we can do a Korean fund raising campaign. I desperately need your help. Therefore, I am appealing to you – the 8,000 supporters on my Facebook political account, and the 20,000 in the U.S. National Initiative database – to make a donation to keep the National Initiative vision alive. I hope you will respond to this appeal. The situation is critical and the opportunities enormous. I need your help, and I need it now. Thank you in advance and for your help in promoting direct democracy. Follow our progress at www.mikegravel.us and at www.NI4D.US.
Page 15 To donate please visit: https://demofound.org/donate.htm To learn more about Senator Gravel: www.mikegravel.us To learn more about the National Initiative: http://ni4d.us To order Mike’s book Citizen Power: http://citizen-power.us
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