July 2014 - Lnc-business - Moellman Enterprises Email

Email Ballot 2014-12: December LNC Session
by Alicia Mattson 11 Aug '14

11 Aug '14

We have an electronic mail ballot. *Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by August 9, 2014 at 11:59:59pm Pacific time.* *Sponsor:* Nick Sarwark *Motion:* Schedule an LNC session for the weekend of December 13-14, 2014 in the New Orleans, LA metropolitan area. Alicia Mattson LNC Secretary

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Email Ballot 2014-11: Lark as an International Representative
by Alicia Mattson 11 Aug '14

11 Aug '14

We have an electronic mail ballot. *Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by August 9, 2014 at 11:59:59pm Pacific time.* *Co-Sponsors:* Norm Olsen, Alicia Mattson, Dan Wiener, Vicki Kirkland *Motion:* The Libertarian National Committee hereby appoints Dr. James Lark to serve as an International Representative per Section 2.09.3 of the policy manual. Alicia Mattson LNC Secretary

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Libertarian Convention vs. Green National Meeting - Registration Fees
by Scott L. 10 Aug '14

10 Aug '14

When Nancy and Geoffrey Neale give us their Convention Report for the 2014 Libertarian National Convention, I will bet you that at least 20% of our Delegates chose the no registration fee option. The 2014 Green Party Annual Meeting was held this past weekend in Minnesota. Unlike our Convention, they did not have a "zero registration fee option." In fact, the cheapest registration option for the Green Annual Meeting for Delegates was $140 per person (or $125 per person for couples). https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/175/shop/shop.jsp?storefront_KEY=40 Why does the Green Party get TANSTAAFL, but the Libertarian Party doesn't? Scott Lieberman

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Informal Poll LNC December Meeting
by Daniel Hayes 03 Aug '14

03 Aug '14

Members, I started to write another email trying to compare and contrast the two seeming top contenders for our December meeting and just decided to repost the Email I sent to staff, the chair and Guy. Dec 13/14 seems to be by far the cheaper weekend. In addition to the mail there is also a chart of the top 2 contenders Hilton Riverside and Hampton inn Convention Center included. Can we get an informal indication from members as to their thoughts on these 2 hotels before we put a motion back up? Do people seriously want to consider NOLA for an upcoming convention and do we think its worth the extra money to stay in the Riverside to better evaluate it or would you guys rather stay in the Hampton which is less expensive? "After having spoken to Robert, he seemed to indicate that typically there are about 6 or so people interested in taking tours, even when in the hotel proposed for the convention. The increased convenience might bump the participation by a person or 2. Most members of the LNC don't put much interest into the location of the NatCon and leave it to the LNC Convention Planning Committee. I of course am interested in promoting NOLA for a NatCon for various reasons. Coming at it strictly as a member of the LNC. I think a top destination city like NOLA will only enhance NatCon Participation. I feel this increase will be most pronounced in an off election year like 2018. Coming at it from a local standpoint, we of course would love the increased access for a Presidential year NatCon like 2020, but the destination city increases would probably be lower than the effect it has on an off year as there is already increased interest during a Presidential year. I think from the LPHQ standpoint, the dates for the 13/14 are significant as well as the concessions garnered for the individual rooms. With those dates in mind for these 2 hotels. The Hampton can save us $1800. That said, the costs of the Riverside are in line with avg meeting costs for the LNC. Our State LP is looking at holding our Winter Peace Party the weekend that the LNC is in attendance. One of our local members has gotten us a bead on a private room at the top of the Jax. It's a premium location located right on the river in the French Quarter. With drinks and appetizers included, we have gotten it for a rate of $35/person. It's a great rate and we are hoping that some of our neighbors from surrounding states might be interested in coming in and socializing with us for the weekend. This location is somewhat of a straight shot from both hotels with the Riverside being about a 5-10 minute walk from Jax and the Hampton being about 15-20 minute walk. Overall the Riverside is right on the edge of the FQ, It's across the street from the Casino, etc. I am from the school of, let's save the money, but I have to realize that I am a lot different in my mindset from a lot of other people. So for me, staying at the cheaper venue would be a go. However on top of that, I am not staying at any of the venues, I am sleeping at home with my dogs. So there may indeed be some value in staying at the likely NatCon contender so that most LNC members can get a feel for it even if they arent paying attention.” Daniel Hayes ave HQ $1800.

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Executive Committee Conference Call - 7/24/14 @ 9:30 pm EST - NH Ballot Access
by Nicholas Sarwark 02 Aug '14

02 Aug '14

All, There will be an Executive Committee conference call tonight at 9:30 pm EST to discuss spending ballot access funds to petition to put Gardner Goldsmith from the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire on the ballot. Wes or Robert will follow-up with the call-in details. -Nick

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Re: [Lnc-business] Top Two
by Ron Windeler 01 Aug '14

01 Aug '14

I see "top two" laws as reducing the abusive power of BIG GOVERNMENT to interfere with the election process. It eliminates the justification for government to regulate political parties, which they have done abusively despite no Constitutional enumeration since the beginning of political parties. I don't know about your state, but Alaska's Constitution doesn't mention political parties or primary elections either. Closed or open primaries provide huge subsidies to the incumbent parties (and tiny subsidies that we don't need to third parties) I don't care how comfortable you may be with the known evil, it is the tool that the incumbent parties are using successfully to neutralize our best efforts. They hope that you will be fooled into trying to win a game where your enemies make all the rules. I know because I was involved when Alaskan libertarians elected the highest percentage of high office holders ever back in the 80's. (3 legislators out of 60). (during our brief 15 minutes of fame, we did eliminate the state income tax and institute the permanent dividend savings account thereby slowing the growth of the most socialist state government in the nation). In response, the incumbent parties changed the rules and made us into their lapdogs. Since then, we haven't elected anyone to high office or passed any laws because we do what they want us to do. When the State Supreme Court legalized possession of marijuana, we were even unable to prevent the Legislature from unconstitutionally re-criminalizing it. We waste all of our resources to get over 8,000 fake registered libertarians and then have nothing left to reach out to them and attempt to influence their votes or their opinions. We have no resources left to attract good candidates or support their campaigns. Partly because of my influence, we have begun to break out of that purgatory, but have a long way to go to become effective again. We should favor "top two" because it is easily converted into instant runoff or approval voting and creates a better situation for libertarian candidates. In typical elections, it removes the threat that voting for the libertarian candidate will spoil the lessor of two evils' chances. In the unlikely event that our candidate actually comes in 1st or 2nd, it removes all other spoilers and increases our chances of winning. What's not to like? Ron Windeler rowindeler(a)aol.com -----Original Message----- From: Norm Olsen <region1rep(a)doneDad.com> To: lnc-business <lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org> Sent: Wed, Jul 30, 2014 1:12 pm Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Top Two With regard to "Top Two": Oregon is not the only state where Top Two is a threat to existing ballot access for Libertarians. ARIZONA: The Republicans repealed their midnight "pseudo Top Two" legislation only to preserve their ability to introduce similar legislation in the future. If the recall of this bill by the general electorate had succeeded (as the polls showed it would), the legislature would be prohibited from ever again passing similar legislation in the future. Thus the "repeal" was not so much a gesture of futility, but more an act to keep their powder dry. It can be expected that similar legislation will be proposed in the future. MONTANA: The "Top Two" initiative in Montana was taken off the 2014 ballot only because the initiative title exceeded the constitutional limit of 100 words. The Republicans will likely try again and not make the same mistake twice. Top Two in both cases above is more like that which exists in WA and CA, which means that there would be an open primary and then a general election where only R's and D's would appear on the general election ballot. Top Two and "pseudo Top Two" is alive and well in many states. I call it ballot access in reverse. That is losing ballot access in states where it previous existed (to a reasonable degree anyway). I support (and would appreciate like minded members of this committee to identify themselves) making "confronting reverse ballot access" a core function of the LNC. Norm -- Norman T Olsen Regional Representative, Region I Libertarian National Committee 7931 S Broadway, PMB 102 Littleton, Colorado 80122-2710 303-263-4995 Norman.Olsen(a)lp.org "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Gandhi -----Original Message----- From: Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces@hq.lp.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Hayes Sent: Friday, July 18, 2014 5:12 PM To: lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] Top Two Members, As to Top Two, Louisiana currently has a non partisan open blanket primary.or as we call it..a jungle primary. All affiliations run at the same time and if nobody gets over 50%, the top two go to a run off. We were the 4th fastest growing affiliate last year in states that have party recognition. Our Executive Director got nervous when a bill was proposed last year that would have moved Federal Elections to closed primaries. One of the sticking points for a lot of people to switch is because they are worried the Libertarian candidate will cause one of the big two to lose the race. What having a top two system allows us to do is overcome one of the biggest sticking points people have by saying.vote your conscience in the primary and then do what you feel you gotta do in the run off. I just related this all back to Wendy(our ED) about how you guys are all worried about it. She LOLed. She was freaked out because she was scared it was going to mess up our recruitment when a Republican Rep put up a bill about moving to closed Federal primaries in La. He never brought it to committee .Myself..I can grow the party in any climate..its all about altering and tailoring the message. Though when its working.don't try and fix it.wait a second. HELP!!! Louisiana suffers from TOP TWO!! Send us money!! Send us MONEY!!! HELP!!!!. https://secure.piryx.com/donate/3rejnkrb/Libertarian-Party-of-Louisiana/ Did it work? Daniel Hayes LNC R7 Alternate On Jul 17, 2014, at 4:32 PM, Nicholas Sarwark <chair(a)lp.org> wrote: > The LNC can, I believe, spend money to oppose top-two in Oregon. It > is simpler, if the Libertarian Party of Oregon is FEC filing to > transfer funds to them to spend in Oregon. That's my read on it, > though I'll defer to our lawyer and/or FEC consultant if they believe > my interpretation is incorrect. > > The Libertarian Party of Oregon has placed language in the voter guide > before to argue for or against initiatives, and can do so in this case > as well. It costs $1200. I believe we would also be able to place a > separate argument as the LNC, though if we choose to do so, we should > coordinate with the Libertarian Party of Oregon to ensure we're not > making the same arguments in both. > > If top two passes, the Libertarian Party of Oregon would still be > recognized as a political party, it would just become much less likely > that their candidates would appear on the November ballot. See, e.g. > California. > > -Nick > > On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 3:25 PM, Joshua Katz <joshua.katz(a)lp.org> wrote: >> Is it within the jurisdiction of the LNC to take action to oppose >> top-two in Oregon, perhaps by setting aside money for a legal >> challenge or advertising before the vote? If so, I suggest someone >> with the ability move to do so, as I do not think our affiliate there >> is in a position to fight it, being somewhat busy with other things? >> >> As a side note, does if top-two passes, does that impact the JC decision? >> Will there still be such a thing as SOS recognition for a party? >> >> Joshua A. Katz >> >> Region 8 (Region of Badassdom) Alternate Libertarian National >> Committee >> >> Chair, Libertarian Party of Connecticut >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Lnc-business mailing list >> Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org >> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org >> > > _______________________________________________ > Lnc-business mailing list > Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org > http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org _______________________________________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org _______________________________________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org

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draft minutes of 7/24/14 EC meeting
by Alicia Mattson 01 Aug '14

01 Aug '14

Attached are the draft minutes of Thursday evening's EC meeting regarding ballot access in New Hampshire. Please note that the procedure for auto-approving EC minutes is different than that for LNC minutes. With LNC minutes, there is a first draft, a comment period, a revised draft, then auto-approval. But for EC minutes the first draft can be auto-approved. These minutes will auto-approve in 14 days (on August 9th) absent any objection from an EC member. See the portion of Policy Manual section 1.02.6 which states: "Meeting minutes for Executive Committee meetings may be promoted from draft status to official during the time between Executive Committee meetings as follows: - Draft minutes for Executive Committee meetings shall be emailed to all LNC Members not more than 7 days after each meeting. <#_edn1> - Absent objection from an Executive Committee member who attended the meeting, the minutes shall be deemed to be approved 14 days after their distribution. <#_edn2> - Executive Committee minutes shall be distributed to all LNC Members and alternates within 7 days of such approval. - The Secretary shall send an official copy of meeting minutes to staff within 7 days of the promotion of those minutes from draft to official status." Alicia Mattson LNC Secretary

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Re: [Lnc-business] TXLP Issues
by SAM8074＠aol.com 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

Mr. Hamilton, Thank you for running for office and for assisting other candidates. I truly appreciate it. The Libertarian National Committee is prohibited by the bylaws from interfering with the autonomy of the state affiliate parties. As such, there is not an action that can be taken by the LNC to address your issues with the Libertarian Party of Texas. Yours in liberty, Nicholas Sarwark Chair, Libertarian National Committee In a message dated 7/31/2014 5:11:05 P.M. US Eastern Daylight Time, shawn(a)voteforhamilton.com writes: Hello I am not seeing an attachment with the response. Could you please forward or resend? Thank you Shawn Michael Hamilton (254)722-2001 On 7/31/2014 12:13 PM, _SAM8074(a)aol.com_ (mailto:SAM8074@aol.com) wrote: Nick, Thanks for your response. I hope we have learned our lesson from the Oregon fiasco. Sam In a message dated 7/31/2014 12:39:44 P.M. US Eastern Daylight Time, _chair(a)lp.org_ (mailto:chair@lp.org) writes: [The message and any attached files have been turned into a ZIP attachment. Once downloaded and unzipped, open it with a word processor or text editor for reading.]

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Re: [Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2014-12: December LNC Session
by SAM8074＠aol.com 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

Yes Sam Goldstein In a message dated 7/31/2014 2:52:33 A.M. US Eastern Daylight Time, agmattson(a)gmail.com writes: We have an electronic mail ballot. Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by August 9, 2014 at 11:59:59pm Pacific time. Sponsor: Nick Sarwark Motion: Schedule an LNC session for the weekend of December 13-14, 2014 in the New Orleans, LA metropolitan area. Alicia Mattson LNC Secretary _______________________________________________ Lnc-business mailing list Lnc-business(a)hq.lp.org http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org

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LNC Member Blogging
by Nicholas Sarwark 31 Jul '14

31 Jul '14

All, Is there interest from LNC members in publishing articles on the official Libertarian Party blog? My understanding is that LNC members had done so in the past, but the policy had been changed for a number of reasons and that was stopped. If there is interest, I would be inclined to open it up to LNC members to post, within certain guidelines, e.g. directly applicable to the Libertarian Party, and in line with our overall messaging, positive, etc. Posts would be subject to APRC review as well. -Nick

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