Dear LNC Members:
The following is a compendium of LNC Region 6 comments and polls regarding the LNC motion to remove Arvin Vohra from the LNC Vice-Chair position that were communicated to or discussed with me as the LNC Region 6 Representative followed by a brief summary of my analysis and decision to vote NO on the removal motion:
Region 6:
* LNC Region 6 Representative David Pratt Demarest opposes the motion and has communicated his official opposition in detail to LNC members via the LNC Business List and via personal unofficial communications to the broader audience via Facebook, email and various other communication channels
Nebraska:
Poll requested by LPNE SCC Chair Scott Zimmerman:
* Yes, I support removing him – 24
* No, I think he should stay – 7 (including Region 6 Representative)
* He should resign – 6
* I don’t know/indifferent – 5
* Warned not to do it again, and a motion passed that all [sic: LPNC] members are to stay away from controversy – 3
Signed LPNE SCC member communications requested by Region 6 Representative David Pratt Demarest and reiterated by LPNE Chair Scott Zimmerman:
* LPNE District 2 Coordinator Joe Hedlund: We need to be more mindful about what is said from our leadership, it can have very damaging consequences. Arvin did lots of damage to our party, he should be held accountable, as all of our top leaders should. Please consider that the LNC should write up some guidelines that our leaders could use in the future to avoid situations such as this one. These guidelines could be quite helpful so that we can avoid having these problems in the future, they could also be passed on to the people that are in charge of our social media. These guidelines may not be 100% foolproof, but at least they will be in writing, so that there may be a guide to aid them.
* LPNE Chair Scott Zimmerman: I oppose the motion to remove Arvin. He used poor judgement in his choice of messaging. Additionally, he needs to understand that with his position as Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party, comes the responsibility of speaking on behalf of the entire organization. I believe the delegates will decide Arvin's future level of involvement with the LP at the 2018 National Convention.
Illinois:
* Scott Schluter, Chairman, Southern Illinois Libertarian Party, Political Division Director, Libertarian Party of Illinois:
I'm the Political Director of the Libertarian Party of Illinois. I am writing you concerning Vice-Chairman Vohra’s recent comments and attacks on social media of which I'm sure you're already aware. LPIL unanimously approved a motion to request the Vice-Chair's dismissal from the LNC. The letter we sent is attached. Region 6 Rep. David Demarest has informed me that he intends to vote "no" on the motion made by an LNC member regarding the Vice-Chair's dismissal. I respect his position and his right to vote how he sees fit. However, it is my desire that the other state affiliates in Region 6 will join Illinois in requesting our national leaders vote in defense of our tireless campaigning and recruitment efforts that the Vice-Chair has damaged. I hope that each of you considers this and look forward to seeing similar resolutions if you so choose. Thank you all very much for your time and consideration in this matter.
Attached Letter without individual signatures:
Dear LNC,
The Libertarian Party of Illinois approves and recommends the immediate removal of LNC Vice-Chairman Arvin Vohra on the grounds that he is actively subverting our recruitment efforts and damaging the reputation of the Libertarian Party. By lobbing uncalled for attacks on our service members, Vice-Chairman Vohra has directly hurt our efforts to spread the message of liberty in Illinois. He has repeatedly called members of the U.S. military and veterans “immoral murderers”, “killers for hire”, and “accomplices to murder”. Our veterans and military make up a significant portion of LP voters. They know more than any of us exactly what monstrosities our government is capable of. It is for this reason that many of them turn to the LP and become some of the most active members in the liberty movement.
In Illinois, we are in the middle of completely changing our party structure to comply with State law. To do this, we are attempting to recruit a high number of Libertarian Precinct Committeemen. It is a very daunting task and one that takes the work of every single volunteer hour we can muster. Vice-Chairman Vohra’s comments have made this goal more difficult. Our candidates, many of whom are veterans, are having to answer questions about why their party hates them. Free speech is not a license to say whatever you want without repercussions. The repercussions of Vice-Chairman Vohra’s words are being directly passed on to our recruiting and campaigning efforts.
The Libertarian Party of Illinois is of the opinion that Vice-Chairman Vohra has violated The LNC Policy Manual Section 2.01 paragraph 4, which states, “All collective deprecation, whether alluding to sex, race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, or any other protected category, must be avoided. Every person is a unique individual, and as the Libertarian Party is the Party of Individual Liberty, this injunction should doubly apply.”
Vice-Chairman Vohra’s comments and insistence on repeating them without apology have put that much more of a burden on our already overworked volunteers, directors, and candidates. It is for these reasons that we recommend and expect the removal of Vice-Chairman Vohra from the LNC.
Sincerely, State Organizing Committee, Libertarian Party of Illinois
Iowa:
* James Schneider, State Central Committee Chairman, Libertarian Party of Iowa:
I have spoken about this in great detail with members of our state leadership day from the day of the first post from Mr. Vohra. I have read every post that Mr. Vohra has made, the comments under each of those posts, and as many parallel discussion threads as I can find. Last night I shared the resolution Illinois wrote and directly asked if we should issue a similar statement. About half of our team is neutral on this, expressing that individuals should voice their opinions on the matter how they see fit. The other half not only wants him to be removed, but that our state party should publicly distance ourselves from the national party. Not one Iowan from social media, our membership, or elected leadership in our has stated this behavior is something to be praised.
The Iowa Party has made significant progress over the last 6 months, we have until next March to file, but we already have verbal commitments from 54 candidates to run in our first ever primary next year. Like Illinois, we will be heavily recruiting precinct captains attempting to fill all 1,681 precincts in the state for next year’s elections. This is an extreme challenge in rural areas where we might only have a half dozen people with their voter registration set as Libertarian. The actions of Mr. Vohra are severely damaging our efforts. Many of our largest donors were also very offended by his comment about donors. We were doing 4-5 radio interviews a week prior to this, and had to start declining these requests hoping that drama would blow over and we could continue speaking on positive growth and issues, not internal drama.
In no way should the National Party be making things more difficult for state affiliates and individual campaigns. The purpose of a political party is to support candidates through the electoral process. Being tactful on discussing an issue is not the same as being dishonest, and I am personally offended by Mr. Vohra by him stating that we are ‘liars’ for not being as blunt as him. I campaigned full time last year and easily spoke with 10,000 potential voters one-on-one. I didn’t lie to a single one of them, and I did it without offending them.
I personally believe that Mr. Vohra should resign from a position of leadership in the National Party and continue his efforts either in another type of liberty organization like a think tank, or if he chooses to remain affiliated with the party, be only a candidate. I have no issue with candidates being as radical and abrasive as they like, its easier for the public to accept that their opinions are their own, and the only volunteers that leave would be on his own campaign. But knowingly damaging other’s efforts is wrong. This behavior needs to stop, and end long before the next National Convention. I will continue to discuss with our leadership team and hopefully come to a conclusion before the end of the day.
Unnamed Region 6 State:
* I received an email in my official Region 6 Representative capacity that requested my approval of the removal motion accompanied with a request that the discussion be kept private. In the ensuing email discussion, the individual resorted to profanity and included an implied threat of email stalking. I communicated the threat to the state chair who agreed to speak to the individual. I have received no further communication from the individual who issued the threat.
Summary:
* I have received and exchanged a number of communications from interested parties in both my official and unofficial capacities that were not expressly intended for direct communication to the LNC. Most of them were sincere and a mixture of thoughtfulness on both sides from my personal perspective. The preponderance, particularly of the more strident communications from my personal perspective, favored approval of the removal motion. However, I also received a number of more measured responses that did not favor approval of the removal motion. A surprising number expressed agreement with my analysis of the philosophical merits of Arvin’s underlying logic but most expressed concerns about Arvin’s communication techniques.
* I was initially offended by Arvin’s logical contentions but have come to realize that they represent perhaps the most serious challenge faced by the Libertarian Party and the LNC regarding how we individually deal with the overwhelming number of moral dilemmas imposed on both veterans and the rest of us by the government. Accordingly, I have speculated about the intent of Arvin’s swift kick in the pants as a necessary attention-getter to prevent this most important subject from being swept under the rug. However, that remains pure intuitive and unsubstantiated speculation on my part.
* In conclusion, I have consistently expressed that I will always listen carefully and thoughtfully to all Region 6 input and will always vote my conscience as consistently reflected in my opposition to the removal motion.
Respected LNC members: Let me know if you have any questions on the Region 6 input above and my intention to vote NO on the removal motion if it gains the necessary cosponsors. I will NOT cosponsor.
Thoughts?
~David
~David Pratt Demarest
LNC Region 6 Representative (IA, IL, MN, MO, ND, NE, WI)
Secretary, LPNE State Central Committee
Cell: 402-981-6469
Home: 402-493-0873
