Greeting Image of the Month
From Mary
I couldn’t resist using the picture below considering our “winter of discontent.” Being a recent transplant from Virginia, I have to ask, “When does it stop snowing?”
The November 2014 elections are coming up and it’s time to get the ball rolling (sorry – I couldn’t resist). Speaking of elections, please check out Leonard Schwartz’s (our Political Director) article on the wasted vote question that always seems to come up during election time.
COMING UP THIS COMING SATURDAY! March 8 – “Marketing for Liberty” Event. Above the Capital Area Libertarian Party Headquarters, 2722 E Michigan Ave., Lansing, MI This is going to be a great event so please consider attending. Details and RSVP information in this newsletter and on michiganlp.org.
May 17 – LPM State Convention 2014 Johnson Center at Cleary University 3750 Cleary Dr., Howell, MI 48843. This convention includes: Nomination of Election 2014 candidates, nomination of Delegates to 2014 LP National Convention in Columbus, OH, Election of new officers, those every important platform changes, good food, entertainment and fun. Registration begins in March.
Jun 26-29 LP National Convention “Character Matters” Hyatt Regency, Columbus, OH Details on http://lpcon2014.org/
Also on Tuesday, March 4, I’ll be the guest speaker at the Jackson Tea Party monthly meeting. Time - 6:00pm to 7:00pm, Tea Time, (dinner). 7:00pm to 8:30pm Meeting, Speaker and Q&A. Location - Steve's Ranch Family Restaurant, 311 West Louis Glick Hwy, Jackson MI 49201. If you’re in the area please drop by. I could use a few “softball” questions.
In Liberty,
Heather Richards-Wodrich at media@michiganlp.org
If you're tired of the same-old, same-old when it comes to the two-party system and you want to see real
Never underestimate the power of determined people who band together! Want more information about the Libertarian Party of Michigan and what 2014 holds?
Are you running, or considering a run, for city, county or state office and need some info? Want practical pointers on dealing with the Media? Then plan to join us Saturday, March 8th, 2014 for "Marketing for Liberty". Speakers on tap include:
Just some of the topics we’ll cover: Developing a grassroots network of self-government The unique position of a ballot-qualified Party to affect the political landscape The ‘down and dirty’ of getting your message across to the Media Practical tips on how to put together a biography and press releases. You’ll also meet members of Libertarian Party of Michigan Executive Committee, have a chance to ask questions, get information on the LPM State Convention, meet like-minded people, and join us for some general brainstorming.
We'll have refreshments available throughout the day. A donation of $1 to $5 per person (you choose the amount) to help defray the cost of food would be greatly appreciated, but it's not mandatory.
Looking forward to seeing you Saturday, March 8th! Who: Libertarian Party of Michigan, 888-373-3669 When: Saturday, March 8 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Where: 2722 E. Michigan Avenue, Suite 22, Lansing, MI 48912 (Above Capital Area Libertarian Party Headquarters) If you are coming, please go to this page (http://michiganlp.org/?page_id=2452) and fill out the form at the bottom. Or email Heather Richards-Wodrich at media@michiganlp.org.
by Rodger Young
LPM 2014 Convention in Howell, Michigan State Convention which will include the nomination of 2014 Candidates for office. Watch for updates shortly on the main LPM website at http://www.michiganlp.org for registration forms and online registration. [We'll have registration details with ability to register posted on the Website NLT mid-March.—ed.]
Expected Pricing: Convention and Banquet $70, Convention only $30, Banquet only $50
Saturday May 17, 2014
Howell, Michigan.
Directions to Convention: Howell is 47 miles Northwest of Detroit. Interstate 96 to Howell's Latson Rd. Exit #140. Turn left at the light at Latson Road onto Grand River, then through the next light at the Meijer entrance. Turn left onto Cleary Drive (immediately past the Meijer entrance) and follow the drive to Johnson Center. Water tower at Cleary University is your landmark.
Hotel Location:
Holiday Inn Express Howell
1397 North Burkhart Rd. (map)
*Group cut-off date April 25, 2014*
Main Business of Convention: We will be nominating the Libertarian Party of Michigan slate of candidates for the 2014 general election in Michigan. Be sure to inform the LPM Political Director Leonard Schwartz politics@michiganlp.org of your intentions to run for office in this important year.
Program Saturday, May 17
Tatiana has successfully written, produced and self-released 2 full length LPs, “Tatiana” and “Love and Liberty,” 2 EPs, “Fall In August Live” and “For the New Year,” as well as several singles. Her company, Same Side Entertainment, an activist/talent booking and event marketing company books several prominent keynote speakers to liberty events worldwide.
Our target audience is not loyal Democrats and Republicans. It is (1) libertarians, (2) disgruntled Democrats and Republicans, and (3) independent voters and people who rarely vote. For people who are fed up with Democrats and Republicans, we don't need to convince them to support libertarianism. We merely need to take advantage of their disgust with the two old parties.
Surveys indicate that 15-20% of voters already support libertarianism. That is, they are in the libertarian sector of the Nolan diamond chart. But Libertarian candidates rarely get more than 5% of the vote.
Why? I discovered the answer in 2000, when I first worked at a Libertarian information booth and later became a candidate. I met many people who said they were libertarians. When I asked libertarians whether they voted for Libertarian candidates, they sometimes said "Rarely" and usually said "Never." When I asked them why they [almost] never vote for Libertarians, the typical response was, "Libertarians have no chance of being elected. Therefore, voting for Libertarians is a waste of my vote. Voting for the lesser of two evils is more expedient."
At the LPM election night party in 2000, one member said that he hated Al Gore so much that he didn't dare waste his vote on Harry Browne, the Libertarian candidate for president. Another member said that he hated the incumbent Republican US senator that he didn't dare waste his vote on the Libertarian candidate. Even Libertarian Party members sometimes think that voting Libertarian is waste of their vote.
The biggest problem Libertarians thus face is not convincing people to support libertarianism. Rather it is motivating them to vote Libertarian. People often ask Libertarians, "Who do you consider the lesser of two evils?" I maintain that the only good answer is, "I let the Democrats and Republicans quibble about that. I never waste my vote on the lesser of two evils."
If you say anything that indicates who you consider the lesser evil, people will consider that an endorsement. This will encourage them to vote for that candidate rather than the Libertarian. Through trial and error, I discovered a short, effective message to solve the wasted vote problem.
One version is on www.LeonardSchwartz.us. Another is my stump speech, below. I encourage Libertarians to adapt this message to their own campaigns.
3-Minute Stump Speech
My opponents think they can spend your money and manage your life better than you can. I'm not a busybody. I don't want to spend your money or manage your life. Some people are too lazy or cheap to spend their time and money meddling in your life. They want government bureaucrats meddling in your life. Government busybodies are much worse than private ones. Government can compel disclosure of your private information. Private busybodies cannot. Government can impose taxes, fines, and imprisonment. Private busybodies cannot.
If you think the Democrats can spend your money and manage your life better than you can, please raise a hand. If you think the Republicans can spend your money and manage your life better than you can, please raise a hand.
Perhaps you didn't know that [almost] all of you are libertarians. If you vote for Democrats or Republicans because you consider them the lesser of two evils, you vote for evil. Why would any decent person vote for evil? Elections are rarely decided by only a few votes. Therefore, your vote rarely determines who is elected.
But your vote always sends a message. If you vote for Democrats or Republicans, you send a message that you agree that they can spend your money and manage your life better than you can. What a waste of your vote. If you don't vote, you waste your right to send a message and you imply that you don't care. Vote for what you know is right, rather than for what falsely seems expedient.
Send a message that you want government busybodies off your back. Vote Libertarian.
I'm [name], Libertarian for [office]. Thank you.
by Arnis Davidsons:
Folks, we have a serious problem. Let me explain. The Libertarian Party of Michigan accepts "National" party memberships as fully valid. This seems like a good idea at first, but it has unintended consequenses. In the past few years the LPM has lost over 1600 members. It seems the vast majority of Michigan Libertarians have a National membership, but not a Michigan LP membership.
The national party does NOT share the dues money with the state party! They keep every cent, and they need it. But we get nothing!
This loss of 1600+ members has cost our state party a loss of over $40,000 per year just in lost dues! Can you imagine how much more help the LPM could give our candidates with an extra $40,000? In my travels, the one thing I hear most is "we need more backing from the State party." I agree! But we can't do it when we're broke.
Help us out! I know times are tough. If you can only afford one membership, PLEASE make it a Michigan LP membership!
To the affiliates I've visited, thanks for having me. To those I have not been to yet, you are on my list. It's a bit of a challenge since I live on the "west coast," but I'll get there.
Arnie Davidsons
Take a stroll down memory lane with this excerpt from one of the longest-running state Libertarian newsletters. Today, check out the first newsletter we have on file, March 1975. Click on this link for the full PDF version of this newsletter.
Former editor and LPM archivist Greg Stempfle has compiled the entire body of available Michigan Libertarian newsletters up on this page of the LPM Website (most if not all of the newsletters have been transferred over to the new site if you have a particular issue you're interested in and it doesn't show up on the page, please contact Webmaster@michiganlp.org).
Book Review “… What has been done this summer cannot have been done in vain.” I did not say anything. I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them, on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations, now for a long time, and I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it….
The Michigan Libertarian is published/posted on the first of each month. Send calendar events and news/articles to e-newsletter@michiganlp.org by the 25th of the prior month. The Michigan Libertarian is one of the longest-running Libertarian newsletters in the country, debuting in 1973 shortly after the founding of the Libertarian Party of Michigan. The "new" Michigan Libertarian (a predominantly online version) debuted on August 1, 2009 and replaced the weekly LPMOnline and the printed-and-mailed ML. We will post the newsletter on the Website and deliver via email on the first of every month. A printed version of the new Michigan Libertarian will be sent free to anyone who signs up, which you may do at the LPM web site www.michiganlp.org (or www.mi.lp.org).
LPM members who need a hard copy may request one be mailed to them by contacting Newsletter URL (Webpage address for this issue of the ML): ### |