Unapproved Volunteer Tribute Publication MICHIGAN LIBERTARIAN 2016 Year-End Tribute
by Scotty Boman
This should be regarded as a tribute to, not an issue of, the Michigan Libertarian. However, I invite the Libertarian Executive Committee (LEC) to post some version of all or part of this on the MichiganLP.org website.
I put this publication together after realizing there wouldn’t be any further issues of the Michigan Libertarian in 2016. It is my sincere belief that more should have been published on the activity of our members, and I had submitted a few items of my own that I wanted to share. I also had concerns that the Michigan Libertarian would be discontinued, and sent an email to our 2016 candidates expressing this concern. For the most part, my concerns were unfounded.
Also, I have been assured that there are no plans to discontinue the Michigan Libertarian, but that there would be significant changes. These changes may go well beyond cosmetic changes (Which have been common and are to be expected), but may include changes in frequency, posting access, size, and nature of content. I urge all concerned members to be part of the conversation on the new newsletter.
Hard-copies have not recently been mailed out to offline members. Up until December 2015 the footer of the publication read, “LPM members who need a hard copy may request one be mailed to them by contacting e-newsletter@michiganlp.org or calling the LPM toll-free number 888-Free-Now (888-373-3669).” To the best of my knowledge, offline members have not been consulted on the end of this policy, nor do they have a means of learning about events like affiliate meetings, Libby Fest or conventions. If you would like to help keep offline members informed, please contact me at (313) 247-2052 [Voice Only].
A core function of the Michigan Libertarian is to acknowledge the accomplishments of our members, and to have a common permanent place where members can share their perspectives with other members. Unfortunately, the leadership (myself included) has failed to provide this service fully. I don't think any other functions of the MichiganLP.org website do this. Traditionally, the Michigan Libertarian provided other services like announcing up-coming events and posting announcements from the LEC. It was also a source of officer contact information. These later functions are potentially handled by the website (at least for those who use the internet). Unlike a social network, the newsletter is a place where permanent articles are posted that people may refer back to years later. It is also a place the LPM controls. As many of you may know, Facebook now censors the posting of news information it disagrees with.
If you are new to the Michigan Libertarian, you can link to 2016 issues here, http://michiganlp.org/category/newsletters . Older issues are preserved in our historical archives here: http://old.michiganlp.org/resources-2/newsletter.Suggested Changes
Officers and staff who have discussed significant changes to the Michigan Libertarian have pointed out that the single-document-per-issue approach may be limiting and outdated. After looking at how other print publications have adapted to the internet, I am inclined to agree.
Online Newspapers (sic) appear as complete websites, not webpages. Articles appear as individual webpages (with portions or headlines embedded on the homepage). Old and new articles are normally accessible by the same site, but well-configured ones include dates with each article, so they may be searched for or sorted by that category.
The Michigan Libertarian could exist as separate domain or as a subdomain of the “Michiganlp.org” domain. Articles could be posted on a real-time basis, and notifications or periodic summaries could be emailed to subscribers.
Offline members seeking a print edition could receive printouts of articles that occurred in a given month. The issue and volume numbers would simply be based on the year and month of the article(s).
I hope you enjoy this year-end project, and I hope it inspires more contributions by other members to the Michigan Libertarian in the months ahead.
Have a Happy New Year!
by Greg Stempfle
Excerpt from article published at gregstempfle.wordpress.com
US President
Third party candidates for President did well relative to other years in 2016. This is the first year since 1980 that four different candidates earned more than 1% of the vote and the first time since 1996 that more than 5% of the voters cast their vote for someone besides the Democrat or Republican.
Gary Johnson earned 172,136 votes (3.59%) setting a Libertarian Party record in the process and resulting in the LPM achieving major party ballot status for the first time. Johnson surpassed Ed Clark’s 1980 result of 41,597 votes (1.06%) by more than three times and earned more votes than any third party candidate since Ross Perot in 1996.
Independent candidate Evan McMullin received 8,177 votes (0.17%) as a write-in breaking the record previously held by Gary Johnson in 2012 with 7,774 write-in votes (0.16%).
Jill Stein had the 2nd best Green Party showing behind Ralph Nadar’s 1.99% in 2000. Stein also became the second woman, along with Hillary Clinton, to earn more than 1%. Stein had previously set the record for most votes for a woman candidate for President in 2012. Now she holds the 2nd and 3rd such records.
US Taxpayers Party candidate Darrel Castle effectively tied their party record with 16,139 votes (0.334%) compared to Virgil Goode Jr. in 2012 with 16,119 votes (0.341%). Castle earned 20 more votes, but 0.007% less of the total vote than 2012 due to lower turnout this year.
Elected Candidates from Third Parties
In Grand Traverse County, Green Party candidate Tom Mair beat his Republican opponent 53-46% to be elected to County Commission District 2. This is the first time in Michigan that the Green Party has beaten a major party candidate, the first time since 1988 that any third party candidate has earned more votes than a major party candidate, and highest office a third party has been elected to in Michigan since at least the early 1970s.
In Ypsilanti Township, two Greens, Shuana McNally and Stuart Collis, and one Libertarian, Elizabeth Corder, along with four Democrats, were elected to the Ypsilanti Township Parks Commission. The makeup of the board is now 4 Democrats, 2 Green, and 1 Libertarian. Two other Libertarians including former board member Lawrence Johnson, came in 8th and 9th. While there have been elected boards in US history that contained members of three different parties, the fact that only one major party is represented among the three on this board may be unprecedented. Another Green Party candidate, Jesse Torres was elected to an open seat on the Holly Township Parks Commission. None of these seats were contested by major party opponents.
The five Greens being elected breaks a modern Michigan record for most partisan elected officials by a third party, previously held by the Human Rights Party who had three partisan elected officials from 1974-1976; two on the Ypsilanti City Council and one on the Ann Arbor City Council.
In the full article Greg Stempfle goes on to tell us that "Libertarian Congressional candidates had the strongest showing in party history and 2nd strongest third party showing since at least 1972." and "In District 6, Libertarian Lorence Wenke earned 4.93% (16,248 votes) breaking the record for highest % for a Libertarian Congressional candidate in a race that includes both major party opponents. In District 7, Kenneth Proctor earned 16,476 votes (4.92%) breaking the record for most votes for a Libertarian Congressional candidate in a race that includes both major party opponents."
He also found that "The best Libertarian showing for State House was Max Rieske who received 6.98% (2,965 votes) in district 91" and "Mary Anne Hering of the Working Class Party, their only statewide candidate, earned 224,392 votes (2.66%) for State Board of Education, earning the WCP major party status." Also he observes, "Scotty Boman earned 198,349 votes (2.35%) for State Board of Education, the most votes ever for a Libertarian candidate in Michigan and Justin Burns received 174,430 votes (2.15%) for MSU Trustee, the most votes ever for a third party University board candidate and second highest Libertarian total." and "Libertarian nominee Kerry Morgan earned 442,781 votes (13.15%) breaking the party record for Supreme Court Justices"
Again, the full article is published at gregstempfle.wordpress.com
An excerpt from the Political Directors report at the December LEC meeting.
Your Voting Rights At Our Special Convention
You Must Have Been a member of the Libertarian Party by January 4th to vote at the special convention on February 4th. If you have any evidence of current or past membership in the Libertarian party prior to January 2017, be prepared to present it, in case there is an error in Libertarian Party of Michigan record keeping. Dues must be current by the convention, but even old or lapsed memberships count toward our bylaws requirement that delegates to conventions be members at least 30 days in advance.
You may join at MichiganLP.org/join
The special convention will be held during the day and will be followed, by our annual Liberty Festival Banquet (BKA “Libby Fest”). This is a fun social event at which we present Defender of Liberty Awards to worthy recipients.
The Restructuring of the Party
The political director hopes enough members will step up to have a point person, for each county or Congressional district.
On Sunday December 18th Political Director, Scotty Boman, attended a special meeting of the Bylaws Committee. Gary Johnson's vote total has triggered certain provisions in Michigan Election law that gives us the ballot status of a major party. This, in turn, has lead to the scheduling of a special convention to be held some place in Lansing on February 2nd. In this meeting proposals were made for Bylaws that will be voted on at the February 2nd Convention. [Note: Dozens of members don't have internet, and the LEC voted to stop mailing notifications to offline members, so if you know of an offline member, please put him or her in contact the political director so that he can keep them up to date on this important event. Libby Fest will also be on this day in Lansing. Political Director, Scotty Boman's phone number is (313) 247-2052 and his snail mail address is 4877 Balfour Rd. Detroit Michigan 48224] Well, one important part of this change is a need to become better organized internally. Ideally, this would mean an affiliate in every county, and in every Congressional District. There are only 14 Congressional Districts, so that part should be easy, but it would also be good to have an organization in every county.
Ideally we would have one organization in each county, except where there are multiple Congressional Districts (in which case the county would have an organization for each Congressional District in it). For instance my Congressional District encompasses a portion of Wayne and Oakland County, so there should be a Libertarian Party of Wayne 14th and a Libertarian Party of Oakland 14th.
If you are willing to become a point person, please let the political director and members of the LEC know. The Political Director will compile a list and submit it to the full LEC and any relevant committees. It will ultimately be up to the LEC to approve local organizations, but this is a first step in that direction.
While the incentive to form more local organizations comes from the change in our ballot status, I believe it is a good idea anyway. This party needs to be less centralized, while having more organization at the grassroots level. Statutes that micromanage party structure, have been over-ruled in case law, but the selection of delegates to the state convention will be greatly facilitated by this structure.
by Mark Sanborn, 2016 State Representative candidate (Dist. 51)
Too many of the younger set don’t understand that many seniors are not computer literate to this day, and many of these are just the voters we want! I think it’s great to have the website, and the Facebook page- both of these are essential going forward, but not at the expense of losing the Michigan Libertarian. Ideally we don’t want to target just specific readers. We want to get to them all!
We need to become better organized internally. But the organization needed goes far beyond growing affiliates. Although these are extremely important, we need to make our outreach have more “appeal” to voters- not just members. We need a full spectrum ENTIRE STRATEGIC PLAN to grow the party here in Michigan. And…unfortunately, I don’t see that.
Going into 2017, I hope Michigan Libertarians will be stepping forward with a strategic plan that will make us more successful.
by Scotty Boman
As originally published at boman08.wordpress.com November 15, 2015
November 8th was the greatest election in my lifetime. Finally we libertarians have statist politicians right where we want them. If we play our cards right politicians will be supporting more policies that respect individual liberty, while distancing themselves from those that don’t.
At first glance this may appear to be a celebration of Donald Trump’s victory. It isn’t. Rather, it is a celebration of libertarians attaining the balance of power at the Federal and state level. Here the phrase “balance of power” refers to the attainment of a greater number of votes by an alternative party candidate, then the margin of victory between the two establishment party candidates. For people trapped in the bipartisan paradigm, this is a situation to be avoided. For those who have broken free, it is cause for celebration.
"If your vote (and the votes of others for the same candidate) is more than the margin of victory for either establishment party candidate, then your vote is more powerful than ever! Now you and your comrades have done much more than send a message that you want change in a direction that is consistent with the platform of your candidate and his or her party. You have become a voting block that the winning party must prevent the opposition from recruiting in the next cycle. The winner must appease you by incorporating some of your policies. At the same time the loser will actively seek out those who are of like mind to secure future victories, and this can only be accomplished by adopting some of the policy positions that your favorite candidate and party advocate. A win-win for you."
Well now the selection of the electors is over and Clinton supporters are blaming those who voted for Libertarian Gary Johnson or Green Party Candidate Jill Stein for Trump’s victory. If the results had been reversed, Trump supporters would be placing the blame on us instead. Unfortunately, many Johnson voters are feeling guilty, or dodging culpability by arguing that Libertarian votes affected both establishment parties equally. Whether or not the numbers support this last claim, the mindset that views citing such numbers as necessary is ultimately defeatist and condemns alternative parties to indefinite irrelevancy.
If all libertarian leaning voters held their ground and voted for the Libertarian nominee, I have no idea who the current President elect would be, but I do know that we would be a much greater force to be reckoned with. I do know that Libertarians would have earned Federal recognition as a minor party, and more states would recognize us a major party. Most importantly, for the point I’m making here, supporters of the losing establishment party would still blame us.
In 2000 Ralph Nader and the Green Party finished with only 2.75% of the vote, but were blamed for the defeat of Al Gore by George W. Bush because of the narrow margin of victory in some states, especially Florida. Neither Ralph Nader nor the other Green Party Presidential candidates have done nearly so well since. Though the claim that their participation in the election tipped the outcome in Bushes favor has been largely disputed, I think it is a good bet that many left-leaning voters have coward away from alternatives to the Democrat because they fear the so-called Nader effect. By contrast, Johnson won 3.28% of the national popular vote while Trump and Clinton’s votes differed by less than a percent. In Michigan Gary Johnson’s vote total was thirteen times as great as the difference between Trump and Clinton! So if attempting to deflect blame didn’t work for Nader, how can it possibly work for us? In my humble opinion it won’t and it shouldn’t.
We are at a crossroads. We can either move full speed ahead and become players on the national stage, or retreat back to obscurity, cautiously avoiding the risk of tipping the scales in favor of the worst candidate. If we are to move forward, we must be willing to be blamed for every electoral outcome until we finally win. We must convince others that this course is a righteous one, and that our mission is more important than which of the establishment party candidates, wins a particular election.
No matter how bad the winner is, that winner will need to draw from the libertarian voting block to win. This time that appears to be Donald Trump. As long as the Libertarian Party sticks to principal and doesn’t coddle the “lesser-of-two-evils” game he will need to go out of his way to win over libertarians if he doesn’t want the Libertarian Party to receive their votes in 2020. The Democrats will be doing the same if they expect to defeat Trump. It remains to be seen if they will be courting Green voters or Libertarians, or both on certain issues where Greens and Libertarians agree like marijuana, privacy, militarism and civil liberties … The more we refuse to chicken out, the harder they will try.
So we win even if we lose, the establishment parties can decimate the Libertarian Party by championing a libertarian agenda, or they can ignore us at their peril and watch us grow until we become a major party nationally, but either way libertarians win. Because we will have more liberty. More importantly, America wins, because everyone will either have more freedom in a two party system that bent to the wishes of libertarians, the way they once did to the socialists, or Americans will have a three party system where candidates will no longer be able to win elections by simply making us fear the other candidate. Instead they will need to give people a reason to vote for them, not against an opponent.
So take pride in your Libertarian vote. Take the blame! Embrace it! Own it! You have the power to demand more liberty, and don’t be shamed into doing otherwise!
Back to ContentsGreetings from an Old, New Libertarian
by Scott A. Mund, Michigan for Gary Johnson volunteer
A big “thank you” is in order to all the Libertarian candidates who ran for office in the State of Michigan on November 8, 2016. Both nationwide and in our state, the Libertarian Party made continued, significant gains in vote totals and recognition among voters. In the coming years, starting with the 2018 election, the LPM will be increasingly recognizable in the eyes and minds of voters with achievement of “major party status,” as it is commonly referred to. On equal footing with the Republicans and Democrats, both LPM and Working Class Party candidates will appear in the August primaries. This achievement was brought about by the hard work and dedication of all LPM members statewide who got out the vote for Libertarian candidates. A job well done!.
For the six-plus weeks leading up to Election Day, I had the honor of working closely with Boman and his team, including a shout out to Angela Lowry with whom I worked closely. I was one of the trainers of volunteers for phone banking and canvassing, and also provided my research on social media networking for political campaigns to the LPM and National. Like many Libertarians, I had worked before with the major parties, including on a Republican’s US Senate campaign in 1984 and for a Democrat in State House and State Senate campaigns here in West Michigan in the late 2000s. Insights I gained in these “major” party campaigns proved valuable in my efforts to get out the vote for Governors Johnson and Weld. Volunteers statewide should be congratulated for helping Gov. Johnson receive 172,726 votes (3.9% of all votes cast). Gov. Johnson’s vote total was 5.6% of all votes cast for Secretary of State in the 2014 election, surpassing the 5% threshold for achieving “major party” status. This has necessitated changes in the party bylaws; for further details, check out the blog “Seeking a Pleasant Peninsula” by Greg Stempfle, the LPM Special Bylaws Committee Chair. Onwards and upwards for all Libertarian candidates starting in 2018!
I am in the process of developing, writing, and directing a documentary on the 2016 Presidential Election. I was exceedingly fortunate to have attended rallies, and videotaped footage, of the four major candidates in this election cycle: Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump (in Grand Rapids), and our candidate Gary Johnson in Detroit. I had the great honor of interviewing Gov. Johnson one-on-one, who both in intelligence and wit showed he was truly the “sane candidate” in the race. I personally handed him my research materials and report on the use of social media networking in political campaigns. I am now conducting further research, conducting interviews with politicians and citizens, and writing the script for the documentary. I would appreciate any of your anecdotes, stories, opinions, and so on for my film. Please email me – samund2006@yahoo.com . With Trump’s victory – surely Gov. Johnson’s Michigan vote total was slightly lower due to Libertarians crossing over to defeat Clinton—I would like to focus my film on the Libertarian challenge in 2016, and how the Party will move forward as it attempts to influence politics at both the state and national level. Ways in which the Trump Administration will be held accountable for making sane policy choices in line with Libertarian values.
The next two years leading up to the 2018 primaries is an exciting time to be a Libertarian. There is much work to do. We are fortunate to have a hard-working and loyal base of volunteers statewide. Let’s help make our political system function more in line with Libertarian principles and practices.
Live Free!
Upcoming Events
Jan. 2. Mon.
Northeast Lower MI LP Meeting @ Cabin Creek Coffee. Alpena, Michigan.
Please contact the chair of the affiliate for details of time and place.
Jan. 3. Tue.
@ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Southwest MI LP Meeting @ Gallagher's Eatery and Pub. Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The Southwest Michigan Affiliate will be handling the former Calhoun County and Southwest Michigan LP for counties: Calhoun, Berrien, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Branch, Cass, and Van Buren. Location of the next meeting on June 3rd at 5:30: Gallagher’s Eatery and Pub, 4210 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo. Coache’s Corner meeting room.
Mailing Address:
Libertarian Party of Southwest Michigan. PO Box 826. Marshall, MI 49068
We currently have the monthly meeting at 6:00 on the first Tuesdays of the month.
Jan. 4. Wed.
@ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
LP of Washtenaw Meeting @ Classic Cup Cafe. Ann Arbor, MI
Jan. 5. Thu.
@ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
LP of Livingston County Social Meeting @ Cleary's Pub. Howell, MI
LPLCOur monthly social meetings have three parts:
Brewery Becker is a brew pub restaurant and is located at the Main St. & 1st St. intersection, next to the railroad tracks, in Downtown Brighton. (810) 844-0225 Brewery Becker accepts bitcoin for food and drink!
The monthly social meeting starts at 7PM and generally lasts until 9PM. Look for the tables with flags and Libertarian Party Signs and lots of intelligent-looking, liberty-loving Michiganders around them.
Jan. 5. Thu.Jan 5 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Wayne/Monroe Counties LP Meeting @ Tijuana's Mexican Kitchen, Dearborn, MI.
Dinner Meeting for Wayne and Monroe Counties.
Discuss the special convention. Business and programs normally start at 7:00 PM. We encourage people to arrive close to 6:30 PM to order dinner.
Jan. 8. Sun.
@ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
CALP Monthly Business Meeting @ Capital Area Office.
Website: http://calparty.org
Meetings
The Capital Area Libertarian Party conducts 2 meetings per month.
Monthly Business Meeting – Second Sunday of every month at 12:00pm. Business meetings are open to the public, and there is open discussion after business is conducted. These meetings take place at our Lansing office: 2722 E Michigan Ave., Suite 202, Lansing, MI 48912. Parking lot and entrance are in back.
Monthly Social Meeting – Third Thursday of every month; times and locations vary. See our events calender or visit us on our facebook page for our latest news and events.
Jan. 10. Tue.Jan 10 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
LP of West Michigan Meeting @ Abacus Title & Escrow
Chair Jake Andrews (269) 967-4071 jwandrew@ntu.edu
Website: http://www.lpwm.org
Jan. 11. Wed.
@ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
LP of Macomb County Meeting @ Danny J's. 7759 Auburn Rd. Utica, MI 48317
The Libertarians of Macomb County will be reorganizing. Their meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of the month.
Jan. 12. Thu.
LP of Livingston County Business Meeting @ Karl Kiefer's Home [517-980-6300]
Jan 12 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
LPLCThe LPLC will hold it’s monthly business meeting Thursday 7 PM at the home of Karl Kiefer in downtown Howell. All are welcome. Please send any other items you want on the agenda to our LPLC Chair James Weeks at j.weeks@riseup.net or to the Secretary at the address in the signature below, or just show up!
Karl KieferContact for directions: Secretary, Libertarian Party of Livingston County Secretary@LivingstonLibertarians.org 517-980-6300
Jan. 18 Wed.
@ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
LP of Oakland County Meeting @ Rusty Bucket 30450 Telegraph Rd Bingham Farms MI 48025
Contact: Jim Fulner jim.fulner@member.fsf.org
Feb. 4. Sat.
Special Bylaws Convention (Afternoon)
Liberty Festival Banquet (Evening)
Details to be announced: Check for updates at: http://michiganlp.org/liberty-fest or contact William White at (517) 349-3895 whitewi5@msu.edu for venue and time.
Back to Contents
This is an unofficial volunteer publication that has been created by scott Boman. It is published as a tribute the official newsletter, but is not approved by the Libertarian Party of Michigaqn. The Michigan Libertarian is a publication of the Libertarian Party of Michigan. All applicable disclaimers are posted at MichiganLP.org.