The outgoing LNC chair Angela McArdle has gifted Donald Trump an LP
lifetime membership. While freeing Ross Ulbricht was definitely a
libertarian move to his credit, Trump, through his many other executive
orders once in office, continues to demonstrate a clearly un-libertarian
ideological outlook. Trade wars, mass deportations, marginalizing trans
people and so on are not the policies of a libertarian president.
There is also the possibility that Angela is acting entirely in self
interest. Since announcing her upcoming resignation, she is jockeying for a
position in Trump’s cabinet. My, how her true colors have emerged.
So, I would like the LPSF to issue a short statement denouncing this
action. Why LPSF? Simply because her cronies control the lpca ExCom, where
such a statement is unlikely to pass.
I concur and am amenable. I would also note that Angela as chair appears to have lacked any authority to gift Trump an LP membership, which I understand in the past has been done by votes of convention delegates or the entire Libertarian National Committee, not a chair acting unilaterally. Do you have proposed wording?
The outgoing LNC chair Angela McArdle has gifted Donald Trump an LP lifetime membership. While freeing Ross Ulbricht was definitely a libertarian move to his credit, Trump, through his many other executive orders once in office, continues to demonstrate a clearly un-libertarian ideological outlook. Trade wars, mass deportations, marginalizing trans people and so on are not the policies of a libertarian president.
There is also the possibility that Angela is acting entirely in self interest. Since announcing her upcoming resignation, she is jockeying for a position in Trump’s cabinet. My, how her true colors have emerged.
So, I would like the LPSF to issue a short statement denouncing this action. Why LPSF? Simply because her cronies control the lpca ExCom, where such a statement is unlikely to pass.
I have no particular text in mind, but numerous LP affiliates are posting
their versions on Facebook. The simplest thing would be to adopt one of
theirs with a name change to LPSF For example, attached is LP Texas’
resolution (short) on the issue and below is a statement from LP Santa
Clara (long):
Outgoing (resigning, apparently today, in the middle of her term) LP
National Chair Angela McArdle has announced that she is awarding Donald
Trump an “honorary lifetime membership” in the Libertarian Party. This is
absurd. (It is not clear she has the authority to do this, or what it is
even supposed to mean, beyond being some kind of publicity stunt, but the
publicity value is in my opinion negative.) Donald Trump is no Libertarian!
Yes, there are a few things we can applaud. He seems to be having fun
disrupting various long-established bureaucratic structures. And he did
pardon Ross Ulbricht, as he promised us he would do. He even acknowledged
the libertarian connection with that in his announcement, saying he acted,
in part, in honor of “the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so
strongly”. And it’s true that there were *some *libertarians who supported
him.
But most of us did not support him, we did not contribute to his
campaign, we did not vote for him – because we know that without a
commitment to a consistent libertarian approach a politician cannot be
trusted. And our mistrust has already been proven correct.
Immigration: Round-ups of “illegals”, people being loaded into planes
heading for Latin America, even preparing a prison camp at Guantanamo –
these are all directly contrary to what a libertarian President would do.
Tariffs: Nobody knew how seriously to take Trump’s talk of tariffs on the
campaign trail. He has now gone ahead and imposed them on not just China
but also our immediate neighbors (and largest trading partners) and is
threatening long-time allies in Europe and beyond as well. This is directly
contrary to our Platform, which states that “We support the removal of
governmental impediments to free trade.”
Threats of foreign aggression: What kind of credibility can Americans’
outrage at Putin’s invasion of Ukraine have, if our own President is
threatening to invade Greenland, Panama, maybe even Canada?
And how is the increased military spending that will accompany such
policies supposed to be compatible with his promises to cut taxes?
There are of course lots of Democrats who are critical of the directions
that Trump is leading us. But there are also plenty of other people –
Republicans and voters who don’t identify with either major party – who
don’t like what they see, but don’t see any alternative.
It’s time for us to be out there opposing these policies, explaining that there
is a better way, and inviting all those people who are disgusted by,
fearful of, or even just skeptical of what Trump is doing to join us.
I concur and am amenable. I would also note that Angela as chair appears
to have lacked any authority to gift Trump an LP membership, which I
understand in the past has been done by votes of convention delegates or
the entire Libertarian National Committee, not a chair acting unilaterally.
Do you have proposed wording?
The outgoing LNC chair Angela McArdle has gifted Donald Trump an LP
lifetime membership. While freeing Ross Ulbricht was definitely a
libertarian move to his credit, Trump, through his many other executive
orders once in office, continues to demonstrate a clearly un-libertarian
ideological outlook. Trade wars, mass deportations, marginalizing trans
people and so on are not the policies of a libertarian president.
There is also the possibility that Angela is acting entirely in self
interest. Since announcing her upcoming resignation, she is jockeying for a
position in Trump’s cabinet. My, how her true colors have emerged.
So, I would like the LPSF to issue a short statement denouncing this
action. Why LPSF? Simply because her cronies control the lpca ExCom, where
such a statement is unlikely to pass.
You shouldn’t let the msmSnews presstitutes feed you talking points or tell you how or what to think about on any subject:
The “trade wars” are simply “Trade;” standard operating procedures as USA potuses executed from the gitgo until the “Income Tax” was slowly used to ( “boiling the frogs” ) enslave #USTaxPayers from … wait for it … … 1913 to “1943” ( the latter year was when ordinary folks — not just oligarchs, & even lawyers & doctors —saw even one dime of their income nabbed/swindled by the Feds ( to perpetuate the Pentagon & #EndlessWars ). It’s actually far more Libertarian to “meddle” with other Nation’s monetarily than via bombs & blood & guns — i.e.: PEACEFULLY/“Voluntarily.”
“Trans” ( chemically & surgically combined ) Folks are pretty much “marginalized” by their own designs since they ( despite all the inane hyperbolic hysteria ) make up less than 1.7% of US Citizens ( ±3M ); even Indigenous/Native Tribal Folk make up 3 X that number ( & we see how trivially they are dealt with by #USgovt; Any Conspicuously/“Traditionally” Indigenous Folk in the LPSF/LPofCCC Memberships? I haven’t noticed any at LPSF or LPofCCC meetups ). Trans folks would be better off simply 100% identifying as their choice gender & blending in, rather than making themselves conspicuous & marginalized ( FACT: no one else would even know unless they let other people peek down into there pants ).
#47 has already selected his Plan A B & C cabinet picks, months ago actually ( & most of them are either billionaires, elected governors, or nationally notorious figures with bi-partisan followers several times larger than even legacy devotees of the LNC ); & Angie is not even a blip on his BlackHawk radar; even if she was, her self-destructive incompetent inability to respond to reasonable logical on-point short tweets without blocking her own Party Members makes her an unlikely candidate for making it through even a 1min grilling by @SenateDems or even @SenateGOP, much less the likes of sociopath @AdamSchiff, from her own ’hood, or my @Dartmouth classmateSen Kirsten @GillibrandNY without them making mincemeat & mockery of her dimwittedness.
Instead of issuing irrelevant “statements” that NO ONE will ever bother reading again or care about; it would be wiser to hit the streets to build coalitions among San Franciscans/Bay Area denizens — disenchanted & disenfranchised by both Ds/Rs to build up the LPSF & LPofCCC — & strike while the iron is hot & prepare for the next s/election cycle circus. Obsessing over AM or event #47 at this point is a completely fruitless pursuit.
RU’s release, paid for by family campaign donations — not LNC lobbying, is trivial token virtue-signaling & hypocritical politics while THOUSANDS of poor undereducated innocent white black hispanic asian indigenous men & women citizens & immigrants et al remain locked in cages like animals for non-violent drug ¿“offenses”? — when #47 stated repeatedly & officially decades ago that ALL DRUGS should be “Legalized.”
Also, #47demolishing & downsizing #USgovt, TODAY Sun 2 Feb 2025, is a supremely “Libertarian” goal ( yet to be executed by any Libertarians at the Fed level ); If he does Abolish USAID, I reckon he deserves an honorary LP Membership.
One Buddy, a @Stanford professor, has routinely received CONtracts from USAID & yet he readily admits, despite the enormous expenses & fees he racks up, that few if any of his assignments result in anything productive ( i.e.: “AID” to the affected targets/subjects or US TaxPayers footing the bills ).
In 2009, during a 6 month stint in a 8BR
Antiguan villa ( with a sizable heated outdoor lap pool overlooking the crystal clear/pool-like Caribbean ), I, among numerous other family members & friends, stayed with him for 3 weeks, virtually for “FREE” with his sizable per diem covering all our meals ( Thanks to all you TaxPayers! ).
Just as I was saying IF anyone needed more astute honest insider evidence ( & from a Life Long Democrat ], contrary to all the handwringing & pouting coming from the corporate marionettes on both sides of the aisle in Congress :
“As for USAID, good riddance! Most of the money approporiated for “foreign” aid never made it outside of the pockets of the “Inside the Beltway Bandits”. With the armies of parisitic USAID contractors now being laid off, maybe the price of real restate in Washington, D.C. will become affordable again and I won’t have to move to Baltimore.”