I described in a recent email the sorry sight of LP candidates who
replace the bold message of liberty (freedom from Govt) with
warmed-over Republican efficiency proposals--all in the name of
winning an election. The result in 99.9% of cases in the past 25 years
has been predictably similar: a tiny vote total (less than 4%) with
few voters hearing the freedom message or the L-word.
Some Libertarians saw Richard Rider as a dark horse--a Libertarian
with a chance of winning. Consequently, here was a wonderful opportunity for
Richard, an articulate and passionate speaker, to educate San Diegoans
about the core principals of libertarianism. The results were sadly
predictable. Richard finished fifth with 1.55% of the vote.
Let's learn from history and not repeat it.
Best, Michael
Hi Michael,
I hear your message in the LP a lot, "freedom from government".
Sound good to me. But how do we (people in general) get there? What
do we do? Or do not do? Or perhaps you are suggesting the LP just
talk about freedom from government without any desire to achieve this
goal? Also, are you saying that if we LP'ers try to run a
conventional campaign we are automatically Republicans? Why? Is
Richard Rider automatically a Republican? His tax cutting message
does not pass the LP purity test? Why or why not? As you can see,
Michael, I am on a campaign to promote T H E S P E C I F I C S!!!
Will we see you at the next meeting Aug 13? More on "The Specifics"
is on the Agenda!
Regards,
Marcy
--- In lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com, "Dr. Michael R. Edelstein"
<dredelstein@t...> wrote:
I described in a recent email the sorry sight of LP candidates who
replace the bold message of liberty (freedom from Govt) with
warmed-over Republican efficiency proposals--all in the name of
winning an election. The result in 99.9% of cases in the past 25
years
has been predictably similar: a tiny vote total (less than 4%) with
few voters hearing the freedom message or the L-word.
Some Libertarians saw Richard Rider as a dark horse--a Libertarian
with a chance of winning. Consequently, here was a wonderful
opportunity for
Richard, an articulate and passionate speaker, to educate San
Diegoans
Rider�s race was particularly interesting for a couple of reasons.
First, his race wasn�t his first public exposure, as it often is for
Libertarian candidates. He has been known to the San Diego public for
decades as a fighter against big government, particularly taxation and
waste. As a result, the media took him relatively seriously. The
campaign was another step in a long public battle, rather than being a
goal in and of itself.
Second, despite his abysmal polling, the campaign was an arguable success;
he�s been asked to join the pension board (where he will be able to have
concrete effect) and a couple of other government-limiting efforts, and
another pension scandal is apparently breaking today. So although he
wasn�t elected, he will have more influence on how things are run than if
he hadn�t run.
Finally, it is interesting to wonder how his vote totals would have gone
if ranked-choice voting had been available to the San Diego voters. Given
a perceived need to get one�s second-least-favorite candidate into the
runoff, I wonder how many supporters of Rider�s goals voted for one of the
Republicans instead.
~Chris