Stephen Gordon reports at Third Party Watch about the Greatest Hits draft working its way through PlatCom, and about Tom Knapp's World's Smallest Political Platform. In the comments, I correct some characterizations of the GH draft. Meanwhile, the Restore04 petition is up to about 50 names, but still only one voting member of the LNC or PlatCom or BylawsCom. [2007-12-30: Illinois PlatCom rep Val Vetter has now joined LNC member Angela Keaton as a signer.]
An interesting addition to the list is Scott Olmsted, an old-school Rothbardian who surfaced in 2004 long enough to slap together a sometimes-live Rothbard Caucus website before again dropping from view. (The site said he was living in Encinitas, but he's AWOL from this century's archives of LPCA forums.) Rothbardian leaders in the LP tend to have a short membership half-life, as nearly all the leaders of the LP's original Rothbardian wing -- Rothbard, Evers, Garris, Raimondo, Franzi, Costello, Hunter, Weber, Rockwell, Blumert -- ended up abandoning the LP, many of them ending up in un-libertarian parties (usually the GOP) backing un-libertarian candidates (like Pat Buchanan). (Rothbard's lieutenants Evers and Franzi now even support the Iraq war -- doh!)
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3 comments:
Regarding current lnc support of r04, that the number is low correlates with the general outcome of that convention. But there are probably at least three supporters.
I gather this from the fact that I my audition planks for the lnc were unapologetically radical, and I received three votes anyway. These people may have added me for spice, but I doubt it.
I don't know who was responsible for two of the positive votes. The two negatives almost certainly came from Starrling.
I think you're mistaken about some of your LP-era Rothbardian history, but I'll save that argument for another day.
Sorry, Holtz, but as the tides are finally turning, I have to gloat a little.
R04 sports some of the LP's most influential icons. Now let's count the well known proponents of the decaffeinated platform.
(crickets)
Sorry, you've got one. The current vice chair. I don't think that's going to carry you.
Actually, Vice Chair Chuck Moulton doesn't like the Greatest Hits draft. Benedict and probably Lark will end up as Restore04 supporters, but I doubt any others.
Gloat all you want, but remember two things.
1) It's early. Moderates are still sorting out what will be the alternative(s) to radical revanchism. By contrast, radicals don't have to think about what text to support -- which plays to their strength. ;-)
2) 34% of the delegates can block regression to the 2004 Platform. That means regression will only happen if moderates fail to coalesce around a single reasonable alternative. It remains an open question whether moderates will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We've got plenty of reformers who are deadly accurate when shooting themselves in the foot.
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