I made a mistake and I need your help!

When I set up the Convention this year and did the fundraising pitch, I made a mistake. I asked for credit card numbers.

Since Ruth Bennett (our Treasurer) and I took office, we have discovered that we have no way to process those cards. We have investigated several services and plans that would allow us to do so.

What we have found is that they are too expensive, and we just don't run enough credit cards to make it cost-effective.

So, if you made a monthly pledge at Convention, or if you read LPNews & Views, and want to make a pledge, here is how to do it.

Scroll down until you find the amount of a PayPal button that you like, and click it. If you don't like PayPal, go on down to the Donor Town Square button. Donor Town will allow you to make any size pledge, or one-time donations.

If this is a pledge you made at convention, then I would take it as a personal favor if you start your pledge and also make a one-time donation to cover the months of April 'til now. I know, it's a lot to ask of you, but you already knew I was a pushy ol' broad.

I want to thank you all - for all you do, for your donations, for your support, for your activism.

Now, go have a gentle day . . . :o)

$5 Monthly Pledge Button for PayPal

$10 Monthly Pledge Button for PayPal

$25 Monthly Pledge Button for PayPal

$50 Monthly Pledge Button for PayPal

$100 Monthly Pledge Button for PayPal

If you want to use PayPal for a monthly pledge and want a different amount than you see here, please eMail me - Chair@LPWA.org, and I'll make it happen.

To catch up your pledge, or to make a one-time donation -

Click this box to use Donor Town Square to make your pledge.

Donor Town costs us a little more, but not everyone likes PayPal. It's your gift, you decide how to deliver it.

Thanks again for investing in Liberty and the Libertarian party of Washington!

Outreach Opportunities! Fun! FREE!

If you have not already, please go to LPWACommunity.org, and make sure that you have an account. This is our database, and it's how we'll contact you, or find you.

There are several outreach opportunities coming up. The first is . . .

Hempfest! August 15-16



Seattle Hempfest 2006 - Main Stage. Photo by Owl Jester.

The event spans three Seattle waterfront parks: Elliott Bay Park (North Entrance), Myrtle Edwards Park, and Olympic Sculpture Park (South Entrance).

Event hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Admission to Seattle Hempfest is Free.

If you're not sure what Hempfest is about, there is more info here.

LPWA will have a booth and we need volunteers. We'll need a few to help set up at 8am Saturday, crews to work thru both days, and a few to help take down on Sun night at 8pm.


Vans Warped Tour! August 15

This is a fabulous day long music festival! Lots of fun, all day long, with the opportunity to work an outreach booth. We need 3-5 young, high energy, committed volunteers for this gig. At least one needs to be a driver, with a station wagon or small truck to carry the gear.

We need to put this team together this week, or we won't be able to do it.



The Olympia Hemp Love and Freedom Rally 2009 August 22-23

Free and open to the public. Originally founded in 2003 as the Olympia Hempfest but quickly grew into one of the cities major event in just a few years. Each year the Olympia Hemp, love, and freedom rally strives to break down the barriers and remind people about our heritage and our responsibility to come together and be active citizens.

DATE/TIME

SAT AUG 22nd 11AM-8PM
SUN AUG 23rd 11AM-6PM

More information here.

For more information, or to volunteer -- eMail Rachel at LPWA.com1@gmail.com or call 206.769.2492 -- if there is no answer, leave a page, not voice mail. Thanks! :o)

Seattle Independence - Waterfront Park

Please join us for Seattle Independence Day Tea Party! I believe that this movement is at the forefront of the Second American Revolution. This revolution is going to be one of words and ideas; or hearts and minds, not violence.

Remember "Tank Man"? His story and his courage was incredible. This young man changed the world.

"He changed the Soviet Union." "What this young man did was in effect changed the world." (about 7:55 in the video)


The story continues . . .


The "Virus of Freedom spread" . . . and the protesters fed the army that they held hostage, gave them a seminar on freedom, and had their children work on the soldiers.

There are 8 videos in this series.

The message for me?

Never underestimate the power of one individual to change the world.

And also, that groups of people who agree on some things, working together, can effect long-term, worldwide change.

Communism has not been the same since, and has does not exist in some places where it was formerly predominant.

Are these Tea Parties the start of an American Revolution? Can we change our country?

Come join us - hear speakers discuss the erosion of civil liberties - the loss of our Liberty. Spend time with people of like mind. Bring flags, signs, literature.

We'll be at Waterfront Park (right next to the Aquarium) in Seattle from 1-3pm. Come down, join us, help clean up afterwards, and then head to Gas Works for Chase Family 4th at Lake Union.

There's also a cruise you could enjoy, lots of great stuff downtown, or shop at Westlake. The Aquarium is open regular hours (9:30 - 5), and Waterfront Park has some nice picnic tables right on the water.



If you would like to speak about loss of civil liberties, ballot access, smaller parties, TSA, the endless war, the endless war on drugs or have any questions regarding the event, feel free to contact Rachel at the following email:

Email: LPWA.com1@gmail.com

I watched this on the anniversary of Tianamen Square - and I wept.

It hammers home the point - that one man, acting in courage, can change the world. In it, this man and the result of his actions, is credited with beginning the end of the Berlin Wall.

"He changed the Soviet Union." "What this young man did was in effect changed the world." (about 7:55 in the video)




And the next video (2/8) was no less inspiring.




The "Virus of Freedom spread" . . . and the protesters fed the army that they held hostage, gave them a seminar on freedom, and had their children work on the soldiers.

There are 8 videos in this series.

The message for me?

Never underestimate the power of one individual to change the world.

And also, that groups of people who agree on some things, working together, can effect long-term, worldwide change.

Communism has not been the same since, and has does not exist in some places where it was formerly predominant.

Campaign season is almost here! If you’ve ever thought about running for office, it’s time to start planning.

Libertarian candidates have some choices to make. There are two ways to go.

The first is to run for a small, non-partisan office. This could be anything from a water or cemetery board to a school board. These are very winnable races. Where you don’t necessarily talk about your political beliefs, but you practice them. You influence policy. Make decisions, and actually govern. School boards are a great race for this. Do not expect that people will know that you are Libertarian, do not attempt to change the world overnight. Especially on a school board – this one should be handled carefully, but can be a launching point for a politician to actually get elected to higher office. Someone who has served on a school board for 4-8 years, putting in the time, the hard work, will have some reputation and network that may help to win a legislative, or city council race.

The second is to run an educational campaign. There might be a race in your district that has no opponent, or where you just have a particular passion, but not any real hope of winning. In this type of campaign, you would run a legitimate campaign, maximizing your exposure, taking every opportunity to speak to voters and to get out the Libertarian message. All the while knowing that there is not much chance of winning. These campaigns are generally run for education and information – a way to expose people to Libertarian ideas, and talk about better government.

No matter which strategy you decide on, never enter into a race for a job that you wouldn’t take, unless it is a strategy. For instance, one time Ruth Bennett ran for Lt. Governor on the platform that, if elected, she would abolish the office of Lt. Governor. Jack Tanner, and a couple of our Florida Libertarians, got elected to a board that accomplished nothing, and cost taxpayers a lot of money, and then they shut it down. All brilliant Libertarian strategists. Thank you, gentlepeople.

What do you plan to do? Need help deciding? Go to your county auditor, or secretary of State’s website, and see what offices are up for election this fall.

What sounds attractive or interesting to you? What fits with your interests, skills?

Once you have an office in mind, start doing the research.

• What are the issues?

• Is this office something that has been in the news recently? Corrupt? Incompetent?

• Spending too much money?

• Look up Voter Guide Statements for the race in past years.

• Pay particular attention to the statement of the winner.

• Start to write a statement that incorporates Libertarian values. Be careful that you don’t include any information that, no matter how true or Libertarian, has no connection to the office. (In other words, in a City Council race, you do not mention federal or state issues. This is not where you talk about your 911 Truth beliefs, or your Birther convictions, or your desire to build ZeroG space stations.)

Then start to prepare –

• Get a photo taken – preferably a professional shot. Dress for a professional job interview (it is!), and be cautious about any emblems, symbols, or backgrounds. You want a photo that makes you look relaxed, confident, and approachable. Susan Hogarth reviewed a lot of candidate photos last season – I found it helpful.

• Have you been in touch with your local LP affiliate to ask for endorsement, campaign help, volunteers? Do it now. This is also a good place to start to get help from Libertarians with your Voter Guide Statement and talking points.

• Put together a list of friends, family, business contacts and organizations that you can ask for donations and help. Even people who don’t have money usually have something that they can help you with. Putting up signs. Sending out an eMail on your behalf. Phone numbers of people who do have money. Ideas.

• Get online, and find a domain name. JoeSmithForCongress.org. Do not use JoeSmithForCongress.freewebs.com, or something like that. It should be simple, understandable, easy.

Now is the time to get online, if you haven’t already. Set up eMail accounts through Google which also gives you

• Google Calendar (Great for scheduling candidate events! The entire team can access the calendar.),

• Google Docs (for leaving Voter Guide Statement, photos and position papers, literature for events, etc.)

Get a Facebook account for the campaign. Be sure that it is used for only campaign things. No pictures of you doing beer bongs at a frat party. Which means be careful who you friend. Maybe the campaign account is named Willis Campaign, or Willis for Congress. Or rather than a whole account, set up a Fan page and group for the campaign.

Start a blog. I prefer Wordpress.com. You can download and host Wordpress on your own domain (best), but if not, or to start, get WillisForCongress.wordpress.com. You can move the blog later, or even just link from your website. On the blog, comment on news stories or developments that are current and germane to your race. Always offer a Libertarian solution.

Here’s an example of a blog entry . . .

"Pleasantville’s City Council plans to raise taxes by 30% to pay for the new park and rec center (make part of that sentence a link to the news story).

Since Libertarians prefer to spend within our means, and not burden your children for recreational facilities, I would first solicit private donations (in exchange for naming), then set up a system where users of the rec center would pay fees for classes, groups would pay rental fees to use the facilities, and businesses and individuals could either provide ongoing financial support or maintenance.

In this way, I estimate that we would only have to raise taxes 10%. Of course, my preference would be to wait until we could raise the complete cost of the facility from private sources and community fundraising before we broke ground and then support it through user fees. "

This example, while some would attack it as un-Libertarian, offers both the proposed Libertarian solution and a compromise. (Often, Libertarians in office find that they can reduce government by offering something less than the original “full meal deal”. Being the lone “No” vote may make you feel good, it really doesn’t accomplish anything. Making an amendment to a motion can begin some discussion in a meeting that just “No” doesn’t achieve. Offering people smaller government solutions helps to wean them off the habit of taxes extracted at the point of a gun. Who knows, maybe by the time a voter has read your blog and smaller government ideas for several months, they may actually be ready to face the idea of life without the all-encompassing government control!)

Start to tweet. Sign up at twitter.com. Use one of the link shrinkers to make the link to your blog entry tiny, and tweet it each time you blog. For example – Willis offers small government solution to 30% tax increase – http://is.gd/cBni. #tlot #liberty Don’t forget the appropriate hashtags – those #tlot and #liberty words at the end. They’re a “filing” system for twitter. More info on hashtags.

Now that you’re blogging, and tweeting, use the tweets as your Facebook status. This is a great way to stimulate discussion among your Facebook friends, and teach more about Libertarian philosophy. Add as many Facebook friends as you can within your voting district. Search for likely suspects, and add them.

Write letters to the editor that are basically your blog articles. You may have make some minor adjustments for format or clarity. Post them to local newspaper’s forums.

Take a few minutes to go to DonorTownSquare.com, PayPal.com and then ChipIn.com. Set up accounts at all of them. Add the widgets to all of your sites.

Since all of this can be a lot of work, and you haven’t even started the “real life” work of the campaign yet, consider having a truted volunteer of family member function as your “online campaign manager”. All of this can be done by a ghost-writer, even remotely. Your cousin George could be sitting in Berthoud, CO, writing your blog and conducting your online campaign for City Council in Portland, OR.

Now, starts the physical part. Doorbelling. One great candidate that I know started in early spring, walking his neighborhood, knocking on doors, introducing himself.

"Hi, I’m Willis, and I’m running for City Council this fall. I have this piece to let you know what I’m about, and I’d appreciate you taking a few minutes to take a look at it. It has contact information for me on it, and you can call or eMail me with any questions you might have. Have a great evening, and if you think my ideas sound good, I’d appreciate your vote."

He knocked on his neighbor’s doors several evenings a week and some weekends, and won the election in the fall.

Always attend neighborhood events, town celebrations, etc. They are great opportunities for networking and campaigning. And do I need to say it? Always have your pocket sized campaign piece in your pocket, and a slim jim or something when appropriate.

More later – the fun stuff, like public forums, interviews, candidate ratings . . .

End the Fed Protest - 4/25/09

Come join us for the End the Fed protest on Saturday, April 25, 2009 at Victor Steinbrueck Park!

We have secured Victor Steinbrueck Park right at Pike Place Market. This is the park with the grassy knolls, at the north end of the market, right by the restaurant Turkish Delight (yum!) and Tully's.

Time: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Come for as much of it as you can.

Other info: Please bring your own signs and unleash your innate creative powers in doing this, they should be large enough to be seen from the street, dress is business casual so we don't look like anarchists, bring petitions for HR 833 and HR 1207, cameras, video cameras, and whatever else you think would be good!

This is *vital*. This is when we take our planning, emailing, social networking, meetups and then put it into action in the physical realm. We must hit the streets.

Thank you for all your efforts and your enthusiasm.


Let's join this peaceful protest and show the FED that we detest their private banking cartel!

Let's send a clear message that we support sound money and the abolishment of the Unconstitutional Federal Reserve.

Building on the success of the November 22nd Rally, Revolutionaries nationwide are meeting again to protest the Fed's establishment and support HR 1207 and HR 833. "Audit the Fed! Repeal the Fed!"

Will you join us?

Draft Minutes - Convention 2009

DRAFT MINUTES

Libertarian Party of Washington State (LPWA)
State Annual Convention Business Meeting
Saturday, March 28, 2009; Hilton Garden Inn, Issaquah

BUSINESS MEETING CALLED TO ORDER by Scott Lindsley, Chair, at 10:03 AM.

Quorum report: 29 persons present, including 27 LPWA members, of whom 18 are credentialed.

Rules: Accepted as presented.

Agenda: On suggestion of the chair, Treasurer's report was added to the agenda and the agenda was accepted as modified.

"State of the Party" Chair's Report: We have experienced great connections and advancements, and great setbacks. Work continues on the top-two suit; we now have Orrin Grover representing us, since Richard Shepard has been unable to continue. Our website was hacked, and shut down by the provider; it's proving difficult to re-establish. We do have an on-line database accessible by members to update their own information: see lpwacommunity.org. The LPWA needs to put more energy and resources in supporting candidates for office.

M/S/P: Bruce Guthrie moves to accept all LPWA members present as voting delegates. Seconded and passed without dissent. (M/S/P will be used to indicate a motion was made, seconded, and passed.) We now have 29 voting delegates, as two more members have signed in since the quorum report.

Treasurer's report: Per the Treasurer, we're not in the red. We have a bank balance of $4272.38, compared to last years $4309.27. An itemized list of expenses can be made available. Note that fixed monthly expenses run about $700.

Next year's convention chair, and sub-committee chairs, will be named by the SEC at their next meeting, in late April or early May.

Election of SEC officers: Each office has a term of two years, starting in 30 days.

Chair: Rachel Hawkridge nominated, unopposed, and elected.

Vice-Chair: Dave Wordinger nominated, unopposed, and elected.

Treasurer: Ruth Bennett nominated, unopposed, and elected.

Secretary: Tamela Supchak nominated, unopposed, and elected.


Election of at-large SEC members: the following were nominated and elected:

Michael Donahue
Larry Nicholas
Gene Hawkridge
Michael Wilson
Richard Bonesteel
(Travis Wright was also nominated, but declined.)

Elect Judicial Committee Members: Need three for new three year terms, and one for a two year term to replace Ruth, who is now Treasurer.

Nominations for three year terms:

Tom Spanos
Robert Scott
Travis Wright
All elected on voice vote.

Nomination for two year term:

Jason Constantino
Elected on voice vote.

(The Judicial Committee is now:

One year remaining: Janet Anderson, Ed Pole, Brett Wilhelm.

Two years remaining: J. Mills, Richard Shepard, Jason Constantino.

Three years remaining: Tom Spanos, Robert Scott, Travis Wright)

Resolutions: Several resolutions were in hand, purportedly submitted by one 'Anton Grambihler'. No person of that name appears on our membership rolls, nor was anyone of that name present at the convention. Hence, it was M/S/P that all Anton's resolutions be referred to the SEC for appropriate action.

Candidates for Public Office: None presented themselves.

Platform revisions: Jason Constantino reports on behalf of the Platform Committee, suggesting several revisions. First, Jason moves that “Governments should not incur debt, which burdens future generations without their consent” be added to the third paragraph of the preamble. This fails.

Jason moves that we add “making all medical expenses fully tax deductible” to the second bullet in the plank on healthcare. This fails.

Jason moves that we add a third plank, “Government Finance”, renumbering “Elections” as plank

4. Ruth moves to amend by combining first two bullets with a comma: “ . . responsibility, so governments should not . .”. After discussion, this motion fails.

(M/S/P) Pavel moves to divide the question into each bullet point (five sections).

(M/S/P) First bullet, “Fiscal responsibility”, carries.

Second bullet, “Governments should not . . .”, attracts much discussion.

(M/S/P) Bruce moves to substitute “Deep tax cuts and even deeper spending cuts to reduce the size of government and government debt.”

(M/S/P) to remove the first “Deep”.

(M/S/P) to remove “even deeper”.

Passed the substitute motion, which had become “Second bullet: Tax cuts and spending cuts to reduce the size of government and government debt.”

Third bullet: (M/S/P) to suspend the rules to consider last three bullets together.

Third, fourth, and fifth bullets Fail on voice vote.

(M/S/P) Bruce moves to add new third bullet, “Balanced budgets.”, to new third plank.

Constitution and Bylaws Committee: Jason presents the report of the committee, and (M/S/P) moves to accept Proposal B (adding “Paid current dues . . .” to the Delegate eligibility requirements). A motion to amend, addling life members and past officers to the eligible list, failed.

Good of the Order: Nothing presented.

At 12:29PM, a motion to adjourn was passed.

Submitted by Peter Wilkie, Secretary, LPWA.

April 2009

Seeking Candidates for 2009

The Washington State Libertarian Party is seeking candidates for the 2009 elections.

Serving on a local level is one of the best ways to gather experience while actually promoting libertarian ideas in your community.

Here are some links to find out what races may be happening near you,

http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/aud/elections/main/cand.htm

http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/candidatefiling/Pages/OfficesOpenforElectioncustom.aspx

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/auditors.aspx

Let us know how we can help you in this endeavor.

Thanks!

The Tax Man Cometh!

Tax Day Protests . . .

Please read this first!

Seattle Sons and Daughters of Liberty has listings for Everett, Mt. Vernon, Olympia, Seattle Spokane

More listings - includes Anacortes, Bellingham, Everett, Redmond, Tri-Cities, Yakima

Tax Party Links You'll Enjoy! Includes Google map.

Sign up to report - Pajamas TV, or HuffPo or just twitter, twitpic, etc. If you do reports, send details (copies, or twitter name) to LPWA.com1@gmail.com. I'll post them here.

Don't forget . . .
LPWA Tshirts
Cameras
Signs
Literature with Contact info - eMail LPWA.com1@gmail.com or call Rachel 206.769.2492 if you need some!

LPWA Convention Details! Lark, Novoselic, StandupEconomist

 

On March 28, 2009    
 

Convention begins 9:00 a.m.
 

Business Mtg.  10:00 a.m.
 

Plan on spending all day and evening with us!  Dinner, speaker and entertainment included.



Hilton Garden Inn

1800 NW Gilman Blvd, Issaquah, WA

  

Highlights . . .

 
Business Meeting

-Time to elect a new Executive Committee!

 
South of the Border Buffet Lunch

Fajita style Chicken Breast with peppers & onions

Taco seasoned Ground Beef

Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Pico de gallo, shredded cheese, lettuce, guacamole,

jalapenos, black olive &sour cream

With warm tortillas, crisp taco shells, tortilla chips & Black bean salad

With fresh Brewed Coffee, Herbal Teas, Assorted Bottles of Sodas and Fresh Baked Cookies


Great workshops!

            - Grassroots organizing

            - Social Media

            - Communicating Libertarian solutions to controversy

 

Enlightening speakers!


      
 

James W. Lark, III, PhD is a former chairman of the Libertarian National Committee and presently serves as a regional representative on the LNC for region 5-South. He is a founding director of the Libertarian National Congressional Committee.
 

Dr. Lark is the Local Affiliate Parties' Committee chairman and is heavily involved with campus outreach, both for Virginia and the national party. He has conducted organizing tours and workshops on this. He currently teaches a campus organizing course for the Libertarian Leadership School.
 

Professionally, he is an adjunct professor of systems engineering at the University of Virginia.

Dr. Lark will present an afternoon workshop on basic principles of community/campus organizing; and will be the luncheon speaker with his presentation entitled "Knee-Jerk Libertarianism:  A Cure for a Common Disease."

 

                     

             
Krist Novoselic, former bassist of Nirvana, Sweet 75, Eyes Adrift and Flipper; political activist and Seattle Weekly columnist, Chair of FairVote.org and author of "Of Grunge & Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!"  In the book, Novoselic discusses how Nirvana emerged as the world's biggest band of the early 1990s, how he got involved in politics and why we need electoral reform -- in particular full representation and instant runoff voting.

Krist will be our dinner speaker.

 
A wonderful dinner, with your choice of . . .

     -  Roast Chicken glazed with Chipotle Barbecue Sauce     or

     -  Spinach and Portabella Mushroom Vegetarian Lasagne

Both entrees include . . .

Garden Inn Signature Salad with House Dressing, Rolls and Butter,

Chef’s selection of starch, fresh vegetable & plated dessert

Freshly Brewed Coffee & Assorted Herbal Teas

 
ENTERTAINMENT!

    

 

Yoram Bauman, Ph.D.
The world's first and only
stand-up economist*
As seen on Comedy Central the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
 

* Among those who may take issue with this claim are "socialist magician" Ian Saville; Robert Mundell, Columbia, who won the Nobel Prize and appears regularly on Dave Letterman; Victor Fuchs, Stanford (pic); William Breit, Trinity; Peter Orazem, Iowa State; Ben Stein ("cited by Akerlof"); Tim Harford, "Dear Economist" author for the FT; Steven Tomlinson, UT Austin; Ariel Rubinstein, Tel Aviv University; David Powell, Boston Comedy Festival finalist and MIT grad student; Paul Solman, PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; Shaun Eli, a comic who graduated from the Wharton School; Steve Zanetti of Freeman H.S. (Richmond VA); and James Kurre of Penn State Erie. Apologies to all, and email me if you belong on this list. PS. As long as I'm apologizing, my video "Principles of Economics, Translated" contains two unattributed quotes ("9 out of 5" is adapted from a line attributed to Paul Samuelson---although apparently he said it about Wall Street indices, not macroeconomists---and "wrong about things" is paraphrased from P.J. O'Rourke's Eat the Rich) and, of course, the Einstein "simple" quote is an intentional misquote.


Other highlights of the day . . .

A Free Market – vendors and information tables

The SoapBox – where you can have a moment with the microphone and a captive audience

Social Gathering – have an adult beverage or lots of hydrogen hydroxide with Libertarian friends

The opportunity to join the LPWA Coffee Club, meet National LP leaders, elected Libertarians and famous comics!

All at the Hilton Gardens Inn in blossoming Issaquah – a jewel on the Eastside of Lake Washington, just a short drive from Seattle.

Get tools to take away and use!

Act now - EARLY registration . . . until February 20, 2009

                    only $109!

The full day, including three meals, an evening of entertainment, workshops, tools, social opportunities and LOTS of FUN is only $119 after Feb. 20th

Special student rate $85

Work/study program for students who will work for 4 hrs  $50 – limited number of students at this rate

Or special dinner deal – Dinner, speaker Krist Novoselic, and comic Yoram Bauman  only $55!

To register -

Go here and make a donation for the correct amount - $109 until Feb 20, $119 after Feb 20, Student $85, Work/Study  $50

Then send eMail to LPWAConvention@gmail.com with . . .

1.  your name,

2.  contact information (address, phone, eMail), and

3.  dinner choice - chicken or veggie.

 
If you want to do a work/study deal ($50 student rate) - I'll need to talk to you about when you wish to work during the convention.

 
It's going to be a great time!  See you then.


We are looking for . . .

1.  Vendors - do you have a book, DVD, or other product?  Want to promote your business?

2.  Advertisers - promote your business or sell your stuff.

3.  Sponsors - In-kind donations or scholarship for students.

4.  Volunteers also cheerfully accepted.     :o)   eMail LPWAConvention@gmail.com


                  

 

 

Top Two Forward!

Top Two Forward!

The Washington State Libertarian Party is at the forefront of a critical legal battle to preserve the fundamental right of free association.

We’ve been in court against the State of Washington and the Grange sponsored I-872 - Top-Two primary.

With this new election system, any candidate can say they prefer the Libertarian Party on the public ballot.

This is a problem because privacy - for the individual and whomever they choose to associate - should be protected in the United States. With the Top-Two election, the State of Washington has, in effect, put our party’s name in the public domain.

As a private association, Libertarian Party members have gone through the process of drafting and ratifying our platform - which is a statement to voters about our values and policy goals.

Good and freedom loving people volunteer time and resources to our organization.

If Washington’s new Top-Two election is allowed to continue, there will likely not be a Libertarian Party anymore. Why have a private political association when any candidate - regardless of what they really believe - can claim our party’s name as a preference on the ballot? We have no say at all preventing any interloper or opportunist from usurping our good name for the public ballot.

We have been waging a battle for some time to protect our associational right to privacy. We’ve already gone all the way to the US Supreme Court. Now the case has been remanded to lower courts and that’s why we’re contacting you.

We are standing in the courtroom next to two unusual partners - the Washington State Democratic Party and the Washington State Republican Party. We have issues in the case exclusive to our party regarding the legal trademark of the name Libertarian. We must fund our own legal team. We need to stay in this fight or our side of this case may never be heard!

And for this we need every ounce of support you can give.

We must act immediately to present our case in the strongest possible way.

Please help us get the resources we need to protect private association. If we don’t fight this intrusion from The State, there very well may not be a Libertarian Party - or any other grassroots political organization - anymore.

Please give now to paypal at lpwa.org (add the @ to get an actual account)

Scott~



For more details please visit: http://www.rankedchoice.blogspot.com/