The LP platform should be a principled, hard hitting, well written and well reasoned document that lays out the libertarian position on or solution to a variety of important issues and problems.

The LP platform does NOT have to limit itself to national issues, but can include any significant issue even if it is relevant at the state or local level. While we are members of a national party, we all have state and local concerns as well and it is fully appropriate to address those conerns in a national platform.

The idea of having a “program” of immediate or intermediate steps toward liberty, that are improvements and move us in a Libertarian direction, while the platform lays out our principled beliefs on where we should ultimately end up, is the best way to go.

The platform is fine the way it is.

No REAL Libertarian Party member would EVER say that!!!

I believe that I am a “REAL Libertarian”, and I absolutely do NOT say that. I think the current platform, the so-called “directional” platform as opposed to the originally crafted “principled” platform is extremely inappropriate.

The problem isn’t so much that it is anti-libertarian, but that it leaves so much out. Plus, it doesn’t (as far as I can tell) relate its directional nature (ie. each plank), back to the guiding, philosophical or economic principle, which IS libertarianism. Simply working TOWARD libertarianism isn’t libertarianism per se. Working TOWARD achieving a libertarian society is a STRATEGY, and if LP’ers want a document to emphasize strategy, fine. Let’s craft one, a sort of “LP Program”, like the that which was crafted in the late 1980′s and 1990′s.

The PLATFORM is, IMHO, NOT (and SHOULD NOT be) a strategy oriented document. It should be a principled document.

The founders of the LP had it right. Craft a platform that is completely adherent to the non-aggression principle, with hard hitting specific references to how our current system of law, current laws themselves, and government structure and function, all violate non-aggression . . . that is violates libertarianism.

I can’t guarantee that this will happen again, but it probably will, and I hope it does. If you decide to participate in the process, you may well be able to, although you will not have a vote on the committee.

Submitting sample planks does not mean you intend to actually submit those planks.

Also, I suppose for anyone not known to the LNC members personally, it helps them to gauge what kind of ideas they have, so they can strike what they consider the proper balance on the committee.

Anyway, we need to set our agenda t the federal level, not the libertarian philosophy. How do we create a free market system at the federal level? That implies that we are going to ignore the policies of states. Are we going to overrule state governments? Otherwise…. there’s no reason even stating we are for free markets in our national party’s platform.

but that’s just my opinion

The federal government is nothing but a united state sanctioned organization. The states are to the federal government what the federal UN is to the federal government.

Why was the federal gov created? to create a unifying voice for all states, to conduct foreign affairs, etc. Not to declare war on a plant and trample on its state sponsors

we oppose the collusion of church & state

Well, see, that’s just what this thread is about. If you want to have any input on the platform, you need to email out those platform planks. have you done that? You have less than five days.

we oppose socialized medcine

we oppose the war on drugs

we oppose illegal wars

we oppose involuntary socialized education

The platform should be (about) what the party overwhelmingly agrees upon. Is there any such thing?

Oh well, …folks with more fortitude than us will fill those posts. I’m all talk, and my excuse is I’m overseas.

Incidently, I applaud Brian Holtz’s efforts in drafting the current platform. Now streamlined, it’s far better than the previous, and much more workable for the incoming Platform Committee.

As it stands, less is still more. It could be terser yet.

This post is actually not intended as a forum for proposed platform planks, although I don’t care if you want to keep posting about that here.

It’s actually just notice for those people who DO want to help craft the next platform that there is a looming deadline to apply to be on that committee. Otherwise, you will have little input, if any.

Kubby said: “states have no rights, individuals have rights”

I like it. but can we rationally argue in favor of centralizing power?