Posted at http://www.bostontea.us/node/373.
IPR’s previous coverage of tonight’s BTP convention is here. The convention will continue to take place tonight and tomorrow until 9 PM Eastern time. Those who are interested in voting may still join the party (and thus become voting delegates) while the convention is underway.
I have a few thoughts on tonight’s convention as well as my endorsements that I’d like to share with everyone, and I think this is the best time to do it.
I hope everyone has fun at this convention, because it’s going to be an exciting event online. But, more importantly, it’s going to shape the future of the Party as we all know it, and we must do what is best for the BTP with caution.
Why caution? Because I think, after the recent events that unfolded in the Party, we are now more vulnerable than ever. But, in the days after the unfortunate sequence of events that transpired on this site and on the BTP Yahoo groups, I feel that the Party is going to turn around, and I feel the unity by the membership is stronger than it has ever been.
As the old saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!” I know it’s cliched to say this, but it speaks truth to power. And stronger we shall be in the days, weeks, and months to come!!
As the former Boston Tea Party vice chairman and the former Bylaws Committee chairman, I think our goals are well developed and the bylaws proposals we have presented are great. Even if any one of them doesn’t pass (and I hope they all do), still it shows that we have strong membership at our finger tips.
Imagine where the BTP was months ago soon after the calamitous Denver convention: membership was over 30, we didn’t have any state affiliates, our presidential ticket wasn’t on ballot in one state, and we have several states where he’s now on the ballot. In states where he’s not on the ballot, there are only a few write-in registrations, but look how far we’ve come.
The reason that we are gathering tonight is because we are so passionate about liberty, the spirit of liberty is stronger than ever. I certainly believe this. I hope you do too.
But, more importantly, I hope everyone treats each other better tonight, tomorrow, and beyond. As the late Joseph P. Abell, whom I used to call “Papa Joe” and who, as my drama and English instructor and yearbook advisor as well as my drama club director and old friend, used to say, “If you can’t boost, don’t knock. If you can’t support, why are you here?” I’ve lived by them then, I live by them now, and I’ll live by them for the rest of my life. He presented those words to me and to my graduating class in our senior year in spring of ‘93. How proud he would be of me today if he were to know how far I’ve come.
I’m proud of you guys today because of how far we’ve come. And you should be proud. You’ve worked for it. You’ve worked really hard for it. Be the best that you can be, in this Party and for liberty. Make the most of it for the rest of your life. It’s worth it. Make every moment count, because you’ll never have it again.
Tonight’s convention will be exciting. Why? Because we get to choose the direction of the Party. When Tom, with me at his side in 2006, decided to create and build this wonderful party, I couldn’t turn him away. I HAD to help him. The LP betrayed me. But I know, for many of you, it betrayed you. It has betrayed its values, its beliefs, and its ideas. It is now living a lie.
We’ve accomplished far more than the LP has ever had in its 30-plus year history. And we should be proud of it. And yet there’s more to do. We must do more for liberty. The battle for the heart and soul of human liberty in this country is not over. As another old saying goes, “It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.”
And that fat lady won’t be singing anytime soon. We must fight for liberty. We must fight it ideologically, politically, intellectually, morally, ethically, financially, and consistently. We cannot turn to the Dark Side that the LP has. We must be more vigilant, now more than ever.
My endorsements for the candidates tonight are:
Chair: Jason Gatties
Vice Chair: Doug Gaking
Secretary: Michelle Luetge
At Large: Steve Newton, Neil Kiernan Stephenson, Steve Trinward, and Tom Knapp
Those are good, brave souls with passionate ideas. We must unite behind them now. Please, I beg you to do this. This is our last chance for survival.
Do it for our children. Do it for our country. But, more importantly, do it for our liberty.
Thank you, God and Goddess Bless Us, and God and Goddess Bless America and the world. Our survival depends upon it.
Yours in Liberty,
Todd Andrew Barnett
Former Vice Chair, Boston Tea National Committee
Proud BTP Member and Wiccan
Davidson’s comment is from 2008. I don’t believe Davidson has commented at IPR in recent years. B B-L-S may not have noticed that when replying.
“the BTP is even less organized than the LP”
The BTP died in July 2012 https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2012/07/darryl-perry-resigns-as-btp-chairman-party-effectively-disbanded/
Lets do the Time Warp Again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkplPbd2f60
Todd, it appears I need to call or write to Miss Joy. Alan and I sincerely have no recollection of talking to her about running for President. We talked about the chairmanship of the CA LP, but not the Presidential campaign.
I also hope you don’t feel the way described above about all women. It would be very sad if you did.
Wow…is their 2008 convention still going on? Talk about network lag…
The American electorate is unphilosophical and uninvolved. The primary contributors to their lack of involvement is two-fold:
1) Restrictive and unfair ballot access laws keep all the good choices off the ballot, or only allow them on the ballot when it is far too late to campaign against incumbent money and power (Fighting against each State’s ballot access restrictions might help us extricate ourselves from this situation.)
2) The general public (the electorate) never got the information that was included in a basic “Civics” class 100 years ago. They never got “the bare minimum information necessary to participate in civic governance,” but they were told in their “Social Studies” classes that they did get this information. This has left them as blind men thinking they can see, and wondering why they keep falling over cliffs, or walking into quicksand. This “mistaken programming” inoculates them against the bare minimum civic participation necessary to save the republic, save democracy, or even to save proper elections. (Most people cannot even articulate any difference between the prior three.) This is a consequence of government control of education, both grade-school and higher level. (Khan Academy might help us extricate ourselves from this situation.)
Being that all of the prior statements are true, I don’t believe that an even smaller, even less-strategically-inclined group of “all or nothing” libertarians is going to make any difference in the outcome of any election, but maybe I’m wrong.
A pure voluntaryist can already put themselves on the ballot on the Libertarian Party banner, in all 50 States. For that matter, they can already put themselves on the ballot as a D or R in all 50 States. They can already unite their support base around pamphlets that list a website on them, …something the Founding Fathers could not do.
The truth is simple: Most big-L libertarians don’t want to do the work necessary to get elected.
The wealthy donors of the LP simply pay the National LP to make their consciences go away. If they were donating money with the intention of taking power away from the prohibitionist police state, then they would have stopped giving by now (as many of them have).
Jim Davidson makes a good point, every now and then, but the BTP is even less organized than the LP. Then again, why not have as many avenues to ballot access as possible? …Even if you give them silly names that mean nothing to the general public.
They’re all empty vessels, during a severe water shortage.
In a drought, the problem is the lack of water, not the lack of containers to hold it in.
The problem is the lack of freedom, not the lack of people who fight for freedom in a delusional and ineffective manner.
LOL
Jill:
I’m not going to apologize for what I said. It’s an old issue, and I only briefly brought it back up because I realized I should have responded to it nearly eight years ago when it was an issue then. Then I ended it by not commenting any further on it.
What I said was true. Gender feminists talk about “rape culture” in the U.S., particularly in the college dorms when there is no epidemic of that happening on a national scale. There is an epidemic of that happening in the Middle East, in countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Egypt, and yet no one in the feminist side here are condemning those actions in those countries.
Try asking Wendy McElroy who has made that public, ok?
And, yes, I am still managing Joy’s campaign, but it was a campaign that she didn’t want to start. She told me that you and Alan talked her into throwing her hat into the LP presidential ring, and yet she came to you for help, and you tossed her to the side. So please, don’t even play the sexist and judgment cards by dealing with me, because that bullshit won’t fly with me.
Got it?
Todd
Not sure what Todd was hoping to achieve by reviving this one after 7 years. I’m fairly sure none of the people that commented out of the original comments above are still even reading, except Knapp and I do believe sunshinebatman is still around under other names. Davidson is long gone and I don’t even remember George Dance.
LOL, thx. It’s basically an old version of the link that my current one goes to. I shortened it to a link after the theme change caused it to actually start appearing on articles like you see above. When I posted this back in 2008 that was not showing up or I would have shortened it. The new one actually has more info, not less, but you have to bother to follow the link.
I did enjoy reading the expanded biography on Paulie, however.
Well, I could have done without that nasty comment.
Is Todd still involved with Joy Waymire’s campaign?
Wow, this article is from 2008. Talk about a delayed response.
To Jim Davidson and George Lance:
George, you don’t know what you are talking about, sir! Nice try, but you just don’t. And you don’t know me at all. You never have, and I’m glad to say that you never will.
To Jim Davidson:
My comments on women are right on point. They are not “sexist, silly, and wrong.” The opposite gender has this man-hating view of the opposite sex, and that’s got to do with gender feminism, not libertarian feminism. I despise their bullshit when they go into crap like “rape culture” and “the Patriarchy” and all that shit.
As I would normally say, “When shit floats to the top in the toilet bowl, it’s gonna stink up the bathroom.”
Most women are floating-to-the-top shit in the toilet bowl, and they stink up the bathroom too.
I see that an eyewitness is needed to explain things.
In this first image:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice27a.gif
That’s me in the hat with Todd helping Charles to some tea. I’m saying to Todd, “push his head in further!” Couldn’t stop grinning the whole time.
In this image:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice25a.gif
that’s Elle Larkin at the head of the table, and we’re having a national committee meeting. Todd is seated at Elle’s left, next to him is Mike Blessing, then me. You can’t see further down the table to Kent, represented by a brilliant hawk, Chris Bennett as a bear, and Michelle at the other end of the table, played by Alice’s older sister.
Yes, George, a black bear. You wanna fight about it?
LOL! That better not be Susan Hogarth on the left.
sunshinebatman,
Good call.
Yes, George, I’m sure we understand. Bob Barr never meant to invade Colombia, nor to imprison dozens of non-violent people for possession of contraband, wasn’t sincerely undermining other sovereign nations when he worked for the CIA, and was just a nice guy who hated Wiccans in the military enough to call for all of them to lose their chaplains. And you’ve never said anything in anger, because you have no feelings, right?
Sure, Todd’s said some exceptionally stupid things. His comments about women were wrong, sexist, and silly. I’ve criticised him openly about them.
His comments on conservatives are rather less bad, and more pointed. Also, his views on Jesse Helms are mild compared to my own. I’m thinking more urine than spit.
What about these pictures from the Tea Party Convention? Why isn’t IPR reporting these?
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice27a.gif
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice25a.gif
As the late Joseph P. Abell, whom I used to call “Papa Joe†and who, as my drama and English instructor and yearbook advisor as well as my drama club director and old friend, used to say, “If you can’t boost, don’t knock . He presented those words to me and to my graduating class in our senior year in spring of ‘93. How proud he would be of me today if he were to know how far I’ve come. (Todd Andrew Barnett, Oct. 2008.)
How far indeed:
“Conservatives are vile, evil, and repugnant. He should be damned, and his grave should be spit upon. It’s a damn good thing this man is dead, because he’s a vile turd who deserves to burn in hell.’ (Todd Andrew Barnett, July 2008.)
And now even farther:
“I think she’s batshit crazy. PERIOD!!! Why don’t I believe her? Because, in my experience, women can and will say anything for sympathy and they have an agenda. The latter is their primary motivation.†(Todd Andrew Barnett, Oct. 2008.)