Last updated on July 4, 2023
We should invest in the things that work. We should not invest in things that fail unless they deliver secondary benefits. We should also invest in things that we have not tried, things that we will need to build a future of peace, freedom, and prosperity.
Spending by the national committee on national activities:
First, the core activities of the National Committee lead to unavoidable core expenses. Once upon a time each national party member received the monthly newsletter. If we have members, we must have membership records, renewal notices, and other activities. This is all back office work. Some states do not maintain separate membership lists; it is more important than ever that national back-office work be done accurately and efficiently.
Second, the National Committee does do fundraising for its causes. Fundraising costs money. If we want to raise money for legitimate National Committee activities, we have to spend the money that the fundraising requires. There are many paths for raising money, but direct mail is still the most effective.
[ In my opinion, potential resources are not totally limitless. Yes, some money is only available to a presidential campaign or a state fair booth. Yes, to some extent a cleverly-designed campaign can reach out to non-Libertarian supporters and raise money that other campaigns would never see. However, to some extent the National party and state party and local parties compete for the same resources, the same donations from the same donors. A National Party that drains dry every accessible donor leaves less for other groups. A National Party that believes that it can spend every dollar more effectively than state or local groups is being nearsightedly greedy in a way that hurts its political movement. ]
Third, some activities really are specific tasks for the national party, such as putting the Presidential candidate on the ballot in as many states as possible. My Book Stand Up for Liberty! discusses a variety of these activities. The exact cost ballot access depends on our state parties. Allowing for increases in the cost of living, putting a Libertarian Presidential candidate on the ballot in every state in 2024 will cost well over a million dollars. A competent national committee will notice before December 2023 that there is a Presidential election in 2024. A competent National Committee will make sure that the requisite funds are in place when they are needed, without disrupting other operations because no one acted on the well-known fact that 2024 is an election year.
The above costs reflect some of the necessary activities of the National Committee. We must service our members. We must raise money. Many members insist that we maintain our 50-state ballot Presidential campaign access. We can change our tactics for carrying out these activities, but the strategy that demands these activities is locked into place. The membership will not long tolerate a National Committee that fails to publish a regular newsletter, fails to honor commitments to state committees, fails to put the Presidential campaign on the ballot in every state, or fails to raise the money it needs to carry out its missions. That’s before we get to outreach to gain new members, general issue advertising, supporting the establishment of special interest groups, candidate training,… The membership after not long will see if their National Committee is doing its job, or not, and then decide whether they should keep donating to their national party, or not.
I’m not saying the above list includes everything a national party must do, but everything on the above list must be done.
