Libertarian Convention Day 2 Adjourns

The Chair race second round results were not to my knowledge reported.

There is a debate.  The speakers are inaudible.

We have voice.  Speakers do not have signs naming them.

Chase Oliver: Immigration.  Free movement of people through border entry points.

Mapstead is at end: Need to end the chaos at the border, which is pushed by the drug cartels.  D&R don’t want a solution.

Rectenwald: Border crisis due to many market failures. Rectenwald uses “immigration” as a platform to talk about other issues.

Smith(?): Worry about America.  America First. Proposes immigration by invitation.

Ter Maat: Immigration is good for America.  Free money to immigrants is stupid.  We want a system that lets people to get in as rapidly as possible.

Foreign aid: Ter Maat – need to close the war in Ukraine.

Smith Israeli government is no ally of ours.

Rectenwald –  Condemns military aid to Israel. AIPAC should be declared a foreign operative.  Need peaceful.

Oliver: I will fight the war machine.

Ballay: Sending money to foreign places is bad.  Condemns foreign aid.

Mapstead: End the war machine.

Ukraine: Oliver: Leave NATO.  Facilitate peace.

Ter Maat: Claims US staged coup in Ukraine. We should withdraw.

Smith: Should not give bombs to foreign countries. End funding for NATO.

Mapstead: Claims Berlin Wall fell because of the free Market.

Ter Maat: claims Ukraine War is due to NATO. Says Europe should funds Ukraine. Prosperity is only possible through peace.

COVID: Were the vaccines safe and effective?

Rectenwald: Claims vaccines were neither safe or effective.

Oliver: Eliminate FDA, CDC, NIH  I don’t trust government medicine. Everyone who got the vaccine got covid.

Ballay:  Denounces covid restrictions. Denounces rest of stage for having opinion on efficacy of covid vaccines.  Says Covid vaccines worked.

Smith: Wants to jail covid vaccine advocates in jail.

Ballay It is your body, your choice. Condemns effect of restrictions on children.

Mapstead: Discusses Chinese. Trump fell for DC propaganda.

Favorite founding father:

Ter Maat: Washington walked away from power.

Smith: Patrick Henry

Rectenwald: Thomas Paine Jefferson was the radical.

Oliver: Thomas Jefferson.  We need to move forward.

Ballay: Jefferson.  Claims 10th Amendment creates states’ rights.

Mapstead: Thomas Paine.

Audience Q&A:  What have you changed on most over your campaign.
Mapsted: ‘Unrig the system’  has become more important in mind.

Ballay: My values have not changed.  System is unfair.  Uniparty does not change.

Oliver: Running for Senate taught me how to invest resources better.  I forced a runoff at 26 cents per vote. Used resources efficiently.  Use volunteers on a large scale.

Erin Adams asks: I want to know about your professional staff.

Rectenwald: I have a strategy.  Decentralization and nullification.I have the boldest message.

Smith: I have a great staff.  This is a media tour. We don’t need the mainstream media and more.  We will get on all the alternative media.

Ter Maat: Praises his opponents.

Mapsted: Promises another million of his own money into the campaign.

Ter Maat: Thank you for voting me onto the stage.

Ballay: Education and hard work are the basis of success.  Electoral process needs to change. I want to change the process for the better. Support our candidate this fall.

Smith: Why are you doing this? You have seven children.  Why ?  I have a dream. Lists events.

Oliver: John Monds recruited me.  We will wake up millions of voters.

Rectenwald: End tyranny.

As readers cannot tell, but my poor ears complain, these guys are mostly fond of bellowing their messages.

Someone moves to suspend the rules and consider a resolution.  The resolution calls for Libertarians, especially in Michigan,  to support the national party candidates. The motion to suspend the rules fails.   Move to suspend the rules for a 45 minute chair debate now. Motion passes.

They are collecting written questions from the audience.  There are two filtering people.  One of them is Michael Heise.  The other is Sam Goldstein.

LNC Chair debate.  Jim Lark moderates.

Jose Bosada (I think) Grew up in Communist Cuba.  Came here. Encountered the Mises school.  Ran for Congress in 2004.  Writer on politics. Must propagandize for the market economy.

Angela McArdle:  The job is to lead the party and move things forward.  Our mission is to strike at the root and be radical.  Lists things that she has done.

Mark Rutherford.  State Chair.  Chair of Public Defender Commission. I practiced business law. Raise money, recruit candidates, support states.

Ken Moellman: I have a problem.  I want Liberty.  Need to understand — members first.  This is your party.`

Steve Nekhaila: I want to run the LNC like a Wendy’s. Has 250 employees.  Have been on the LNC for 8 years.

What is the chair job.

Nekhaila: Board needs to run strategy.  Go back to fundraising, membership.  Get everyone on the board in the same directions.

Moellman: Lead by example. Backend stuff: manage employees, infrastructure. Work to support members.

Rutherford: Chair is the leader and leads LNC to make decisions, raise, money, get more people elected. Move forward and do things.

McArdle: Chair is leader, media face, and top strategist and set direction.  Get on the phone to raise money.

Basado:  Main challenge is the economic ignorance of the masses.

Is the LP better off than two years ago.

Moellman: Membership, donors down. Idea: Every time you bring in five members, you get a free year’s membership.

MacArdle: $159K in three days.  Finances have turned around. Memberships have turned around.

Badado: We are doing way better than in the past, thanks to Mises Caucus and Scott Horton.

Rutherford: LP has always been antiwar, anti-intervention.  National Party has gone downhill in the last two years.Need to run more candidates.

Nekhaila: Run candidates. Spread our message.  We have no fundraisers.  Operation tourniquet.  End the bleeding.

What does a political party do?

Rutherford Elect candidates and get them appointed.

Nekhaila: Purpose is to gain power, to defend freedom. I want LP to be loved, respected, and feared.

Moellman: We are here to run candidates. We have a platform.

McArdle:Our purpose is to spread the message of Liberty.  We’re not a centrist organization.

Basado: We should become more like the Mises Institute and spread economic knowledge and morality.  Condemns slogan propagandizing.

Increase Revenue?

Nekhaila: Focus on fundraising. Membership recruit.  Candidate support. Membership support.

Basado: Revolution in thinking will bring in money.

McArdle: Membership recruitment has been poor for a long time.

Rutherford: To raise money tell people what you are doing and keep the promises. Personal touch, communication, and honoring your promises.

Moellman: Commission-based fundraising.  Talk to issues people care about it.  CiviCRM works and is affordable.

Two minute closers:

Basado: Unite behind someone like Mises and Hoppe, Ron Paul, Rockwell… Create a beacon for other to follow.

Moellman: I can do the job well. CRM was the best system we can afford.  Respect staff. Vote for whoever you think is best.

Rutherford: Thank you all for being here.  Be involved more in the community.  Run for Office. Make the world a better place.  I was Vice Chair.  I have the experience.

Nekhaila: There are LPs all around the world. Talks about the LP Cuba. Wants LPs everywhere to succeed.

McArdle: We came out against the war in Ukraine and Israel.  We have influence.  She bellows.

Lark: I was National Chair. I know what is involved.  Please thank these people for standing up.  (Applause.)

We have a lunch break.

Chase Oliver announced that Indiana LP Vice Chair KRISTIN ALEXANDER is his choice for his VP and running mate. She is 34 years old.  She will turn 35 before the November election.

Chair nominations, Andrew Watkins presiding.

Motion to amend the rules and elect the President immediately after the Chair election.  Woman keeps interrupting demanding what required vote total is.  She keeps getting told the answer.  She keeps repeating the question.  Motion passes.  Motion to eliminate candidates and give them a chance to speak.

Rutherford first.  Evan McMahan nominates. Rutherford recruited him to working for the LP.  He is a builder.  Laid Indiana infrastructure. In 2022 1/3 of all partisan Libertarians were from Indiana.  IN donations per capita are twice nationals.  Jesse Calvert endorses.  Texas works because we stick to basics, and run LPTX as a business. Members is the party, chair is the face.He will not overturn the will of the members.  Boomer Shannon endorses. Party has left candidates stranded.

Rutherford: It is time for the LP to become a major staff.  Professionalism, Staff.  I’ve done it before in IN.  I get lots of media attention. I accept the nomination.

McArdle nomination:  Scott Horton nominates. Everything has not been perfect. New strategic direction is  a great improvement. We want the American libertarian movement to join us.  Did a peace rally in DC.  The Mises caucus and Angela are the continuation of the Ron Paul revolution.  Gold, Guns, peace…anti-imperialism.  We stayed good on war.  Antiimperialism is good.Praises Defend the Guard.

McArdle: My job is to build you up. Our objective is to gather up the remnants.

Basada: Private property is what creates wealth.  Gives examples, e.g., automobile manufacturers.  Competition gives us the best products. Long explanation of the merits of competition based on private property.  Attacks Zionism as an error. Antisemitism is an error.  Labelling people as groups is bad.  You can never have too many Mises quotes.

Nekhaila:  Ron Paul brought me to the party, then Gary Johnson and radical libertarians.  Talks about freedom as what people want.  Got involved in LP Florida. As LPF Treasurer and Chair, we raised tons of money.  Need all factions to come together on overarching goals.  We set goals.  We had monthly meetings  I’ve been on the LNC for 8 years.  I’ve seen what works and what does not.  We need to raise 10, 20, 100 million a year, not 1.5-2 million a year.  I am doing this because I’ve been in the party for 10 years.  We need: Fundraising, eventually a full time fundraiser.  Get membership up.  Ballot access 50 states + DC and Guam.   Affiliate support.

Moellman: There are no shortcuts.  We need to do things right.  I’ve been active for 18 years.  Did many good tings for the party.  I am doing this because we need to move the party forwarded.  Gives his history of joining the party and becoming active. State party had no resources. We persuaded the Republican Congressman in 2006 to urge leaving Iraq.  When a smaller third party tries to function as a caucus of a large party, it soon dies.  We need to be inclusive, support people whatever their particular pro-liberty interests.

Chairs are told to collect their voting packets.  Instructions for voting are given.

Scott Horton Speech.

All envelopes are at the tellers. Presidential nominations are next.  Someone wants to reconsider the motion as to when the POTUS election is held, based on when CSPAN will be here.

We have reached the first round vote. The vote totals are not visible.