Newer and better data, courtesy of reader Jim
July 2023 should be 13,620. August was 12,728.
The October 2023 report dropped the August number and got everything from August earlier was screwed up on all subsequent reports until those months rolled off.
Also, January 2024 was 12, 326.
Going as far back as they have published data:
2021
20,005 Apr
19,578 May
18,839 June
17,942 July
17,474 Aug
17,292 Sept
17,518 Oct
17,325 Nov
17,457 Dec
2022
17,155 Jan
17,089 Feb
17,089 Mar
16,988 Apr
16,921 May
17,629 June
17,683 July
17,616 Aug
17,409 Sept
17,316 Oct
17,305 Nov
16,988 Dec
2023
16,507 Jan
16,308 Feb
15,954 Mar
15,539 Apr
15,060 May
14,080 June
13,620 July
12,728 Aug
12,317 Sept
12,747 Oct
12,492 Nov
12,344 Dec
2024
12,326 Jan
12,334 Feb
12,358 Mar
12,211 Apr
12,204 May
11,936 June
11,892 July
They vastly disagree on what aggression is initiatory or responsive. Government taxation is coercive, but who initiates aggression, the tax collector doing his job or the guy who shoots him while he goes about it? It looks from a noncontextualized view that the shooter initiates aggression, but the shooter will say it was defense against the tax mans aggression. You can likewise apply that same general principle to probably any side of any issue, or just about, by framing it differently.
Meanwhile, any outside observer catching whiff of such questions discussed by an alleged political party will brand them as wackos and stay as far away as possible. These aren’t practical political questions. They’re not practical revolutionary questions either – the Revolutionary Libertarian Peoples Army would end up reduced to nothing by fragging before any actual enemy could be seriously engaged.
Politics is normally understood as an art of the practically possible within an election cycle or small number thereof. Absurdity theater politics can attract attention to make a point, but requires some coherent objective, strategy, and much better production value. When you combine absurd, dull, obscure, unpleasant, caustic, and tied in endless Gordian knots, well – welcome to the LP. Demonstrating becoming ungovernable, but only internally to the party.
Irreparable damage? The number of such “candid moment’s” over the years is legion. Few remember any particular one, but if you go digging there’s no shortage. The irreparable damage was done decades ago, or perhaps on or about the time of the party being founded. The cracks are now at the extent that the facade of coherence is crumbling. The silver lining of self and media proclaimed libertarians going feral is that few people anywhere notice, care, or expect anything else.
I haven’t heard the term fragging since Vietnam. Hopefully everyone here understands that means doing things like rolling a live hand grenade under the tent flap of your lieutenant while you were out on patrol. I knew someone who did that. He actually bragged about it.
What idiot has them set up tents at night when they are in country?
Force used to defend against aggression must not exceed that which is sufficient to stop the aggression. Using more force than necessary means the person who had been in defense has become the aggressor.
Stealing a stick of gum is an aggression, but libertarianism doesn’t permit killing over it.
So any guesses on what LPNH’s most recent antics will do to membership?
First, they issued what was clearly a challenge to have someone murder an elected official, saying the person would be a hero, then roughly about the time that someone attempted to harm a former elected official, they deleted it, saying they are the “most oppressed minority”.
Looks to me like this kind of action by someone who represents the libertarian party at the state level and is control of their “official” social media account could not only land people in jail, but cause irreparable damage to their state party and the national party. And of course, by association, other state parties.
New Hampshire clearly jumped the shark.
Someone at IPR or 3PW should investigate and identify the person or persons involved. Who authorized threatening the life of the vice president of the United States? Was it the state party or the national party directing them through the mises caucus?
I thought that the libertarian party stood for non-aggression.
You’d be allowed to continue in the delusion that that’s what they stand for since discussion on what if anything that actually means is verboten.
My apologies. It may or may not be verboten. Still awaiting editorial consideration and somehow jumped out of queue to the top.
If it happens, it will be quick. Either things have changed in federal election law since I was active at the national level, or they are already breaking the law. My understanding, from years ago, is that a political party cannot have credit cards.
I remember being told that debit cards were allowed (with tight control on access), but I was told specifically that credit cards were not. Maybe that has changed.
If they can hide debt on credit cards, then it will linger on for a couple of months, but if not, then it will all happen within the space of 30 to 60 days. When they run out of cash and cannot pay the bills, it won’t take long.
The donors that gave to the building fund should get smart. Someone should get the list and start a class action now. If there is a lawsuit already started, their position in the list of creditors will be in much better standing. It won’t be great, but it’s better than nothing.
I know… Getting a list is the problem… The LNC is not likely to cough it up without legal action just to get that…
All this said, I’m not going to lose any sleep over this. Following this failed and corrupt regime has become as boring as watching a Trump rally.
Stewart, I don’t think the building donors have “standing” to sue because they haven’t yet been harmed. And I don’t recall any legally binding contract was entered into (just a moral contract). LNC should contact all the donors, ask if they want their money back, and then sell the building. Give the money back to those who want it, and use the rest of the proceeds to retire other debt and run the Party. [Building should have a nice boost in value as there will be tons of new rent seeking businesses moving into NoVa when Harris wins in November.] And LNC please do something about the convention hotel bill – it would be fiscally irresponsible of the hotel to not be preparing a lawsuit right now (nearly 120 days after convention) for its unpaid invoices.
I agree that they have no harm at this point. I was on the LNC when the building was purchased. Some, but not all, of the building donations were directed donations. There are FEC regulations regarding this situation — or at least there were back then.
But getting them together and sending a strongly worded letter indicating a suit if the LNC sells the building would be a good idea.
But how long would selling the building stave off the creditors? And could it even be sold in time?
I have not been keeping up on what they did regarding the convention. I was on the convention committee for several terms years back, and we always held aside the money for the hotel and related costs out of revenue that came in. The bill was always paid.
Be sure to sell the HQ building, and return donor money if requested, before the ‘”look back claw back” period begins if bankruptcy is anticipated. Attorney Bill Hall should be able to advise.
The National Libertarian Party is in free fall.
Can it recover? Is a crash landing inevitable?
No to the first question, yes to the second.
Will the last party member please turn out the lights?
No need. Mises already took all the bulbs…
The Libertarian Party is not going away anytime soon. The Libertarian Party still has ballot access in a bunch of states and this is very valuable.
The Reform Party and the Natural Law Party basically collapsed after the 2000 election, yet the Reform Party is still recognized with ballot status in Florida and the Natural Law Party still has ballot status in Michigan and Florida.