Third Quarter 1995
For July-September the campaign raised $171,000, an increase of more than 20% over the previous quarter. The campaign spent a shade under $174,000. Disbursements to individuals, including consulting fees and reimbursements, included
Michael Cloud $16,515
Sharon Ayres $14,074
Autumn Wilson $9,730
Stuart Reges $8,315
Harry Browne $6,443 (repayment of loan)
Lisa Paley $6,294
Robert Martin III $4,870
Dean Spear Assoc. $4,500
(J Harris Dean) $895
Terry Bronson $4,489
William Winter $1,142
Autumn Wilson is Autumn Browne Wilson, the candidate’s daughter, who received just short of $10,000. Funds disbursed to vendors included:
Accumail (postage, mailing $23,278
services)
| Accumail (returned to campaign) | ($3,141) |
| Mountain Vernon Printing | $20,012 |
| Carlson Wagonlit Travel | $15,735 |
| Libertarian National Committee | $5,670 |
| BB Duplicators (printing) | $3,475 |
| DS Mail for Less | $1,581 |
| Liberty Publishing (list rental) | $1,556 |
| Time Printing | $1,529 |
| Postage | $1,250 |
Once again, list rental is about 20% of the total cost for postage, printing, and mailing. ‘Liberty Publishing’ is the publisher of Liberty Magazine, the only independent large-circulation newsmagazine that regularly reports on the internal doings of the Libertarian party. As a result of its accurate and detailed coverage of Party activities, for the 2002 National Convention the LNC Staff and National Chair James Lark refused to give press credentials to Liberty Magazine’s on-scene reporter.
For a change, the campaign tried reaching out to the general public, rather than only talking to other Libertarians. Spending on orthodox advertising potentially to the general public included:
| National Graphic Center (bumper stickers) | $2,560 |
| WGIR AM (Manchester NH) | $2,474 |
| Alexander Buttons | $1,216 |
| WMVU AM (Nashua NH) | $992 |
| Newmark Sign Shop | $633 |
The radio ads mark the opening moves of Harry Browne’s much-promised, short-lived New Hampshire campaign. Browne later announced that the unexpected Republican primary campaigns in New Hampshire were too much competition for his campaign to be heard. Unexpected? In 1996, there was an incumbent Democratic President, William Jefferson Clinton. It is difficult to understand how one could have expected anything other than a vigorous competition for the Republican nomination. Nonetheless, Browne cancelled his proposed high-intensity New Hampshire campaign. That cancellation set a pattern: Promises, fundraising, cancellations, and excuses, in that order, were permanent motifs of Browne and his campaign through two election cycles.
Fourth Quarter 1995
In October-December 1995, the Browne campaign raised $149,000— $22,000 less than in the third quarter—and spent $176,000. Some of this money may well have passed through the Browne campaign mail drop address located in the Watergate Building. How did this money reach the campaign? For November 7, 1995, John Famularo reports being told, by National Committee member Don Ernsberger, that mail pickups from the Browne Campaign’s drop box were being made by members of the National Committee staff. Such pickups, if made, would have been violations of Party rules as set by the National Committee.
Funds paid to individuals, including not only consulting fees but also reimbursement for expenses, include
Sharon Ayres $25,284
Michael Cloud $10,102
Autumn Wilson $9,616
Harry Browne $9,384
Lisa Paley $6,362
Stuart Reges $6,180
Robert Martin III $5,312
Terry Bronson $4,746
Dean Spear Assoc. $3,000
Bill Winter $688
Perry Willis $465
Wile major vendors received :
| Accumail | $21,150 |
| DS Mail for Less | $17,668 |
| Mount Vernon Printing | $9,296 |
| Carlson Wagonlit Travel | $7,508 |
| Postage | $6,475 |
| Time Printing | $5,540 |
| BB Duplicators | $5,512 |
| LNC (shipping, literature,list rental) | $3,801 |
Finally, spending potentially for outreach to the general public was:
National Graphic Center $826
For the year 1995, the campaign spent under 2% of its income on addressing the public via advertising. The campaign did put the candidate on the road, but other campaigns would do the same as they got under way during the Presidential campaigning season.
In his 2001 apologia, Perry Willis said that he covertly supported Browne in 1995-1996 because Browne was doing outreach to the general public. As an abstract campaign policy—what should a Campaign do?— Willis’s reasoning has a certain merit. To win, a Libertarian Campaign must reach beyond the faithful and recruit voters from the general public. To build a Libertarian America, the Libertarian Party and its candidates must build a stronger voter and volunteer base. Those voters and volunteers can only by obtained by reaching out to people who are not presently Libertarians.
A certain question now arises: Where is the Browne campaign’s outreach? Willis claimed that he supported Browne because Browne was doing outreach. Looking at Browne’s campaign budget for the year, one sees hundreds of thousands for fundraising and staff, and thousands for communicating with the general public. Where are the outreach efforts that Willis said he wanted to support? Willis claimed to have broken party rules because the Browne campaign was doing outreach that required funding to support, but Browne’s opponents were not doing similar outreach efforts. Is Willis’s description of the Browne campaign plausible?
The Browne campaign occasionally promised outreach, in New Hampshire or CityVote, but that outreach largely never materialized. In early 1995 Willis might have believed Browne’s promises, but by the start of 1996 it should have been apparent that there was very little real outreach. Had Willis simply closed his eyes to the reality of the situation? Perhaps Willis had great faith in Browne’s use of talk radio, though the demographics of political talk radio— typically older, less-well-to-do, highly conservative—do not make talk radio listeners a promising audience for much of the Libertarian message. Or is Willis’s 2001 claim he supported Browne ‘because Browne did outreach’ to be grouped with Willis’s fundraising letters: clever prose constructs designed to elicit specific responses from the reader?
Did you ever read about a car manufacturer that redesigned their car to fit the needs of their sales staff? I haven’t but I have watched the LP at all levels make decisions on what issues to support based on the whims of the candidate, or candidates. I’ve been told not to mention drugs, avoid criticizing the war, don’t criticize healthcare because someone was a doctor, that we needed zoning laws, and so on.
The LP needs build a list of 10 to 20 issues that are infringing on our rights, post them on the website, develop brochures for these issues, send out media releases on them, and stick with that list for 20 years. Much of that can be done fairly easily. And inexpensively.
I have a list that I’ll post later that would save the public money if it was adopted that I have worked on for a number of years.
I’m reminded of a couple of things Mr. Hancock of Arizona said at his booth and talks, such as All Our Freedoms All The Time and What’s the Central Plan for Freedom?
As a more practical matter, I don’t think a party as diverse as yours will stick to any list or plan for 20 years. They will switch gears completely, probably several times, long before 20 years are up. To make any such thing work, a ruling faction would have to ruthlessly purge all opponents and insulate themselves from counterattack, which would only result in shrinkage followed by fallings out among their own factional ranks.
There are a number of laws on the book that are racist in origin and have a negative impact on lower income people and make it difficult to get ahead economically that if repealed would reduce the tax burden, help the economy grow, and maybe improve the LP’s image.
I was going to post a short list of issues but why waste me time?
Mr. Wilson,
Please, don’t let my skepticism that your party either would or should adopt a short(ish) list of “most important issues”, dictate to all of your candidates, local groups, and national employees for the next 20 years to concentrate on that list as well as how to adress them, and not switch gears before those 20 years go by dissuade you from posting your suggestions.
For one thing I could be wrong. That should go without saying, but perhaps I’ve given you the wrong impression inadvertently, so I’m saying so just in case I did.
For another, perhaps even if I’m right, you might succeed to some extent, even if not as thoroughly and/or not for as long a time as you might hope.
Lastly, I’m mildly curious as to your list, and other readers may be as well, perhaps in their case even more than mildly. I apologize if I created the impression that you ought not post your list, and please disregard anything I said that discourages you from doing so, again with my deepest apologies.
Mr. Jones your comment did not cause me any harm and I am fine. I have sent my comments to the LNC more than once previously, but so far no change.
However, here is the list I start the list with the barriers to prosperity and go from there.
It has some details attached, but there are more, but it may give you an idea of what I am trying to pull together. Focusing on urban transit is like picking low hanging fruit to me.
1. End zoning laws they cause poverty
a) Zoning laws contribute to air pollution.
b) Zoning laws add to the cost of mortgages payment. “Foreign countries own $1.32 trillion of U.S. mortgage-backed securities, according to a global markets analysis from Ginnie Mae.”
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/china-may-retaliatory-move-experts-095500223.html https://www.ginniemae.gov/data_and_reports/reporting/Documents/global_market_analysis_feb25.pdf
c) Homelessness.
d) Poverty
e) Crime
2. Support alternative urban transit. Repeal the monopoly that the government enjoys in many cities on urban transit.
a) “The lack of personal mobility has economic, social and human costs, such as higher unemployment, reduced tax revenue, greater welfare and medical costs, and limited social potential.” “https://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_49.pdf
3. Reduce the cost of starting a business.
4. Repeal occupational licensing laws.
5. Support school choice.
6. End the drug war.
7. Make paralegals an acceptable craft to reduce the cost of family law.
8. Support Bringing the troops home from abroad
9. Repeal the restrictions on midwife’s and give mom’s a choice.
10. End the National Debt is Child Abuse
11. End corporate welfare
12. End agricultural welfare; grow Hemp instead
a. Use Hemp instead of polyester and reduce microplastics in the ocean
13. Repeal the laws restricting access to the ballot.
14. Support the Second Amendment;
the report that the government had ignored over 100,000 untested rape kits is reason enough. These people were victimized twice. First by their attacker and then by the government.
Howz dat?
Mike
Hi Mike,
Slight correction: “Mr., Mrs. or Miss Jones” (I intentionally keep it ambiguous here), or for simplicity, Pat, Jones, Pat Jones, PJ…any of these are good and fine….
Your list has much to like, Mike. Of course there are many issues many people consider to be important which are not there, so good luck with herding all the libertarian cats on board and marching in lockstep for a couple of decades.
I heard opening a can of cat food is a good way to herd cats, so you have a starting point.
OK…now once we’ve revisited party history for the 100th time (as Libertarians love to do), what are we going to do to move things forward? Most of the people referenced in this blog post are no longer active in the LP. Will George Phillies be manning a LP outreach booth at a gun show? Will JBH be getting a good pair of walking shows and going door-to-door to 100,000 households with the World’s Smallest Political Quiz? Perhaps these two could seek appointment to their local planning commission or board of health.
Those who refuse to find out what the history was are always surprised when it returns and places its dental apparatus into their hindquarters.