Funding Liberty – 1997 Browne Advances toward the Nomination

Browne’s published strategy did not mention internal political difficulties faced by Browne. I’ve noted above issues that had arisen as a result of Browne’s changes of mind during the 1996 campaign. Some these difficulties were issues that the Browne campaign could not mention publicly, but that needed to be addressed.

An early indication that Browne’s 1996 Campaign had not been received well was that long-time LNC member and Party Activist Don Ernsberger resigned from the Libertarian Party. An open letter from Mike Nixson of York County, Pennsylvania presented the explanation for Ernsberger’s resignation. Nixson had been a substantial early contributor to the Browne Campaign, and had helped raise $7,000 toward Browne’s efforts. Nixson identified problematic aspects of “strategic directions” and “ethical matters”. Nixson thought that Libertarians could agree to disagree about strategic directions, but that the ethical matters “overall..are a serious impediment to our…success”.

Issues that Nixson discussed included (1) excessive use of spin and hype, (2) actions calling into account the ethical character of the national leadership, (3) borrowing by the National Committee in violation of the By-Laws, and (4) strategy. With respect to spin, Nixson quoted former LNC member Don Ernsberger, who had resigned following the 1996 election: “…The membership of the Libertarian Party continues to fool itself into the belief that the LP plays any role in the political process. Furthermore, the only thing the LP does well is use hype to raise money from its members. Having made the decision [to quit the Party] I was able to sit back and observe the Harry Browne campaign…On Election Day I took out all the fund raising letters from the past two years and spread them across my work table…a pathetic collection of hype.” With respect to ethics, Nixson objected to staff members who were also working for the Browne and Bergland campaigns.

The issue of funding arises from the By-Laws, Article 12, Section 5, “The Party shall not borrow in excess of $2000 total without prior approval by 2/3 vote of the National Committee. This shall not include current operating debt for trade payables.” Nixson explains that ‘current operating debt’ refers to bills to be paid within 30 days of being tendered, notes that the Party had extensive longer-term debt, and claims that the National Treasurer’s claim that he had Executive Committee approval for incurring the debt “…was an outright fabrication.” With respect to strategy, Nixson proposed that the large national office with a 1995 budget of two million dollars was ‘an example of top down thinking’ that was ‘philosophically opposite to my understanding of a Libertarian political ethic’.

In an aside based on his professional experience, Nixson estimated the cost of producing professional TV spots, which he had done, including $3,000 for a half-day of shooting and $10,000 for a heavily-edited 20 minute training video with actors and music.

Nixson’s letter and Ernsberger’s resignation had little broader impact. The Browne campaign failed to address its difficulties within the party. In 2000 Browne and the National Party were to pay a steep price for this failure.