Chapters are from my book Funding Liberty, available from Third Millennium 3mpub.com. (A few days ago, their money handler indicated that they are closing, so they are in the middle of switching to a new contractor. Momentarily, email me phillies@4liberty.com if you want a copy of the PDF of the entire volume.)
Ahmad further noted that there was a period during which Delamare was a full-time volunteer at the National Office. During that period, according to Ahmad, Delamare also made calls on behalf of the Browne campaign. Ahmad identifies several people who received such calls, including himself.
In early 1995, the Browne campaign began its official financial relationships with the Libertarian National Committee’s staff. On a series of first-quarter dates beginning on February 23, the Browne Campaign paid the LP’s Director of Communications, William Winter, $388. On March 13, it paid LP National Director Perry Willis $578.
Why was Willis National Director? A convoluted path had taken him to the job. In April 1993, then-National-Director Stuart Reges, who later became Harry Browne’s accountant, announced that he would resign within four months. The National Committee chose Gene Cisewski as the Party’s new National Director and retained Perry Willis as interim National Director to assist in the transition. According to John Famularo’s documents, Willis soon began lobbying to have Cisewski removed. Willis complained that Cisewski was not putting enough time into his work for the Party. On November 7, 1993, National Chair Steve Dasbach discharged Cisewski. According to Famularo, Dasbach had been lobbied to do so by Willis, Bill Winter, soon-to-be Browne campaign co-chair David Bergland, and Bergland’s wife and soon-to-be Browne Campaign Manager Sharon Ayres. Willis was presented to the December 1993 National Committee meeting as the de facto National Director. Curiously, despite complaining that Cisewski did not put in enough time as National Director, in 1995-1996 Willis as National Director thought it was perfectly proper to invest large amounts of his own time on the Browne Campaign rather than on LNC business.
Browne’s fundraising letters announced seriatim several campaign strategies. Courtesy of fellow Libertarians who collected many of them, we can track what Browne announced. The March 1995 letter was “Our plan to force Clinton to demand LP inclusion in the 1996 TV debates”. Clinton, of course, never demanded anything of the kind.
On April 15, 1995 Browne spoke at the Massachusetts state convention. My eyewitness source reports that “…the New England audience was happy to hear about the New Hampshire focus and how it would help local organizations. Yes, they were all excited about the outside hard money connected to Harry.”
“…he wanted to be our candidate for President and concentrate campaigning in New Hampshire as a key strategy….He would use radio appearances to sell a new libertarian book to bring in money from outside the party.” Unlike past campaigns, Browne’s 1996 campaign—claimed Browne—was going to be funded by sources outside the party. Not only would his book bring in outside money, it would bring in new members, again to the benefit of our state and local Party groups. Browne, my witness reports, told the Massachusetts State convention that if we nominated him he could get a record number of votes because he was a skilled salesman. In two Presidential campaigns, Browne’s vote totals would set no records, even for the Libertarian Party.
April 1995: The LNC Takes Notice
The issue of interactions between the National Party’s Staff and the Browne Campaign arose at the April 1995 LNC meeting, held in Phoenix, Arizona. The National Committee minutes at lp.archive.org (GP:may have been moved since) are extensive; the next few paragraphs quote from them. Don Ernsberger, who has since quit the National Party in disgust over events such as those we are now cataloging, began by asking National Chair Dasbach “what policy he had set up for the use of headquarters personnel and resources in relation to the presidential candidates.”
The National Committee has two governing documents. Party By-Laws are passed by the delegates at National Conventions. The Policy Manual is the codification of resolutions passed by the Libertarian National Committee. Dasbach answered Ernsberger by citing “the conflict of interest provision of the LNC policy manual”, which in April 1995 stated:
“D. Neither the National Director nor any other employee of the Party shall:
1. Endorse, support, contribute any money, or use his or her title or position to aid any candidate in any Party primary, or in any campaign for office, or nomination, within the Party or any State Party.
2. Serve as a delegate to any National or State Party convention.
3. Permit LPHQ to be used by anyone at any time to aid any candidate in any Party primary, or in any campaign for office, or nomination, with the Party or any State Party.
E. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that nothing in this section shall prevent the National Director or any employee of the Party from providing the same information and services that would be provided to any other member of the Party to any such candidate.
F. No Party funds may be expended in any of the types of campaigns described in this section.”
According to the LNC’s April 1995 Minutes, Dasbach told the National Committee “there has been some paid work…done by both Mr Willis and Mr Winter. He said that he requested that they do not do any further work until the matter could be presented to the LNC.” At the April 1995 meeting, Willis told the LNC that “he has not done any work for any campaign since Mr. Dasbach has asked him not to.” The October, 2001 issue of Liberty magazine provides a correction to this final statement. According to Liberty, Dasbach had recently told them that “the minutes were not completely accurate.” Dasbach now asserts that in 1995 he requested “that Willis do no further work, but told Winter he could continue because the work he was doing was trivial in nature.” Dasbach waited six years to make this correction.
How had it been decided that Willis and Winter’s work did not violate the party rules in the Policy Manual? Willis and Winter initially decided it for themselves, apparently seeing no conflict of interest in doing so. According to the LNC Minutes: “…Mr Willis and Mr Winter reviewed the policy manual and the only thing that seemed to be at issue was the word ‘support’ and they determined that if the Browne campaign or the Jorgenson campaign hired an outside vendor it would not constitute support for the campaign but just a contractual relationship.”
Willis and Winter’s interpretation of the Policy Manual was supported by National Chair Dasbach. The April 1995 minutes note “Mr Dasbach said that it was his interpretation of the Policy Manual that if Mr Willis or Mr Winter were to provide volunteer services it would be considered support, but as long as they are being paid it does not constitute support.”
