Browne also gave Bergland direct access to LibertyWire. The 18 June 1998 mailing of LibertyWire was “An Important Message from David Bergland to Delegates to the 1998 National Convention”. In this message, Bergland laid out his substantial qualifications to be National Chair. He also made clear—by being allowed to use Browne 2000’s LibertyWire message —that he was the chosen candidate…
Posts published in “Graft”
The LNC recently received a report covering, among other things, claims the LNC funds were misappropriated and spent in ways not consistent with Party bylaws and LNC actions. I am not here speaking to the accuracy of the report’s analysis. Others have done that for me.The report then advanced the false argument that since the amount that was lost, a…
Project Archimedes was the program that the Browne campaign needed. Archimedes might or might not work, but it at least promised an opportunity to recruit vast numbers of new dues-paying members, i.e., vast numbers of potential Browne donors. As it turned out, most members were not donors. Only a small fraction of LPUS members ever donated to Browne’s campaign. Bergland…
The 1998-2000 National Committee was to be chosen at the 1998 National Convention, held in Washington, D.C. over the 4th of July weekend. Members and supporters of the Browne campaign worked vigorously to install a sympathetic National Committee. The National Chair candidate was David Bergland, Harry Browne’s 1996 Campaign Chair. In Bergland, Browne had a highly reliable supporter who was…
Browne announced in 1997 that he needed a much larger Libertarian Party, a party that by December 1999 would number 200,000 members instead of 22,000 members. Could the Party possibly recruit 200,000 members by the end of 1999? No matter what method the National Party used, Browne’s recruitment objective appeared unattainable. On one hand, to reach Browne’s objective, the National…
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…
Statement from the Libertarian Party of San Francisco The Libertarian Party of San Francisco firmly believes that all affiliates—whether at the state or county level—should uphold the core principles and bylaws of the national Libertarian Party. In light of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s continued support for authoritarian rhetoric and tactics, as well as their open endorsement of Donald…
Composite Spending How did the Browne Campaign spend its money to get its half percent of the vote? The primary beneficiary of the Browne general election Campaign’s spending was LNC, Inc.; it received $117,000. Sharon Ayres received $57,000. Other Browne campaign staffers received rather less. Are these numbers of interest? The Libertarian Party’s Presidential candidate is selected by unbound delegates…
What is the significance of the P Transaction for the Browne Campaign? Once again the National Party had given Browne’s campaign a direct subsidy of substantial value for Browne’s 2000 effort. Browne donors, in addition to the letters and the books and other tchotchkes, now had received Party membership extensions, which some of them believed had been paid for by…
Debate over the P Transaction continued through the April 1997 LNC meeting. According to its Minutes, “Steve Dasbach described an arrangement where contributors to the Harry Browne for President campaign received a subscription to LP News and the campaign gave $25 to the party. He noted a correction to the 1996 income statement: it should show a $58,050 credit to…