Revoking my Libertarian Party “Life Membership”, a.k.a. Politics Sucks!

[FTL_Ian]

http://freekeene.com/2008/04/28/revoking-my-libertarian-party-life-membership-aka-politics-sucks/

The Libertarian Party (LP) had, after the late, great Harry Browne's campaigns, been falling further and further from it's original principles. In the early portion of this decade, when the LP removed from the party platform their calls for the abolishment of the CIA and FBI, I wrote their newspaper to say I'd not send them another dime of money until they got back to their founding principle: the non-initiation of force.

As I drifted away from the LP and politics and toward market-based action, I paid less and less attention to the LP. I even said on the air recently on "Free Talk Live", my talk show, that the only reason I was still a member is because I bought a life membership and it hadn't been worth my while to cancel it.

Well, along comes this post on the LRC blog. I agree with the sentiments of the post, and felt this move by the LP was the last straw. I called and revoked my membership, and felt clean and fresh afterward!

The LP is dead to me and no longer resembles the party I joined ten years ago. After the 2000 Browne campaign, I jumped into LP activism. I attended meetings regularly and single-handedly organized and paid for libertarian outreach at the county fair, gun shows, and gay/lesbian pridefests as well as created and tended their website. I did and funded it all myself because of the political nature of the LP. It was not hard to notice how bureaucratic and slow they were. For example, they spent uncountable weeks debating over bylaws. Plus, at the non-bylaw-reviewing regular meetings, whenever an idea was proposed there would nearly always be someone who would derail the discussion into debate on the idea or the issue. Very little ever got done. This was just my experience with the local LP in Florida. (Nothing against the individuals, they are good people. It's the central planning that is the major failure.)

The LP state conventions I attended were dull. Having watched the LP national conventions on TV, I can say that while some of the speeches were excellent, the bulk of the time was spent bickering over party platform, blah blah blah. I'm glad I never went to one. All of this distasteful bureaucratic, political garbage was frustrating to me, as I didn't know what else to do to achieve liberty in my lifetime.

Since I discovered the Free State Project in the first half of the decade and especially since moving to New Hampshire, I've been learning about the free market and experiencing REAL, decentralized, activism. Sure, there are a bunch of political Free Staters (for those of you who still believe you can change the system from the inside), but the most exciting and effective activism has been market-based. There's a cadre of great market-based activists (both NH natives and Free Staters) here in Keene, NH, and that number is growing. We're creating our own media (TV, radio, print, blog) and have begun living free. If the Blue Light Gang interferes, we already have proven success at deterring their aggression. As more join in withdrawing from coercive society and joining the voluntary society, we will only be more successful as the coercive gang's veil of legitimacy will crumble from its own inherent contradictions. Eventually, the transition to the free market will be completed and not one vote need be cast or politician promoted.

Goodbye LP. Their contribution to the dilution and destruction of the term Libertarian is appreciated. "Free Marketeer" is so much more descriptive of my beliefs. Thanks LP, for helping me realize that politics is never the solution to problems.

We will never be free by begging, but only by choice. I choose liberty. What about you? Will you join the Nonviolent Evolution?

[Dylboz]

Congratulations! I was done after they wrecked the platform last year (or was it the year before? Who cares!). Good on ya'!

[dalebert]

Congo Rats Ian!

[Puke]

It's like politics infects people and slowly turns them evil.

[Tom Sawyer]

Amen brother.

[TackleTheWorld]

 

[NJLiberty]

I had a similar experience with the LP in NJ. They were very good at talking about things, but very poor at actually getting anything done. They approached me about running for State Assembly here in NJ, and then were marvelously inept at actually getting anything accomplished along those lines. I didn't ask for much from them, just the membership rolls for the district I was in and the neighboring district where no one was running, so I could try and recruit some volunteers, or to have them pass the word to those in the two districts if they were worried about their members privacy. It took them months to accomplish half that task and by then it was much too late. I let my membership lapse a long time ago.

Congratulations on freeing yourself!

George

[Jim Johnson]

  

   What?  It's a celebration right?   

[Kat Kanning]

I never noticed before...the cake has eyes. 

[Russell Kanning]

Nice article Ian
It is good to hear the path people have taken to get here.
It doesn't make sense to be a member of a group you don't agree with, so quiting seems like the thing to do.
Splinterer!!!

[Barterer]

Good move.  I also quit sending the LP money, as of about a year ago.  I never bought the lifetime membership, so never wrote back and explained exactly why I disengaged, but I'm glad others are getting that message across.

Sure the LP is slow and ineffective, but I don't attribute that as much to bureaucratic laziness, as much as its fundamental contradiction -- engagement in politics is a tacit acceptance that politics should exist at all. So I enjoyed your article, as well as the word "politics" with the Ghostbusters sign around it.

Keep up the good fight. I don't have the stomach to even follow all the crap that's going on, much less broadcast it, but sure will continue to support your show.

[David]

I think the party clearly recognizes that they have not been very successful, which is good.  But they are not going to be anymore successful by being a 'big tent' party. 
I almost never criticise them because I don't really fault them, except for the iccessant debatatarianism.  It is the nature of the winner takes all political structure that really sidelines third parties.  None of the existing and past 3rd parties have ever really been successfull either.  Their biggest failure is the failure to recognize the reality of the political landscape. 
I actually became apolitical initially because I recognized the reality of the political landscape.  That decision has since been vindicated and reinforced many times in the past 2 years or so. 
I really do wish things were different, that we didn't have to risk so much for the purpose of pushing back gov't.     Not looking to debate, or bash anyone over the head, just stating my personal assessment. 

[Dylboz]

Poll on the LP website:

Do you support strengthening the GI Bill to help it cover today's tuition rates?

Are you fucking serious? That has to be a joke.

WELFARE FOR GOVERNMENT PARASITES THAT REDIRECTS TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO STATE UNIVERSITIES ALREADY SUBSIDIZED BY THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION?!?!?!?!?!

What the holy fucking hell. "Yes" was ahead by a substantial margin.

*facedesk*

[Cyro]

Ditto. If you guys need me, I'll be in my bunker playing GTA4.

[Dan]

It's like politics infects people and slowly turns them evil.

You'll let me know, right?