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News the official newsletter of the Libertarian Party of Queens County
Three LP Chapters Hold Joint Conventions
The first joint convention of the Libertarian Party chapters of Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, held on March 30, was an event filled with vision and energy. Jack Bova, Chair of the Suffolk County LP, was chief organizer and coordinator. He selected the Jolly Swagman Inn, an upscale German-Australian restaurant in Hicksville, as the venue for the meeting. With a great deal of assistance from LPQC Chair John Clifton, Bova also put heroic efforts into scheduling guests, so much so that the event was arguably overbooked. There was so much activity and thought-provoking speaking that the actual business agenda of the three chapters ended up being truncated.
As we entered the restaurant, we were cautioned to keep our voices down. Garo Alexanian, the host and producer of QPTV's Democracy in Crisis, was videotaping an interview with Jo Jorgensen and Robert Schulz, both of whom had come to address the convention. Clifton had made the initial contact with Alexanian in connection with a projected LPQC public-access television program, and Bova, Clifton, and Alexanian together worked out the arrangements for the videotaping. As convention attendees sipped coffee and chatted quietly in small groups, the nearby cameras and bright lights told everyone that this was a special event. This gathering of three county chapters was not an inconsequential private party; news of it will reach a wider audience. We're going to make a difference.
The day's four speakers (Jo Jorgensen, Robert Schultz, Ray Keating, Michael Strong) brought us as many perspectives: that of a candidate, an activist, an economist, and a graduate of the hard-knocks university of politics.
Jo Jorgensen, a long-time libertarian who is running for the LP's vice-presidential nomination, was our first speaker. She opened with a good joke about the Republicans, likening their rhetoric to commercial phone sex - it's exciting to listen to but essentially a pricey fantasy. Then she described in detail some of the differences between libertarians and Republicans. Whereas our first priority is liberty, the Republicans have an ever-changing priority list- national security, public order, virtue, American values, special interests-which does not include freedom. She quoted several prominent conservative writers who stated clearly that freedom is not a primary value for conservatives. Republicans want to slow or halt the growth of the federal government, whereas we want to shrink it. Newt Gingrich has stated that he'd like to "transform the bureaucratic welfare state into a government that is customer friendly, cost effective, and improving constantly." But nothing can change the fact that "individual freedom and government power are polar opposites," said Jorgensen. "Think about a customer-friendly, cost-effective, and improving constantly Internal Revenue Service. How about the Drug Enforcement Administration? or a lean-and-mean Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms?" Clearly not libertarian priorities.
Asked about Harry Browne's tax proposal and abortion campaign plank, she said that we should not dwell on these issues, that any significant tax reduction is a vast improvement over the current situation. We should concentrate on presenting the issues that distinguish us from statists, rather than get bogged down in divisive issues.
Jorgensen is a clear, vigorous speaker. If she wins the LP's vice-presidential nomination, she will present libertarianism to the public in a persuasive, reasoned manner.
Our next speaker was Robert Schulz, familiar to New Yorkers as our gubernatorial candidate in 1994 after Howard Stern dropped out of the race. As a campaigner, Schulz was a first-rate proponent of libertarianism, and lawsuits he filed in state and federal courts resulted in significant reductions in the obstacles third parties face when seeking ballot access.
Schulz's address dealt with an upcoming opportunity for New Yorkers to reshape the balance between the citizens and their government. The state constitution requires a public referendum every 20 years on whether to have a state constitutional convention; that question will be on the ballot this fall. If such a convention is held, the scope of the changes it can propose (which would then be submitted to the voters for final approval) is open ended. The convention can write its own rules, deciding where and how to meet; electronic communication could be part of its structure. It could submit its revisions to the voters as one package or in sections.
In the past, state constitutional conventions have been packed by statists-legislators, judges, and major-party operatives. Schulz's organization, the All County Taxpayers Association, is currently holding meetings throughout the state to build support for a citizen-dominated convention. This is a chance for New Yorkers to rein in a state government that has grown out of control.
Asked whether a constitutional convention might be a dangerous undertaking in left-leaning New York, Schulz pointed out that a substantial proportion of our population is not statist. New York State has as many independents as Republicans, and shrinking voter turnout is an indication of huge numbers of self-reliant people who are fed up with the system. During his fight against the debt reform proposal of 1995 (which lost by a substantial margin), Schulz proved that grassroots power can be effective against the statist tendencies of New York's political elite. We libertarians must work on this project, because others are doing so too.
After a short break for lunch, our next speaker was Ray Keating, chief economist of the Small Business Survival Committee. Keating said the SBSC began in the midwest as a "hard-core business group." Alarmed over the prospect of Clintoncare, it moved its headquarters to Washington. Its positions on a number of issues important to us-taxes, the size of government, the Small Business Administration, corporate welfare, monetary policy, tariffs, immigration, health care, term limits, and legislators' pensions-are firmly libertarian.
Most of Keating's presentation was given over to a question-and-answer session. Asked about NAFTA and GATT, he said that he favors dropping all trade restrictions among countries, unilaterally if necessary. What about "fair trade" versus "free trade"? Fair trade is usually a code-word for protectionism, which is bad for both sides. What about the relative merits of a flat income tax, a national sales tax, and a value-added tax (VAT)? First, high tax rates create a need for loopholes. They give government bureaucrats the power to decide who will get what breaks. A national sales tax would stop taxing income and let people see better just how much government costs. Negatives might be evasion and its impact on retail businesses. Keating said, "Any tax system is going to have its negative effects. The question is, what is the least amount of evil?" The VAT has many dangerous features; one is that it can be increased easily, almost imperceptibly. A problem with a national sales tax is that people fear that it could become a VAT, or that without a repeal of the 16th Amendment, we could end up with both a federal sales tax and a re-introduced income tax.
What about the deficit and national debt? The concern often expressed in financial circles about the effect of public debt on interest rates is real. By historical standards, interest rates are very high (even in the 1960s, mortgage rates were around 3 to 4 percent). Regarding interest on the national debt, Keating quoted Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, who said that at least the politicians can't spend that money on other things.
After Keating's speech, LPNY Chair Blay Tarnoff spoke briefly about his bid for reelection as State Chair. He listed some of his accomplishments: the LPNY has become more conscientious in responding to inquiries; the database is now up to date and our mailings are now taking advantage of bulk postal rates (thanks largely to the tireless work of LPNY Vice-Chair Jim Harris); Tarnoff is working diligently on the '98 Counts project; and he has been participating in the activities of local chapters. He said he'd like to continue and expand his work with OPH booths, fund raising, and outreach. Some people would like to move the LPNY's center of gravity to Albany, but Tarnoff feels that it should remain closer to the state's major population center. He asked that we all try to attend the State convention in April, and asked for our support in his reelection bid.
The final speaker of the day was Michael Strong. Although Strong is a conservative, he has experience running as an independent, which he shared with us, often humorously. In 1994, he ran for Congress in the Republican primary, seeking to unseat Michael P. Forbes. He lost the primary but decided to take a second shot for the office by running as an independent. He called his fledgling party "Fire Every Damned Unresponsive Politician," or FEDUP. Whichever way he turned, Democrats and Republicans were there to thwart him, often with sweet smiles on their faces. Some asked him not to run; others offered him meaningless committee positions in return for dropping out of the race. The whole electoral system-county election commissions, judges, the media-is run by Demopublicans, and they consider it a club closed to outsiders.
Following Strong's speech, with little time left, the convention broke up into county groups so that each chapter could elect officers and consider amendments to its bylaws. All of the LPQC's officers (John Clifton, Chair; John Procida, Vice Chair; Joseph Quinn, Secretary, Bradford Arter, Representative to LPNY; and Jim Strawhorn, Treasurer) were re-elected, and no changes were made to our bylaws.
With the local meetings finished, the business of the day-but not the business of the Party-was concluded. The convention was refreshing and invigorating. It made us all think about the possibilities and challenges before us. A tremendous amount of work lies ahead-persuading people that liberty is better than the alternatives, organizing and building the Party, and ultimately supporting candidates who will win elections and enact libertarian policies.
PS We'll let you know-and we hope you'll tell everyone you know-when the Jorgensen/Schulz interview will be broadcast.
By Jim Strawhorn
On February 29, LPQC Chair John Clifton was interviewed on The African Show, a music and African-interest program on WKCR FM, the radio station of Columbia University. Dr. Lawrence Nii Nartey, host of the program, asked Clifton general questions about libertarianism as well as its application to politics in Africa.
This marks the first time, other than public-service announcements, that word about the LPQC has been broadcast. Let's work to see that there are many more such events.
By Jim Strawhorn
From the Chair
The recent political primaries, which New York magazine described as the "Great Republican Crack-Up," have shown how close America is coming to a true dealignment of the TweedleDole-TweedleSlick two-party system. The seeds of an eventual disintegration of the GOP have been in evidence as its cultural-conservative, libertarian, and country-club establishment wings move in irreconcilable directions. The Democrats could be in even worse shape if Clinton loses in November, as a defeat might lock them out of national power for a generation. Ron Paul has predicted that the Democrats may resort to actually promoting third parties, to split the vote enough to make liberals electable again. The sudden conversion of dozens of Democratic politicians to the GOP also shows how interchangeable both entities are, if one can so painlessly flit from one to the other.
Moreover, the mass media's self-appointed gatekeepers of "respectable" opinion are finding it harder and harder to control the acceptable locus of political discussion. After all, it's difficult to go on excluding libertarian ideas because of their "extremism" when you've given tremendous press to a Pat Buchanan on the campaign trail and have been exposed to the quasi-libertarian views of a Steve Forbes. The Internet, alternative media, and grassroots activism are bypassing the establishment bottleneck, allowing an ever-larger network of the public to consider new voices and options, unmuzzled by the mainstream news media.
As another index of the transformations afoot, consider the dizzying changes we have seen in Washington in the last five years. In that time, we've gone from a Republican White House and Democratic Congress (1992) to a Democratic White House and Congress ('93-'94) to a Democratic White House and GOP-controlled Congress ('95-'96). If the LP's candidate does not succeed this year, a GOP president along with a GOP Congress will most likely be elected. The country will have gone through all four possible configurations of major-party power in only three election cycles.
That is a major sign of imminent dealignment, as it indicates voters are giving one last, hard look at both parties before finally moving on to something better. The Libertarian Party obviously should be that something, but it needs to prepare itself for the coming windfall. The LP should engage in some healthy self-criticism as to its current minority status. It also needs to be ready to form appropriate alliances with sizable factions of disaffected voters as each of them becomes dealigned.
Now we come to the heart of the matter. Despite unbroken accusations of being extreme, narrow, exclusionary, or fringe, it is Pat Buchanan who has broadened his tent, by merging several political factions to create a formidable coalition. By contrast, despite the LP's self-descriptions as to its broad appeal, its membership remains small and insular, nowhere close to election-winning status in most major races. We can blame the usual culprits-the media, lack of money, etc., but there is a limit to scapegoating. The LP has been around for 25 years with no significant mainstream political growth. Yet the Christian Coalition, in just five years, has grown literally from scratch to control of about 20 state legislatures. United We Stand America, albeit assisted by Perot's money, has survived four years after his campaign. Even in its shrunken state, it is a larger organization than the LP and has a larger electoral footprint.
What I suspect is, there are a truckload more libertarians out there than are currently represented by the official Libertarian Party. Populists like Buchanan have made efforts to focus the urges of middle America, while the LP has made few. Middle Americans do not embrace us because we do not embrace them. We must face the fact that we are not perceived as a true grassroots party (to the extent we even are perceived), but rather as elitists, because we have refrained from addressing the concerns of the "unwashed" of American society-the fundamentalists, the conspiracy theorists, the militias or "gun nuts," the southern partisans, the pro-lifers, the super-patriots, the 10th Amendment advocates, and other "untouchables." Many LPers have little interest in their concerns, and little desire to comprehend them where we disagree. Why do we disdain the passions of middle America, and then wonder why there is no stampede into the LP?
The LP has tended to write off so many categories of voters as being beneath it that it's difficult to see what kind of coalition we could ever build. But once the official libertarian movement opens up just enough to let all the other libertarian-minded middle Americans in, we will become the new American majority. Or at least, so I prophesize. Until that momentous day, Peace and Freedom!
By John Clifton
The address of the LPQC's World Wide Web site has changed slightly. The new address is:
http://members.aol.com/lpqc/
Our Web site contains links to many libertarian organizations, including the Cato Institute, Reason magazine, the LP, and the LPNY. We hope you'll visit it often and recommend it to your friends.
By John Clifton
LPQC News
Jim Strawhorn, Editor
Bradford R. Arter, Associate Editor
John Clifton, Contributing Editor
Elliott Werner, Web Site Editor
LPQC News is published bimonthly by the Libertarian Party of Queens County (LPQC). Opinions expressed in LPQC News are not necessarily official positions of the membership or the officers of the LPQC. Please direct all correspondence to: LPQC News.
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