Think and Be Free

Remarks by James Oaksun
In Memory of Judith Dompkowski Ph.D.
Burchfield Penney Art Center
Buffalo, New York
August 21, 2010

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

The words of Tennyson, 1889.

Well, I do have to admit to a great deal of “sadness of farewell”.  I miss her every day.

Tennyson explained, “The Pilot has been on board all the while, but in the dark I have not seen him… [He is] that Divine and Unseen Who is always guiding us.”

That may be. And so I want to speak a moment of darkness… and of light… and of art.

When the Great Teacher – no, not my Mom, another great teacher – spoke on the Mount, He said:

Ye are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works….

Of all the many lessons I learned from my Mom… there is one in particular I will always carry with me.

Her voice rings in my ears, even today: “Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket.”

But that is what I did.

For years, I hid from myself, I hid from the world… and I hid from all of you. That was wrong.

But my Mom was all about the light.  My favorite room in her home was her living room. It had exposure to south and west, and I always remember it being filled with light.

Even in the winter evenings… with the fire in the fireplace that my Mom liked so much… there was light.

But of course the brightest light of all, was the light that my Mom cast herself.

She brought so much light to my world, and I know to many of you here, as well.  And the best way I can honor her, in the time I have left here, is to make sure my light is always shining bright.

So ask yourself: Where is your light?  Are you hiding your light from yourself, from the world, from all of us?

Isn’t it about time for your light to shine before all?

Let that be what you remember my Mom telling us. Her light will shine bright before me, the rest of my days.

So yes, I am sad that my Mom is no longer here physically.  But I know her spirit is free – free of the room and bed to which she was confined at the end; free of the body that had failed her.

And I know that whatever light I am able to cast… my Mom will be nearby.

Something tells me she’ll like that. ‎

And now, given where we are… a word about art… in all its forms.

You know, there is a difference between math and art.

Building a fortune? That’s a matter of math.  But building a life? That, is a matter of art.

Shortly before he died, a friend of mine wrote:

“Life is about the art. What does your canvas look like? What kind of picture are you painting?

“Take your time, make bold strokes, use brilliant colors, and make of your life
the most beautiful masterpiece that you can.”

Today, in this place that celebrates art, we celebrate my Mom’s life. Her work of art. And a beautiful work it was.

Let us all remember… and enjoy. And think about our own works of art.

And if we can leave here dedicated to making our own brush strokes a little better, a little brighter… I know my Mom will be cheering us on.

Some of you know, one of my mom’s professional interests was the literature of the Holocaust.  So I thought it would be appropriate to end my remarks by reciting the traditional prayer of mourning.

He who makes peace in the heavenly heights, may he bring peace upon us all. Amen.

Goodnight Mom. “And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

# # #

Translation of Mourner’s Kaddish:

May the great Name of God be exalted and sanctified, throughout the world, which he has created according to his will. May his kingship be established in your lifetime and in your days, and in the lifetime of the entire household of Israel, swiftly and in the near future; and say, Amen.

May his great name be blessed, forever and ever.

Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, honored elevated and lauded be the name of the holy one, Blessed is he above and beyond any blessings and hymns, praises and consolations which are uttered in the world; and say Amen.

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life, upon us and upon all Israel; and say, Amen.

July 2010 will be seared into my spirit as a mensis horribilis.

I bore witness to my mother’s final precipitous decline, as well as to the near-simultaneous deaths of both my mom and my grandmother. I miss them terribly, but know their spirits are free – free of the rooms and beds to which they were confined; free of the bodies that failed them.

Knowing them as I did, I know their spirits will be active. And always with me!

First, I want to thank my friends for their kind expressions of sympathy and support. They meant – and mean – a great deal to me.

Overall I’m doing about as well as can be expected under the circumstances. I have good hours and bad hours. I’ve yet to have a good day… but I guess that will come again in time.

Both my mom and my grandmother were strong, sturdy, dynamic women. The two of them – along with my grandfather, who left us in 1993 – were the hardest workers I have ever known. I know that they would not want their dying to stop my living.

And so I will press on, inspired and informed by their example. My song has yet to be sung. Oh I’ve warmed up a little I guess… a few exercises, some etudes. Memorial Day was an interim goal, a goal (two, actually) achieved. Great milestones for my own new beginning.

The book is well along now, and hopefully will be wrapped up by the end of the year.

More decisions approach: keep or sell the Maine house? Buy a home in Florida?  Take some new risks – both professionally and in matters of the heart?

I know I’m not ready for big decisions, not yet. I’ve always been introspective and my work of the last five and a half years has given me the confidence of knowing not only my possibilities but also my short-term limitations.

It is undeniable – a large part of Old James died on July 14^th when my mom passed away. But I know that as New James continues to grow and evolve, my mom will be with me and a constant part of the action.

Something tells me she’d like that.

A couple weeks ago I learned there had been (at some point in the past) a complaint of some sort lodged against the LNC and the incumbent treasurer, that the FEC had conducted an investigation, and that the complaint had been dismissed.  I did not learn at that time “who” had lodged the complaint, the nature of the complaint, when it was filed… or when the dismissal had occurred.

Shrug.  No story there, I thought.

However, last Wednesday evening I learned additional facts about this matter of which I had previously been unaware, and questions have been raised in some circles regarding it.

I had nothing to do with the analysis that led to the filing of the complaint, or the decision to file it.  These things happened well before I entered the mix.  And again, I was not aware that this matter was in progress at the time I signed on with New Path to run for treasurer.

George Phillies is my friend.  If I have any further comment to make about the specifics of this matter, I will deliver those comments directly to my friend.  In private.

I would urge the St. Louis delegates to focus on the main issues which I have been articulating for four months:

• My substantive and fact based critique of the LNC’s performance over the last 10 years generally and the last five years in particular; and
• The New Path team’s development and promulgation of a detailed road map for how to move ahead from here – something which none of the other chair candidates or their representatives have produced for us.

I believe the circumstances did warrant some reflection on my part.  Upon that reflection, I have decided to stay on as part of New Path. I am not in this to be the New Path treasurer.  I am running to be the Libertarian Party’s treasurer!

I am in this race for the good of the party, because of my desire to advance the cause of liberty and freedom… and because I know I have a lot to offer.  Our best days lay ahead of us!  We have tremendous untapped and unutilized potential.  I care about the LP and I care about our future, and am fearful and saddened that that future is being squandered.  I am running less because of what we are, and more because of what I know we could become.

I believe the incumbent treasurer needs to step aside – ideally voluntarily, by the vote of the delegates if need be – and that my ideas and what I offer are superior to the incumbent’s record and tenure on the committee, which even an unbiased observer would acknowledge has had its share of challenges and controversies.

I will stipulate for the record:  the incumbent treasurer is a fine accountant.  I have no issue with his abilities in that regard.

I do, however, believe the incumbent treasurer bears considerable responsibility for creating and participating in the dysfunction we have all witnessed on the LNC during his time on the committee – the penchant for secrecy (which, it must be noted, was a major factor in the decision to pursue the remedies recently pursued), the pie fights, the attempts to oust duly elected committee members, the lack of strategic vision, the parliamentarianism run amok.  Not to mention the fact that he needs to be held accountable as a committee member, executive officer and leader of the committee’s dominant coalition for the continuing diminution in the party’s fortunes nationally during his specific time in service.

The incumbent would have you believe he bears no responsibility whatever for these things.  He is mistaken.

If our national party were a publicly traded corporation, there would have been a “shareholder revolt” long ago, the existing leadership would have been removed to the last person, and new leaders brought in to try to salvage the situation and start moving in the right direction.  It is a mystery why this has not happened yet, but I sure hope it happens in St. Louis.

No rational person would, given a 70 percent decline in real revenues, and a 60 percent decline in the membership, go to the delegates and say, “Haven’t we done a great job?  Don’t you think we should be re-elected for another two-year term?”

Yet that is what these people ask of us!

The only appropriate answer to them is:  “Thank you for your service, and best of luck in your future endeavors.”

Over the last four months, I have offered the incumbent members of the committee every reasonable opportunity to answer some very simple questions of mine.  In the end, only five of the LNC members seeking election to At-Large and Regional positions chose to engage in any dialogue whatever with me about matters concerning our party (some more so than others): Mary Ruwart, Lee Wrights, Rachel Hawkridge, Pat Dixon and Dan Karlan.  I believe these people deserve favorable consideration for re-election.

This does not change the dire state our Party is in under the current LNC, but it does show that these committee members are at least willing to communicate to some degree with a credible outside officer candidate.

As far as everybody else presently on the LNC is concerned, I will gladly hold the door open for them as they exit. This is the main reason I am staying with New Path – that we recognize that our party needs a lot more than a new face at the top. The numbers and results show that the committee, the system and the process are fundamentally distressed.

I have extraordinary respect, affection, and admiration for Carolyn Marbry and Rob Power.  My opinion of them has grown daily throughout the last few months.  They are honest-to-goodness Libertarians and believe in our cause with every fiber of their beings.  Regardless of what anyone believes about me personally, I urge and implore the delegates to seat Carolyn and Rob on the committee!

I continue to support George Phillies for chair. Whether I believe the matter in question could have been dealt with in some other way, is not relevant.  In the end, we need to focus on the big picture and the substantive nature of the entire argument we have all been making.

Previously I have stated that I will accept the delegates’ verdict on the chair’s race, and would serve as treasurer regardless of who the delegates chose to be chair.  I reaffirm that stand.

To the extent I have reservations about any of the other gentlemen’s candidacies, I am open to hearing how they (or their supporters) would address my concerns, and will remain open to so hearing up until the time of the vote Sunday.

My critique of all the individuals in question has been substantive and 100 percent limited to their public political actions.  And it will remain so.  I am strictly opposed to making an issue out of matters not germane to people’s public actions with respect to the Libertarian Party or the national committee.  I do not need to be on the committee so badly, that I would sacrifice my own principles to do so. I would rather lose with dignity than win ugly.

If some people need to be “power brokers in the Libertarian Party” so badly that they would resort to personal attacks, that says a lot more about them than it does about the people they are attacking.

In short, I hope to be involved with the LP for a long time.  I also hope what is called the “LP” is something that is worth my while to be involved with.  I am amply qualified by educational credentials and professional experience to hold the position I seek, and I amply count as a “Libertarian” by any measure that has thus far been devised.

I’m going to win being who I am – warts and all – or lose being who I am.  I never said I was perfect.  I’ve had more than my share of challenges in my life the last five years, and I have survived them and come out the other side stronger than ever.  That, in itself, is a skill the LP needs now more than ever, in my opinion.

Over the last four months, I have made a reasoned, substantive and fact-based critique of the committee’s public actions.  I have offered my diagnosis, my services, and a vision for a way forward – a vision consistent with the objectives of the New Path team.  None of the people in the committee’s dominant coalition (with the partial exception of Pat Dixon and Dan Karlan) have chosen to engage with me, or offer any substantive defense or explanation of their actions (and inactions) while in our collective service.

And guess what, people?  They’re not going to. They’re going to hope that another convention will pass, that they will be safely returned to office, the deck chairs on the Titanic will be re-arranged yet another time, and that I will just go away.

Well, let me say this as clearly as I can:

I’m not planning on going anywhere.

This is a letter I am sending to some of the St Louis delegates later this week. I want it to be clear, what I am doing and why.  As I said in my initial candidacy statement, I have had my share (maybe more than my share) of challenges and “wake up calls” in my life.  But I survived them, and came out the other side better than ever, and stronger than ever.  The Libertarian Party nationally is at a moment of challenge, and is getting a big wake up call — maybe its last.  Time is short, and if we don’t get it right, we may not get another chance.

*****

To All St. Louis Delegates and All Lovers of Liberty:

I have reached a point in my life, where my life circumstances permit me to give a little something back.  I believe in liberty and I believe in the LP.  My political philosophy plants me well within our quadrant of the Nolan Chart.  As I have written elsewhere, I’m sure I’m too ___________ for some, and not ___________ enough for some others.  But hey – I’m 48 years old and I have a worldview that makes sense for me.

It’s called Libertarianism.

I’ve been voting libertarian at the presidential level since 1988.

I want to see a freer and more prosperous America in my lifetime. Regardless of how things go for me in St Louis, I am committed to spending the rest of my days working to help people find freedom.

I’m running for LNC Treasurer because I really do believe in our Statement of Principles. I have written elsewhere, that as an executive officer and member of the committee I will have no interest in, nor patience for, any activity that does not advance our platform and our Statement of Principles.

Any action that is not geared toward communicating our message, winning new converts to our Party, encouraging a vote for a libertarian candidate… I say, Pass that by!  We don’t have time to be bothered doing that!

But looking at the state of the Party over the last 10 years generally, and the last five years in particular, there are obviously people serving at high levels on the committee who have a different opinion of what our priorities should be.

And that saddens me.

Actually… it Infuriates me.

And it should sadden and infuriate you, too.

Liberty and freedom are gifts.  The greatest way we can help others… is by expanding liberty and freedom everywhere.

And make no mistake:  I believe “liberty” and “freedom” are words with meaning.  They do not mean, “whatever might get us a vote, doesn’t matter from whom.”  No matter what any charismatic personality might claim.

I am saddened and infuriated at the condition of our national party today.  Appalled that many of those who have sat at the table of authority, have offered no defense or explanation for their actions and inactions while in our collective service.  But now have the audacity to say “re-elect us anyway!”

My friends, we deserve better.  And we can have better.

I believe our best days as a Party and a movement lie ahead of us.  Yes, we will have a new Chair come Memorial Day.  That’s a good start.  (Maybe even a great start, depending who wins.)

But it’s not enough.

Below are two charts.  I started my campaign by showing the first one.  That’s what has happened to the national LP over the last 10 years.  It’s a disgrace.  But look at the next one.  That’s what I think could happen, if we make a fresh start in St. Louis, and start down a New Path.

Want to learn how it might be possible?  Read our team’s business plan, out on the Net at www.NewPathForTheLP.org.

Or as George Bernard Shaw famously said:  “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’”

Meet me in St. Louee.

In Liberty,

James Oaksun

P.S.  I humbly ask for your help and your vote.  My friends and I are ready to serve.  We offer work boots and shoe leather, not smiles and shoeshines.  If you want to know who stands with me, check out my website at www.JamesOaksun.com. Or better yet, shoot me an email at James@JamesOaksun.com.  Even best, call me at 603.397.3387 and let’s have a chat at your convenience!

It’s all the rage!  And so simple even I (who was once accused of dancing like Boris Yeltsin) can manage it.

Step One: Determine the membership in the LNC’s dominant coalition, the people who held the votes as our party’s situation at the national level disintegrated.  (I have done the heavy lifting on this for you; see here.  Note the right half of the diagram.)

Step Two: Do as Wayne Root suggested in another context:  VETO* (Vote Every One of Them Out!).

Then, and only then, will you see progress.

* Now, of course, when Wayne says this, he theoretically means everyone in Congress; however, I have yet to hear him refer specifically to a Republican who should be removed.  Just Democrats, and many of them.  Just sayin’.

And for more on me and my ideas, visit the main JamesOaksun.com site.

Recently, longtime libertarian activist Steve Kubby posted an article where he asked all the candidates for LNC Chair to forswear a 2012 run for President.  Perhaps not surprisingly, the minions of one candidate (Mr Root) say what a horrible idea this is. (see note at end)

Speaking for myself, I think this is a great idea.  Here’s why.

The new LNC has a huge task ahead of it. We need to rebuild, and it’s going to take time and effort.  The last thing we need, is to become perceived as nothing more than a shadow Elect Wayne Root in 2012 Committee.

If that happens, all is lost, all credibility is lost, and we may as well just re-name ourselves the Wayne Root Party at that point.  (Maybe that’s the point of the grouper/sea bass story after all!  Maybe Ernie was right!)

So let me just tell everybody right now:

I will not seek, nor would I accept, the LP’s 2012 presidential nomination.

We have a huge rebuilding task ahead of us given the clear diminution in our fortunes at the national level over the last 5-10 years. The last — absolute last — thing we need, is for the LNC to become perceived as nothing more than a Wayne Root 2012 shadow campaign committee. As a member of the LNC and an executive officer, I will strenuously object to and vote against any efforts to turn the LNC into such a shadow group. If I am unable to persuade a majority of my colleagues to similarly object, I will resign.

As always, check out the main JamesOaksun.com site for a ton more info about me and my ideas.

(Note:  Messrs. Hinkle, Myers and Phillies signed the pledge.  No word from Ernie Hancock as of 9am Monday.)

Here are some more links to videos of my appearance at the Indiana convention a couple weeks ago.  Thanks again to Ernie Hancock for recording!

First, some thoughts about goals for the party — financial and otherwise:

Financial Goals

Next… some musings about what we’re doing wrong and how we can fix it:

What We\’re Doing Wrong

Next, some thoughts on our primary purpose as an organization:

Primary Purpose

Next — shockingly! — you might be surprised that someone other than the person whose website continues to rank second to JamesOaksun.com, has thoughts about marketing the LP, namely, me:

Marketing the LP

And finally, some of my metrics for our success.  Unfortunately this and my closing statement didn’t make the recording.  I will be re-creating my closing statement, probably tomorrow, and will alert you all once it’s up:

Metrics for Success

Feeling a need to brush up on a bit of world geography, I did a little research on Pakistan.

Pakistan is a country slightly larger than the state of Texas.  But its population is about seven times that of Texas — about 175 million people give or take.

Estimates of the number of Pakistanis living in the US vary.  At least 50,000 in New York City alone.  Maybe 500,000 or more in the entire country.

Now, of course, large sections of Pakistan are a war zone.  Large numbers of people are displaced, many of them children.  How many?  Hundreds of thousands at least.  Maybe millions.  Nobody knows for sure.

At Creech AFB in Nevada, pilots sit in front of state of the art computers, and guide the UAVs (the unpiloted armed drone planes) on their missions in Pakistan.  Militants killed?  No doubt.  Civilians?  Undoubtedly, as well.  Probably more than we know.

I worry about blowback and making matters worse.  I have grave misgivings about what we’ve been doing in various parts of the world over the last 50 years.  And now I have a close personal friend, somewhere in Iraq, a great guy.  I fear for his safety and hope he returns home soon.  Maybe I shouldn’t have such feelings about “instruments of US power projection” but I do.

There has to be a better way.  And there is.

The Issue: Intervention in the affairs of other countries has provoked resentment and hatred of the United States among many groups and nations throughout the world. In addition, legal barriers to private and personal aid (both military and economic) have fostered internal discord.

The Principle: The United States should not inject itself into the internal matters of other nations, unless they have declared war upon or attacked the United States, or the U.S. is already in a constitutionally declared war with them.

Solutions: End the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid, guarantees, and diplomatic meddling. Individuals should be free to provide any aid they wish that does not directly threaten the United States.

Misty water colored memories, of the way we were…

Last week I challenged all the non-chair candidates for the LNC to answer some simple questions, so that the delegates to St Louis would have a clear picture of who stood where, and how prospective committee members were thinking about the state of affairs in the Party and the way ahead.  Thus far I have heard from two candidates that they had answers pretty much ready to go, and a third who said they could answer the questions.  Nothing from anyone else.  Sigh.

Well as a public service here are my answers to questions 6-10.  Answers to the first five questions were posted yesterday, here.

As always you can refer to the main site for more information about any of the matters discussed.

***

6.      Is your opposition to any of the chair candidates so intense that you would not serve on the committee if that person won?

Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, because the question has been raised more than once:  I am in it to the end and I am in it to win. Chair and Vice Chair are decided before Treasurer.  I will accept the verdict of the delegates on those races and will allow the delegates to make the call on me, too.  I have offered my services; I have offered my diagnosis of the current situation and my prescription for a way forward.

Furthermore, friends of mine (including some close personal friends) are seeking At Large, Regional and Alternate spots, and will be elected after the treasurer vote or off the floor.  I will stand side-by-side with them to the end, even if it’s a bitter end, and beyond.  Whether we celebrate together or cry together, we will stand together.  Regardless of what happens in St. Louis, you have not heard the last of me!

I would serve as Treasurer under any of the chair candidates; however, I would make it very clear to everybody that I would march to my own drummer when I had to.  In my opinion, the entire Party leadership needs to begin, immediately, a concerted and active marketing and outreach effort to identified prospective members and allies.  The leadership will either have to do this themselves, or support those who are doing that work.  I am, however, acutely aware that there is a substantial difference of opinion in some quarters as to which individuals should be targeted, and the appropriate mechanisms for targeting them.

Regardless of who is elected chair, I will, as a Party officer, personally pursue on the LP’s behalf the voters that my research has indicated are both  naturally libertarian and would be receptive to our Party’s historical message – the message that brought me to the LP and that inspires me to this day. My efforts should be both complementary and supplementary to those of any of the chair candidates or any senior Party officials who wish to engage in similarly extensive outreach activity.

7.      In your opinion what are the three most important priorities for the committee in the next two-year term?

• New budget with resources reallocated to the work of politics.  I have been advocating a zero-based budget exercise where we start over with a clean sheet of paper and determine the very highest priorities to fund and act upon.  Obviously the current regime decided year after year, rather unbelievably and for reasons as yet unclear, not to do this.  This must change.
• Vastly ramped up marketing to True Libertarians (we know who they are) with concomitant increase in aggregate membership levels.  See various of my blog posts and section in the New Path book on “Tale of Two Libertarians” for more information.
• Fundraising

8.      How would you assess Wes Benedict’s job performance to date, and would you recommend that the new chair retain him as executive director?

As far as I can tell, and unless someone presents me with extremely compelling evidence to the contrary, Wes has been doing a fine job under very difficult circumstances.  I hope he stays!

9.      How would you use your position on the committee to help grow the party (whatever “grow the party” means to you)?

• Sponsor website redesign.  Our current website is poor, outrageously outdated in many respects, and is unconscionably expensive.  This must change, but will only change with new leadership all around the committee table, not just at the chair’s spot.
• Data mining of existing membership to better target communications.  I have offered my services to the party and committee pro bono in this regard.
• Aggressive marketing to True Libertarians mainly focused on using new media.
• Also, if we can demonstrate that the committee “gets it”, and is working like dogs on the right, highest priority objectives to get things moving forward again, people will notice and energy will beget more energy.

10.  What are the one or two most important things the LNC can do (or champion) for the state affiliate parties?

• Better resources for candidates (Libertarian Wiki on the website; position papers; talking points).
• More clarity as to the message.  With some groups you may need to use different language or highlight different aspects of the platform, but our underlying message is a great one and need not be radically altered.
• More visibility for our overall activities; revamped budget targeting high priority items.

Last week I challenged all the non-chair candidates for the LNC to answer some simple questions, so that the delegates to St Louis would have a clear picture of who stood where, and how prospective committee members were thinking about the state of affairs in the Party and the way ahead.  Thus far I have heard from two candidates that they had answers pretty much ready to go, and a third who said they could answer the questions.  Nothing from anyone else.  Sigh.

Well as a public service here are my answers to the first five questions.  I will post answers to questions 6-10 tomorrow.

As always you can refer to the main site for more information about any of the matters discussed.

***

1.      What does the expression “Party of Principle” mean to you?

Our Party has a “Statement of Principles” that our founders mandated would need a 7/8 vote to amend.  It was a big “…and we mean it!” As the Party of Principle, I believe we should ensure that all our actions, positions and decisions correspond to, and are based on reflection on, that Statement.

2.      What is your assessment of how things have been going generally in the party at the national level since the 2004 presidential election?

Pretty horribly overall.  Financially, nearly a disaster.  Falling revenues, cratering membership numbers, high termination rates among longtime stalwart members, a continued drop in large itemized donations, a national committee factionalized and throwing pies at each other… I would say our condition is somewhere between “serious” and “critical”.  Since 2004, the membership has dropped by a third; real revenues by more than 50 percent.  No reasonable person would look at those results and say, “well done and keep up the good work.”  Let alone say, “let’s re-elect everybody who was at the table while it happened.”

If our national party were a publicly traded corporation, there would have been a shareholder revolt long ago, the existing leadership would have been sacked to the last person, and new leadership brought in to try to salvage people’s investments.  That’s where the national LP is today, and I intend to be part of the new leadership team that will bring change and improvement.

The bright spot in the picture is that we do have some stronger and vibrant state organizations that seem to be doing reasonably well.  I’m thinking specifically of places like Indiana, Texas, New Hampshire, Colorado, Washington state, a few others.

3.      How would you assess the National Committee’s performance in the last two year term?  On an A-to-F grade scale what grade would you give the committee’s last term, and why?

I would give it a “D”, only because an “F” would mean we were out of business altogether.  If the woods are burning, it is utter lunacy to spend the better part of three committee meetings trying to unseat duly-elected at-large members, and the better part of a fourth meeting discussing a ridiculously foolish matter involving One Percent of the budget (i.e., the so-called “floor fee”).  No priorities, no agenda control, no ideas, limited discussion of what it will take to get us moving the right way again.  Bad bad bad.

That said, I cannot tar the whole committee with that brush.  There are some people on the committee who “get it”.  Unfortunately, they don’t have the votes.  The committee’s dominant coalition holds the whip.  They are the problem. Substantially all of them need to be cashiered, regardless of who wins the chair.

4.      Who are you supporting for chair, and why?  If you are undecided among multiple candidates, please state which candidates you are considering.

I support George Phillies.  George is a longtime activist, former state party chair, and has encyclopedic knowledge of the issues affecting our governance.  He has also assembled a great team of people who are ready on Day One to implement a new operating plan to get us on the right track again.  Some of the other candidates don’t seem to realize that the committee is a group of 17 (or perhaps now 18?), which decides matters by majority vote.  It is not a divine right monarchy (at least not yet!).

Change at the top is important, but hardly sufficient.  George knows we need a pretty clean sweep, with new faces and new ideas to join the people who have been outvoted in recent years by the committee’s dominant coalition.

Look, I wasn’t born yesterday.  I know lots of people have very strong feelings about George, pro and con.  And the same of some (all?) of the other candidates.  If you have supporters, you’re going to have critics.  That just means there are people paying attention!  As a relative newcomer, maybe I don’t know all the history, all the dynamics.  I don’t know who said what unkind thing to/about whom in 19xx.  And you know what?  I don’t care!  George and our team have put together a sound and detailed operating plan to move forward, something any of the other candidates could have done, have not done, and with less than a month to St Louis, manifestly will not do.  George and our team offer work boots and shoe leather… or as Churchill said, “blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

As I mentioned in a previous post, the burden of proof is not on me.  Rather, the burden is on the people who are serving (or recently have served) on the committee, to offer some compelling defense or explanation for their actions (and inactions) while in our collective service.  Thus far, I have heard none, from anyone. And at this point, I would be very surprised to hear any offered at all.  These people, apparently, believe it is sufficient to say “vote for me, because… well, just do it.”  Or, “I back so-and-so for chair, therefore the past means nothing and vote for me.”  In my opinion, that’s not nearly good enough.  But in the end, the delegates will have to determine whether that is acceptable and what course of action they will take as a result.

5.      Of the candidates for chair, are there any you could not in good conscience support under any circumstances, and why (meaning, on an IRV ranking are there any candidates you would rate below NOTA)?

I have reflected on this question almost every day since I started my campaign.  As I have traveled around and talked to people, both face to face and via phone/online, it appears there is no clear favorite at this point in the chair’s race.  All the candidates have their strengths; I have learned much from all of them and they have all made me a better candidate and will make me a better treasurer.  So yes, I would rank them, but I would not rank any below NOTA.

There is something to be said for putting yourself “in the arena”.  The five candidates for chair have other personal and professional interests they could pursue, but instead have over the last few months offered their services to us for our evaluation.  Consider what a “NOTA” victory would mean.  Under the current rules it would mean that the LNC would select its own chair, and could not choose any of the candidates the delegates rejected the day before.  Do I think any of the five candidates running would be preferable to some “Candidate X” who did not offer themselves for consideration?  Yes, I do.