Libertarian Party Correspondent
"Daddy, I'm no virgin
and I've already waited too long"
—Carly Simon
The libertarian movement has lost its political virginity and news from New York concerning the success of that state's Free Libertarian Party Convention indicates that the LP would be justified in paraphrasing Ms. Simon's lyrics. About 150 delegates attended the three day convention which concluded April 1.
Featured speakers at the FLP convention were Dr. Murray Rothbard and Harry Browne. Rothbard was noticeably more enthusiastic about the libertarian political movement than he has been in the past. Citing the bankruptcy of traditional conservatism and contemporary liberalism, he said that conditions appear ideal for a philosophically consistent third party to make its presence felt on the American political scene.
Rothbard further commented on the unfortunate fact of modern American life that relatively few people seem to show any serious concern over important issues having tremendous bearing on their lives, except during political elections. Running libertarian candidates for public office, he said, appears to be an excellent means of penetrating the intellectual vacuum that is Americana.
The recent devaluation of the dollar has made Browne something of a prophet to those who believe in astrology and Keynesian economics. He spoke to the New York Convention on how to be free in an unfree society, the subject of his most recent book.
The FLP, which has been the most active of the state parties in terms of running candidates for public office, nominated Fran Youngstein as its candidate to squeeze into Lindsey's shoes. Other candidates nominated were Bill Lowry for President of the City Council and Tom Avery for Comptroller. Those wishing to help Youngstein's campaign for Mayor should send their contributions to the FLP at 15 West 38th Street, New York, N.Y. Sandy Cohen has previously announced as the FLP's candidate in the 25th Congressional District in Poughkeepsie.
In other action at its convention the FLP elected the following officers: Andrea Millen, Chairperson; Ray Strong, Vice Chairperson; Howie Rich, Vice Chairperson; and Jerry Klasman, Treasurer. The FLP chose not to adopt a platform.
Dave Nolan of the National LP is spearheading a drive to get minor parties on all state ballots. Results from Washington, Colorado and California where LP presidential candidate Hospers faced direct competition from the Socialist Workers and Communist parties appear to indicate the LP could have drawn over 300,000 votes last November if it had been on the ballot nationally. Vote counts from those three states (California was write-in) gave Hospers 3628, SWP 1863, and CP 1371.
STATE PARTY REPORTS
ALASKA. The LP has been very active in getting media exposure. Hospers appearance at the state convention was particularly well covered. State Chairman Grant La Point ran a last minute write-in campaign for a special Congressional election. He reports the response was encouraging.
ARIZONA. A large turnout at the recent state convention elected Nathan H. Stevens of Scottsdale State Chairman. A special convention to adopt a platform is being planned.
CALIFORNIA. Roger Scime received 19,524 votes in his campaign for the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees. Although Scime did not win the election, his showing was an impressive one.
COLORADO. State LP will run three candidates for City Council in Colorado Springs.
HAWAII. Membership is near 50 and growing rapidly. A brochure entitled PUBLIC ENEMY #1—GOVERNMENT is available by writing to P.O. Box 57, Kaaawa, Hawaii 96730.
MICHIGAN. State convention will be held May 4 and 5 at the Pick-Fort Shelby Hotel in Detroit. This is one of the largest and most active state parties.
MINNESOTA. The Executive Committee of the LMP has decided to actively support a bill in the Minnesota House of Representatives which would remove the requirement of having a state license to practice law. Richard Kleinow is the new State Chairman and may be contacted at (612) 822-1265.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. State Chairman Arthur Ketchen is lending his support to a new organization called Independent Arbitrage International which intends to create a worldwide currency system that would be independent of government printing presses. Dr. Ralph Boisodi is the head of IAI whose new currency is called "Constants."
NEW JERSEY. At the recent state convention John Goodson of New Brunswick was nominated for Governor. Murray Rothbard spoke at the convention which also nominated Ralph Fucetola and Philip DeBlock for State Assembly.
OKLAHOMA. Steven Brown's libertarian campaign for the Norman City Council netted 1,444 votes, an outstanding total considering Steve's no compromise campaign. LPO Chairman Frank Robinson spoke at the ILS Seminar-Conference in Dallas and proposed that candidates for public office accept only anonymous campaign contributions.
TEXAS. State convention of the TLP will be held June 1-3 in Waco. An ILS Workshop will be held in connection with the convention for the purpose of discussing the practical problems of local political organizing. Mike Holmes is in charge of the Workshop. The first annual ILS Conference was held on April 21 in Irving and is reported to have been a major success.
WASHINGTON. Yet another state convention. This one to be held May 25-27 in Seattle. Pro-tem State Chairman is Skip Barron who headed the successful last minute effort to get the Hospers-Nathan ticket on the ballot in Washington.
NOTES
Many state LP Parties actively participated in the SIL-sponsored National Tax Protest Day. April 14…New slogan for the LP is "Declare Your Independence"
California LP has received a membership resignation from a man who took exception to its endorsement of the decriminalization of marijuana and the abolishment of selective service. His note suggested the LPC "must be nuts" and/or "a bunch of hippies".
LP Vice Presidential candidate Tonie Nathan recently visited Party members in Los Angeles.
New address for the National LP is Box 31638, Aurora, Colorado 80011. Write there for information on National Convention to be held June 8-10 in Cleveland.
California LP knows of a potential American Party supporter.
What's left of YAF held its Western Regional Conference in California on April 27 and the LPC was there spreading subversive ideas.
Items of interest from state LP parties should be sent to Reason Reports, c/o LPC, P.O. Box 71383, Los Angeles, California 90071 on or before the first of each month for timely inclusion in this column.