Conventioneering
May 28th 2008 11:04 pm
I am freshly returned from the Libertarian National Convention in Denver.
For a day and a half I have been trying to collect my thoughts so that I could write something coherent. I have been unsuccessful.
Analyses of the convention and the decisions made there have been presented earlier and better than I could do, and by many (many, many) people more adept at and more interested in political intricacies than I am. So for now, I will just give you a few of my observations and opinions, and relate a couple of interesting stories.
Did we make the right decision in nominating Bob Barr? For this election cycle, I think we did. Some Libertarians are dreadfully unhappy, of course, and I understand that. Me, too, a little bit.
One of the phrases I heard a lot at the convention was “perfect storm.” There is little doubt that record numbers of American voters are fed up with both of the major parties, and this is a real opportunity for Libertarians to have an impact like never before. Nominating a candidate with broader appeal than the more fundamentalists is almost certainly the way to do that.
It still hurts my heart a little.
I hope many of you watched the debate on Saturday night. The candidates were intelligent, articulate, courteous. I have never been prouder to be a Libertarian.
Mike Gravel did way better than I thought he would. Listening to the talk around me, I heard very little support for him. But he was 4th on the first ballot, and lasted four rounds. I can’t account for that.
Michael Jingozian did something unexpected and, in my opinion, touching. He was nominated, the nomination was seconded, he made his speech, and he and his group left the stage. He then immediately came back to the microphone and nominated the next candidate. For that, I gave him my vote on the first ballot.
The delegations were seated in order by the percentage increase in the LP membership in that state in the two years since the last convention. Kansas was 4th, and we were seated front row, far right as you faced the stage. Hooray for us!
Rojas responded on 29 May 2008 at 2:02 am #
We want more! Details! Stories! Words! Wisdom! Gibberish!
Talarohk responded on 29 May 2008 at 12:04 pm #
That’s very cool that Kansas has been seeing a growing libertarian movement.
Sharon responded on 30 May 2008 at 8:43 am #
Indeed, our increased membership was way cool. South Carolina was first, with an increase of over 73%. North and South Dakota were second and third. Kansas was fourth with 20.4%.
Kansas Blog Roundup for June 6, 2008 responded on 22 Jun 2008 at 11:18 am #
[...] Cynic, Sharon DuBois reports on being a delegate to the Libertarian Party national convention: Conventioneering and Conventioneering Odds and Ends. Also: Is it depressing to belong to a political party that [...]