I found an interesting comment posted by a Libertarian named Michael Morrison concerning the
North Carolina Libertarian Party's lawsuit against North Carolina for equal elections.
http://ballot-access.org/2005/09/26/nc-libertarians-denied-temporary-restraining-order/
"I was a Libertarian even before the national LP was formed in 1971 (and a libertarian even earlier).
I say that first because I want to say second that I am getting concerned about the many, many lawsuits filed by various branches of the party.
Most libertarians, and I suppose most Libertarians, are fearful of activist courts and judges.
Too often suits are attempted end runs around the legal process, around laws and state codes and even constitutions.
Of course Libertarians should be on the ballot — every ballot, in my opinion.
But if a Libertarian Party has so few members it falls off, if it fails to legally qualify for ballot status, then a primary might be more of an embarrassment than a success.
Plus there is the moral question of forcing governments to spend taxpayers’ (stolen) money for our political activities.
I wonder if the money spent on lawsuits wouldn’t be better spent recruiting new members.
It could buy ads, it could hire meeting halls and pay for speakers, all activities that might do much more to help the party grow than all the lawsuits."
This helps us look at the issue of how resources should be used.
Would it be better to spend time and money litigating so there would equal ballot access for all political parties in the state? Or would it be better to do as Mr. Morrison suggests, grow the Party, run ads, have Libertarians run as independents in some races?
And then the issue of by engaging the State in a legal battle for equal ballot access, the state then wastes money defending their two tier system of Parties.
I think looking at seeing how much money the state spends on things is not the right way of looking at the issue. Any state usually has oodles of pet projects that different representatives want funded.
Maybe there is a minimalist way of doing things that would ensure that libertarians would be on the ballot and yet libertarian things and projects would get done?
Let's look at David and Goliath.
(They didn't end up in the court system!)
Did David beat Goliath with brute force, WWF Style?
No!
David got the five smooth stones, aimed them, and took care of Goliath with very careful aim.
Now elections are a lot different than a battle between David and Goliath.
We face 2 Goliath Parties that are always on the ballot. Yes, there are signature requirements in South Dakota, and they are met fair and square. Both of these Goliath parties always get 2 1/2% of the vote in the Governor's race every 4 years. Consequently, those 2 Parties are always recognized Parties.
We are definitely the Davids in the electoral process. The smaller of the Goliath Parties, the Democratic Party is about 180 times bigger than us, as far as registered voters is concerned.
Some Libertarians might say: Oh, I get it, you are saying if we take on the 2 Goliath Parties in elections by acting like Goliaths (having a lot of members, spending a lot of money on media buys), we will either lose because we do not have Goliath (big) resources to match our Goliath appetites(running a tradional campaign, albeit with Libertarian values), or if we win, it might be because we end up sounding like the other 2 Parties (a fear that many libertarians are concerned about).
All I am saying now is simple: If we are David, we should act like David. Which means, no traditional campaigning.
Are we winning because we are the Party of Principle?
No.
Do the 2 Big Parties have principles? Yes, they do. Principles that tend to bigger government, more taxes, too many dumb regulations and laws, the opposite of our ideal of smaller and smarter government.
So if the old way (traditional campaigning) doesn't work for us, why do we insist on doing it again and again?
What would the new way be? What would David do?
I think the main realization is that we can win without having a majority of the voters.
That seems illogical when we know that it a 2 way State Senate race, a plurality of one (or a good coin flip) is needed.
Yet in a State House race where there are just 4 candidates (for 2 seats), just 26% is needed in a close race. Less than 26% in a close 5 way race.
Less than 50% in a close 3 way State Senate race.
The mathematics of that seems obvious.
I will ask another wild question.
Is it possible to win where we are now, with out numbers at less than 1% of the resgistered voters?
Think of the question:
What would David do?
(Strategy-wise, setting aside any religious ideas).
What would inspire us and MANY OTHERS?
I will look at this in 2 ways: the traditional political races and other ways.
TRADITIONAL PUBLIC OFFICE RACES.
Our efforts should be very concentrated. The two races that would be the most significant would be:
The Governor's Race (not easy to win, but we can increase our percentages and gain new members)
Select State House and State Senate Races. Winning ONE of these races would be a great victory for Libertarians. Maybe 2 strategies could be: Find a traditional 4 way race (2 Republicans, 2 Democrats) and enter a Libertarian there. Or find a State Senate race where this one candidate running usually unopposed. In the State House race, in a close contest, 21% could possibly send the Libertarian candidate to Pierre. In a 3 way State Senate race, possibly 34% would be enough for a Libertarian to win.
The financial cost of winning: Governor's race, millions of dollars.
State House or State Senate: Possibly $4,000-$15,000 in a non-urban district.
Some Libertarians like the idea of running for mayor in a small town and winning. This is fine. Its just that Governor and Legislature are higher profile races and would INSPIRE more people.
OTHER WAYS.
Here's where, if we are more creative, we win!
State law allows Precinct Committeemen and Precinct Committeewomen to be elected simply by filling out a form and handing in to the County Auditor before the deadline.
Since most Libertarians who choose to do this would be unopposed, they would end up being given a Certificate of election by their County Auditor.
One Prencinct Committeewoman and One Precinct Committeeman can be elected PER PRECINCT, for eacdh Party!
So for example, in a precinct in Jones County, 2
Libertarians, 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats, and 2 Constitution Party people can be elected.
I went to one county near Sioux Falls a few years ago, and out of 5 Precincts, ZERO Democrats and maybe 1 or 2 Republicans had chosen to run and be elected as Precinct Committeemen/women.
When Libertarians start to get elected to these positions, what does this allow them to do?
Basically, they would be Great Ambassadors of the libertarian message. They would have no budget to oversee, no laws to vote for or against. But they would be Elected Libertarians, and they would be spreading the message--hey, you can be a cool libertarian like me and get elected, too!
The other thing is that the First Amendment gives us the right to peaceably assemble.
So at our State Convention in June 2005, non-affiliated Self-Governors associations were approved.
"Agreement to encourage the establishment of local “Self-Governors” clubs as non-affiliated cross-party organizations to encourage local political involvement and ideas." From the Minutes of the 2005 SDLP Annual Convention
So whether you call your local non-Party group: Self-Governors of Stanley County or Libertarian Council of Brookings or Libertarian Governors of
Yankton County, here is another chance for you to
get together with other libertarians, get ELECTED (if you choose to be a leader in one of these groups) and to a) send your best ideas to the SDLP and b) hopefully find a few people who would want to run for local, county, legislative, State or Federal office.
So any Libertarian in South Dakota can get elected TWICE, easily, as a Precinct Committeeman/woman in even numbered years, and as a President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, Governor, Senator or Visionary (get creative with titles!) in a local Self-Governors Club or Libertarian Council.
Getting elected twice in South Dakota?
Sounds like a great deal!
One more idea I have for the regulat races for Governor, State Offices, legislative offices:
GO HOLLYWOOD
Let's get creative.
Let's be inspired and inspire many others!
Let's keep a permanent record of our races.
On film!
I think digital cameras cost about $400-$500. Videotape is widely available at many stores.
The actors/actresses are free!
Yes, you would be your own Director (as well as candidate).
Find a few people who want to help you out with your film.
It would be a great inspiring documentary about how libertarian folks in 2006 would be saying:
"Look! We are doing great things! We hope to get elected and do great things for South Dakota!"
Getting on the ballot makes your race real.
Making a documentary of it (even a 30-60 minute documentary would be fun!) makes your campaign
PERMANENT and INSPIRING.
For us, what is politics?
Maybe, ultimately, it is a way of INSPIRING many people with our words, ideas, actions and accomplishments.
In turn, those many inspired people can do great things far into the future.
We all know that regaining ballot access and taking a ballot access issue all the way to a State Supreme Court is very costly financially. I agree somewhat with Mr. Morrison's post.
Any more ideas?
Can we minimize our efforts and maximize our harvest, our returns?
Is there such a thing as being a minimalist libertarian?
The last time a big party went down in flames was the Whig Party, and that was 150 years ago.
Libertarians now can be elected as Precinct Committeemen and Precinct Committeewomen AND as leaders of the new Self-Governors or Libertarian Councils.
I think minimalist libertarians are people that can get a lot done with a little effort. That itself would be HUGELY inspiring.
Perhaps our Self-Governors groups can think of dozens ro hundreds of ways to do this.
Granted, elections for public office take huge amounts of time and effort.
But some of the minimalist ideas will allow us to
spread libertarian ideas, and cause more successful projects to be THOUGHT OF and DONE (and bring us closer to when more and more Libertarians are elected in public elections).
Minimalist, amazing?
Yes, we are!
Alex Martin