The Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Californian has been busy suspending memberships lately. It would be a badge of honor to be suspended by them, judging by who they have suspended so far. It will be a badge of shame for the LPC if the membership allows the Ex Com to get away with it.
A few months ago, the Ex Com suspended two great activists from Northern California. Let's call them the Lambs (not their real names). The Lambs are a husband-wife team raising a young daughter. I worked with Mr. Lamb on the Johnson-Weld campaign, he as Northern California activist coordinator and I as Statewide coordinator. We would meet with the national campaign manager weekly by teleconference and Mr. Lamb would give his report. He and Mrs. Lamb organized and worked very hard on many events and activities. The campaign itself was the most impactful Libertarian presidential campaign ever, by a large margin. The Lambs continued their volunteer activism after the 2016 campaign. They were a big part of organizing the 2017 California Libertarian convention. Mr. Lamb ran for state chair in 2019. The Lambs have been very active in their County organization throughout. I don't know the Lambs personally, but every political party needs more people like them! The last thing the Ex Com should be doing is holding trial over them and suspending their memberships.
The Lambs appealed the suspension, arguing that the procedure the Ex Com used to suspend their memberships violated due process under Robert's Rules of Order. The LPC Judicial Committee should have ruled in their favor on this point. Instead, it ruled, essentially, that the Ex Com can suspend anyone they wish without meaningful procedural limits, as long as they say it is "for cause." Or at least, the Ex Com is interpreting the ruling so, as evidenced by its latest crime spree.
The Lambs did not choose to argue the merits of the putative "cause." Nor would most people in their position. Who wants to have nasty, false accusations about their conduct argued in public? It came out afterwards in a public discussion forum that the misconduct was nothing more serious than using access to private member information to contact a donor once, a well-intentioned slight that could have been handled with a private reprimand. Although we'll never know for sure.
Not long after expelling the Lambs, the Ex Com went after another member, a local activist here in Southern California I'll call Mr. Bulldog. Mr. Bulldog is a professional signature gatherer, and has run signature gathering teams. He has been publicly critical of elected officers and former officers of the Los Angeles County affiliate for their role in depriving the membership of public, in-person meetings, using threats of police force to squash dissent, fabricating lies about meeting places, defaming members who questioned their conduct, and other abuses of office. My guess is these same people are responsible for trying to eject him. To avoid the LPC Ex Com's Star Chamber, Mr. Bulldog resigned his membership. I hope he rejoins at a more opportune time.
Then they went after another prominent activist here in So Cal, who I'll call Mr. Jupiter. Earlier today, the Ex Com voted 12-0-2 to suspend his membership. They did this in Visalia, after giving Mr. Jupiter who lives in the LA Basin less than a day's notice of their intent to suspend him.
Mr. Jupiter is a friend of mine. He only became so after I joined the party and got to know him. I value his friendship as a person of rare honesty, trust him as someone who keeps the non-aggression pledge, and respect him as an activist for ethical and responsible human liberty. He has impressed me on many fronts. Like Churchill, he has persevered in the face of adversity and has not been afraid to voice unpopular opinions when he thought it important to an ethical cause. I know of no other activist in Southern California who has worked as effectively and generously in the cause of freedom for so long, or done more to recruit and encourage other activists. All this he has done in the face of more than ten years of attacks and abuse by officers of the party, harassment that has damaged his friendships, family, and business relations. All he has ever asked for from the party is for the abuse to stop.
Faced with the kind of abuse Mr. Jupiter endured, most would have left the party and forgotten about Libertarian activism long ago. Surely, that is what his detractors desire. After eight years in the party, I've seen plenty of others abandon the party for less. Mr. Jupiter hangs in there year after year, taking frequent abuse, while still generously volunteering his time and talents to candidates and causes across the country. Much more could be said about the long and extraordinary pattern of abuse by officers of the party against Mr. Jupiter. The suspension is just the latest example.
We will never know the alleged cause for the Ex Com's suspension, which it did it in secret session. I have reason to believe the cause is even more trivial than used to expel the Lambs. One of the former Los Angeles affiliate officers who has been relentlessly attacking Mr. Jupiter was complaining on LPC-discuss (an LPC Google Group) that Mr. Jupiter had refused to give him brochures a long time ago, and he had no reason to make such a complaint except as set-up for a suspension motion. The accusation is ridiculous, because Mr. Jupiter has never held power over brochures or other party property. But even if it were true, it would be no basis for suspending his membership.
The membership will never know what really went on with the suspension of the Lambs and Mr. Jupiter. No recordings were made, and the Ex Com is proving itself untrustworthy. If the Ex Com has to go into secret session to suspend a member, it should not be entertaining the motion at all.
Maybe the naysayers are right. Maybe the highest purpose of the Libertarian Party is to keep deluded sociopaths busy arguing about bylaws and attacking one another over petty slights. I believe a party organized around the Non-Aggression Principle can do better, but only if intelligent people of good will show up and elect reasonable leadership. It's not really that hard. Ex Com bullies gotta go.
A few months ago, the Ex Com suspended two great activists from Northern California. Let's call them the Lambs (not their real names). The Lambs are a husband-wife team raising a young daughter. I worked with Mr. Lamb on the Johnson-Weld campaign, he as Northern California activist coordinator and I as Statewide coordinator. We would meet with the national campaign manager weekly by teleconference and Mr. Lamb would give his report. He and Mrs. Lamb organized and worked very hard on many events and activities. The campaign itself was the most impactful Libertarian presidential campaign ever, by a large margin. The Lambs continued their volunteer activism after the 2016 campaign. They were a big part of organizing the 2017 California Libertarian convention. Mr. Lamb ran for state chair in 2019. The Lambs have been very active in their County organization throughout. I don't know the Lambs personally, but every political party needs more people like them! The last thing the Ex Com should be doing is holding trial over them and suspending their memberships.
The Lambs appealed the suspension, arguing that the procedure the Ex Com used to suspend their memberships violated due process under Robert's Rules of Order. The LPC Judicial Committee should have ruled in their favor on this point. Instead, it ruled, essentially, that the Ex Com can suspend anyone they wish without meaningful procedural limits, as long as they say it is "for cause." Or at least, the Ex Com is interpreting the ruling so, as evidenced by its latest crime spree.
The Lambs did not choose to argue the merits of the putative "cause." Nor would most people in their position. Who wants to have nasty, false accusations about their conduct argued in public? It came out afterwards in a public discussion forum that the misconduct was nothing more serious than using access to private member information to contact a donor once, a well-intentioned slight that could have been handled with a private reprimand. Although we'll never know for sure.
Not long after expelling the Lambs, the Ex Com went after another member, a local activist here in Southern California I'll call Mr. Bulldog. Mr. Bulldog is a professional signature gatherer, and has run signature gathering teams. He has been publicly critical of elected officers and former officers of the Los Angeles County affiliate for their role in depriving the membership of public, in-person meetings, using threats of police force to squash dissent, fabricating lies about meeting places, defaming members who questioned their conduct, and other abuses of office. My guess is these same people are responsible for trying to eject him. To avoid the LPC Ex Com's Star Chamber, Mr. Bulldog resigned his membership. I hope he rejoins at a more opportune time.
Then they went after another prominent activist here in So Cal, who I'll call Mr. Jupiter. Earlier today, the Ex Com voted 12-0-2 to suspend his membership. They did this in Visalia, after giving Mr. Jupiter who lives in the LA Basin less than a day's notice of their intent to suspend him.
Mr. Jupiter is a friend of mine. He only became so after I joined the party and got to know him. I value his friendship as a person of rare honesty, trust him as someone who keeps the non-aggression pledge, and respect him as an activist for ethical and responsible human liberty. He has impressed me on many fronts. Like Churchill, he has persevered in the face of adversity and has not been afraid to voice unpopular opinions when he thought it important to an ethical cause. I know of no other activist in Southern California who has worked as effectively and generously in the cause of freedom for so long, or done more to recruit and encourage other activists. All this he has done in the face of more than ten years of attacks and abuse by officers of the party, harassment that has damaged his friendships, family, and business relations. All he has ever asked for from the party is for the abuse to stop.
Faced with the kind of abuse Mr. Jupiter endured, most would have left the party and forgotten about Libertarian activism long ago. Surely, that is what his detractors desire. After eight years in the party, I've seen plenty of others abandon the party for less. Mr. Jupiter hangs in there year after year, taking frequent abuse, while still generously volunteering his time and talents to candidates and causes across the country. Much more could be said about the long and extraordinary pattern of abuse by officers of the party against Mr. Jupiter. The suspension is just the latest example.
We will never know the alleged cause for the Ex Com's suspension, which it did it in secret session. I have reason to believe the cause is even more trivial than used to expel the Lambs. One of the former Los Angeles affiliate officers who has been relentlessly attacking Mr. Jupiter was complaining on LPC-discuss (an LPC Google Group) that Mr. Jupiter had refused to give him brochures a long time ago, and he had no reason to make such a complaint except as set-up for a suspension motion. The accusation is ridiculous, because Mr. Jupiter has never held power over brochures or other party property. But even if it were true, it would be no basis for suspending his membership.
The membership will never know what really went on with the suspension of the Lambs and Mr. Jupiter. No recordings were made, and the Ex Com is proving itself untrustworthy. If the Ex Com has to go into secret session to suspend a member, it should not be entertaining the motion at all.
Maybe the naysayers are right. Maybe the highest purpose of the Libertarian Party is to keep deluded sociopaths busy arguing about bylaws and attacking one another over petty slights. I believe a party organized around the Non-Aggression Principle can do better, but only if intelligent people of good will show up and elect reasonable leadership. It's not really that hard. Ex Com bullies gotta go.
