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GRASSROOTS! - WHERE HAVE ALL THE LIBERTARIANS GONE?

November 17, 2006 - by Juanita Ramirez

Gone to hucksters every one. Oh, when will they ever learn...when will they ever learn?

Yes, I am naive and proud to be so. When I joined the Libertarian Party I did so because I thought that finally a solid group of our people all across the nation had it right. I know that some still do but I am among a small group of die-hards who are facing the take-over of our Party and ideals by those who would use it to gain political influence in our solvent name.

I have been fighting an ever-losing battle here in California, along with many others, about where our Party would lead itself. With the latest invention of those with money and power in the Libertarian Party of California, our next convention will be held on board a cruise ship in international waters headed for a foreign country (Mexico). This will automatically exclude most of the membership of our state. It entails not only the travel expense to the port of departure, but the passport expense, along with the expense of having to reserve booking rather than a day-pass to the floor for convention business.

This is only a drip in the pot of what is happening to our Party. The recent decision by the LNC to eliminate dues has put our state and all others into a quandry about where the Party is headed.

In California, we are faced with a dues increase of double ($50) to remain in good standing for votes etc. within our state. The LNC has decided that the national just needs generosity to continue. I still am wondering why we need a Watergate address to do business.

The most important thing in all this is that we seem, now, to have persons controlling the Party who have forgotten or are using our principles to gain their own political advantage. Our ideals have been usurped and our membership is declining one by one. Those of us who do not have money or position are being ignored. I can only pray that those individuals taking control of the Libertarian Party will crash and burn and lose all they have invested in thinking they can buy real ideals.

The Spirit of man is to be free! No one can buy that. Those of us who founded the Libertarian Party and came to it know that. It is why one by one we came and it is why one by one we leave you to your ideals of power and recognition. You are the naive, I think, if you think you can use the basic principles of our nation to your own advantage at the cost of those you would use.

If the Libertarian Party becomes a joke on the political scene after all this time and effort of so many, so be it. I will still be a proud member of it. The reason for that is because I have never forgotten for one moment the reason I landed here.

I dont do drugs but think that those who do should be treated and helped rather than being incarcerated. Those who choose/need to use marijuana for relief from pain should be allowed to do so. Doctors who believe this is as good a medicine than any other should be allowed to prescribe it. I am not homosexual and cant begin to understand it but I think that those who are should be recognized as equal citizens of our nation and treated with the same respect that all other citizens are treated.

I am not a racist and cant begin to understand the pain those in the minority in our nation feel but I believe that everyone should be treated equally and not given latitude on the color of his skin. This, to me, means that racism will only vanish when we stop talking about it. Only when we stop using it as a tool for political discussion will every minority be able to stand on his/her own merit.

I dont believe in the wholesale killing of fetuses, i.e. abortion, but do believe in a womans right to choose. Until we have a perfect world where she can have that child and nurture it correctly, we give her choices to make for her own survival. The choice is between her and God. If she doesnt believe in God, the choice is simpler. In any case it is hers and hers alone. She is the captain of her ship.

In all these moral and social situations, no other person should have to pay for these decisions. The party involved should have to pay for whatever lifestyle or decision they make. Therefore, it follows that the taxpayers and government has no business in it. Therefore, it follows that no Supreme Court Justice should have to make laws concerning these things. YOU CANNOT LEGISLATE MORALITY!!!! It also follows that the Supreme Court has no right to legislate public domain i.e. taking property from an individual to give it to another.

In essence, how can the Libertarian Party make a difference? We can by standing by our principles. We can still keep telling one on one what we believe. Our future is in our youth but they glaze over when they hear of the crap going on now. We have to let them know that we havent let them down. They need to see us still standing.

In essence, how can the Libertarian Party make a difference? We can by standing by our principles. We can still keep telling one on one what we believe. Our future is in our youth but they glaze over when they hear of the crap going on now. We have to let them know that we havent let them down. They need to see us still standing. They are our hope and future.