What's Going on with the Libertarian Party of Michigan?

If you haven't been active in Libertarian Party of Michigan politics lately, you may be confused by the competing calls to convention, in Lansing and Wixom on April 1, 2023, from two different Libertarian Executive Committees.  I don't blame you.

It’s a long story.  I will try to summarize it for you. I understand that others have different perspectives on what has happened.  They are entitled to their opinions.  What follows is my understanding of the situation.

The Mises Caucus was formed a few years ago to take over the Libertarian Party nationally. It has a more right-libertarian Ron Paul focus and tends to draw from young, disaffected men, some of whom appear to have bigoted and racist tendencies and a tendency to refuse to field candidates against particular Republicans they favor (based on public reports of online postings and events in other states; not Michigan). It has recruited new members to the party, often paying their dues, and for their delegates to the last national convention, their travel and lodging costs. When they started out in Michigan, they largely kept their membership list secret.

Personally, I don’t see a very big difference in their policy approaches, though others may differ.  As the name implies, they support the philosophy of the famous Austrian free market economist Ludwig von Mises. At the 2022 national convention they voted to remove the abortion platform plank (that opposed any government interference or promotion in abortion decisions and expressly stated that should be an individual decision) and the plank that said the LP condemns bigotry and racism.  Though I voted against removal, I can see how this can still be characterized as a libertarian approach or strategy.  They claim to prefer that we decentralize by running for local offices rather than higher offices, but interestingly contributed very few of our candidates for office in 2022. Locally in West Michigan, we have successfully worked with Mises Caucus members willing to actually do the work of the party, welcoming them as officers, members and candidates.

The chief objection I have to the Mises Caucus is their “My way or the highway” approach to party governance and their apparent rejection of the traditional tolerance by Libertarian Party members of a broad variety of libertarian views and lifestyles and the right of members to state their views without fear of reprisal. Their actions clearly demonstrate they couldn’t care less whether current party members stay or leave the party, and many long-time members have left as a result.

 

At last year’s Michigan Spring convention to select national convention delegates they sent a large contingent to the convention and secretly gave each Mises Caucus member a list of the Mises Caucus members to block vote for national convention delegate.  The rest of the membership, though in the majority, did what they always do, and voted for a broad range of delegates with different views.  By voting as a block, the Mises Caucus elected all but 2 or 3 of the persons ranked as delegates, with many of the people it elected having joined the LPM within the past year and being completely unknown to the general membership and with little, if any, history of activism in the party.

At the 2021 LPM convention the Mises Caucus elected a minority of the LEC, led by Andrew Chadderdon, elected 2nd Vice Chair/Political Director. Some of these members elected had concealed their Mises Caucus membership to get elected. It quickly became evident Chadderdon was directing the Mises Caucus members how to vote on every issue before the LEC, as they always voted in lockstep.  Prior to this election Chadderdon and the Mises Caucus members had cooperated with and been welcomed by other LPM activists, but once in power, at least at the LEC level, they dropped any pretense of doing so. This and other Mises Caucus actions created a toxic relationship on the LEC that led to the resignation of Chair Tim Yow, 1st Vice Chair Ben Boren, and a few Congressional District Members of the LEC in mid-June of 2022. This left Chadderdon as acting Chair, though he proclaimed himself Chair, and with a majority of the LEC controlled by the Mises Caucus. 

The LEC had already called and given notice to the affiliates and members of the July 2022 convention in Holland to nominate candidates, so rather than let the LEC fill its many vacancies (presumably, with Mises Caucus members), many LPM members proposed that it would be more fair to let the July convention delegates vote to fill the vacancies, since they were meeting soon anyway. Chadderdon refused to consider this. To bolster this approach I circulated and submitted a petition to Chadderdon to authorize filling all vacancies at a special convention, as the LPM bylaws say 10% of the members may do, with the special convention to occur at the same time and place as the July Holland convention. The bylaws say a special convention called by petition must occur within 45 days after submission of the petition and are silent as to what notice the petitioners or LEC must give the members of the special convention called by petition.

Chadderdon refused to give notice of the requested special convention to the LPM members (though I understand the Mises Caucus sent a message to its members to make sure to show up in Holland to vote to fill vacancies), or to call it at all, even though the petition was submitted 10 days prior to the scheduled July convention. He claimed the 60 and 30-day notices of the July convention, coupled with an additional 10-day notice, would be inadequate to give reasonable notice of the requested special convention and that because the bylaws require the LEC to give 60 days’ notice to affiliates and 30 days’ notice to members of any conventions called by the LEC, those requirements would also apply to notice for a special convention called by petition, even though the bylaws clearly wouldn’t permit as much as 60 days’ notice to be given due to the requirement the special convention occur within 45 days. When Chadderdon refused, a non-Mises Caucus LEC member, Dave Canny, sent notice of the election to fill vacancies at the July convention to all LPM members.

The LPM bylaws provide that the delegates at a convention may make a motion of no confidence and remove an officer by a majority vote.  Dave Canny gave notice to Chadderdon and the LEC 2 weeks prior to the convention that he would make a motion at the convention to remove Chadderdon.  When Chadderdon refused to notify the LPM membership, Canny announced in a message to all LPM members that he intended to do so.

At the July convention in Holland the Mises Caucus was again in the minority. The delegates voted to remove Chadderdon as chair of the convention. Joe Brungardt was elected to fill the 1st Vice Chair vacancy.  More than 2/3 of the delegates voted to remove Chadderdon as party Chair, so Brungardt automatically became Chair under the bylaws. Mike Saliba was elected to fill the 1st Vice Chair vacancy. Mary Buzuma was elected to fill the 2nd Vice Chair vacancy. Our current bylaws provide that any vacancies in Congressional District LEC members be filled by caucus at the next convention, so caucuses were held and those positions filled, as in past conventions.  The Mises Caucus was once again in the minority on the LEC.

More than 4 months later, in November, Chadderdon appealed to the Judicial Committee (consisting of 3 Mises Caucus members elected in 2021) the decisions of the convention delegates to remove him as Chair, to fill the LEC officer vacancies, and to fill the district vacancies.  To my knowledge this is the first time in the history of the LPM a decision of a convention had been appealed, as the prior consensus was that only decisions of the LEC could be appealed and the delegates in convention were thought to be all-powerful and not subject to having their decisions overridden by the LEC or Judicial Committee. Predictably, the Judicial Committee controlled by Chadderdon ruled in his favor in December, purporting to nullify the decisions of the July convention.

Hence, we now have a situation where Chadderdon and the Mises Caucus claim a majority of the LEC. Another petition of members for a special convention to be held virtually within 45 days to fill LEC vacancies was circulated following the Judicial Committee decision and submitted to Chadderdon in early January.  Chadderdon’s response was to schedule a special convention on April 1 (during Spring Break) and in Wixom (an inconvenient location for most members) to fill the LEC officer and member vacancies, claiming doing so within 45 days as required by the bylaws wouldn’t provide enough notice and holding it virtually wasn’t permitted (even though the bylaws expressly authorize it and we did so during the pandemic).

In response to Chadderdon’s (now second) refusal to comply with a petition of members, and the obviously biased and novel Judicial Committee decision, the LEC officers and members elected at the July convention refused to step down and are continuing to serve as the LEC.  This continuing LEC called a regular convention for April 1 in Lansing. Our bylaws require that a regular convention be held to select all LEC officers and members between April 1 and July 31 of odd-numbered years, so the Lansing convention would do so, unlike the Mises Caucus convention that purportedly would only fill LEC vacancies.

At the 2022 national convention, the Mises Caucus won control of the national committee of the LP.  Consequently, it supports Chadderdon and had its attorney send a letter demanding that the continuing LEC stop representing itself as the LP of Michigan. Chadderdon hired the former general counsel of the Michigan Republican Party to represent him and the Mises Caucus and had him send a similar letter.  In response, the continuing LEC raised a special fund from LPM members to hire its own attorney.

At this point, the continuing LEC controls the LPM’s bank accounts and PO Box.  Chadderdon controls the website, linked PayPal account and Facebook page. The continuing LEC created a new website at www.michiganlp.net.  That website includes a link to sign up for the Lansing convention on April 1.

My personal opinion is that given Chadderdon’s past behavior, there is no clear benefit to attending the Wixom convention.  Even if, once again, Chadderdon and the Mises Caucus were to be outvoted, they would likely just fabricate another excuse to appeal to their Judicial Committee to overturn the convention’s decisions. I support the continuing LEC and plan to attend the Lansing convention.

My Libertarian Activist Checklist for Fall 2010

You might recall that I wrote about my Libertarian activist “To Do List” for the Spring of this year. Guess what? I also have a “To Do List”, to actively support the Libertarian Party in this busy time between now and Election Day. Please join me in as many of these activities as possible. I plan to:

1. Put as much time and energy into my campaign for State Board of Education as possible. I’ll be busy answering questionnaires, updating content on my website and responding to media interview and candidate forum requests. If you aren’t running for office, then see who is. Eighty-three Libertarian Party candidates would appreciate your help with their campaigns!

2. Attend my local LPM affiliate meetings to find out how I can help my local party this fall. Go to our calendar to find out when your local affiliate meets. If you don’t have a local affiliate, then form one. Go to this webpage to find out how.

3. Contribute funds to at least one active local Libertarian campaign. Local campaigns have the best prospects to garner votes and affect election outcomes. With a local race, you get more “bang for your buck”. If a local candidate is willing to spend his or her valuable time campaigning, the least I can do is provide financial support.

4. Contribute funds to at least one active statewide Libertarian campaign. Statewide campaigns have the best prospects to receive media attention. Often, they are the ones that get the Libertarian name and philosophy out there, and bring in new activists.

5. Put a Libertarian bumper sticker on my car. Ken Proctor, our candidate for Governor, is printing and distributing bumper stickers, as are other candidates. Use them!

6. Invite my Facebook friends to “like” the Libertarian candidates I like. Many Libertarian candidates have created “public figure” pages. It’s very easy to help support them by asking your Facebook friends to “like” them too.

7. Put one or more Libertarian campaign signs in my yard. Each LPM affiliate has been given a supply of “Vote Libertarian” signs with the LPM logo. Several Libertarian candidates are also printing and placing yard signs. Use them!

8. Attend my local Libertarian election night party on November 2. Election night is a time to relax, get together with your freedom-loving friends, and have fun. Don’t miss out!

A Libertarian Vision for Michigan

How should we as Libertarians craft our campaign theme for 2010? Here are my thoughts on the subject. I would certainly appreciate yours, too. As a political party we must articulate a positive, persuasive, simple and appealing campaign theme for our candidates in 2010.

We need to ask ourselves what voters of a libertarian bent see as being wrong with our government in general at the federal, state and local level. What's wrong with government in particular, here in Michigan. And offer our solution.

Many issues come to mind. People are livid at the "too big to fail" benefits and taxpayer bail outs for those who screwed up. Many businesses, and ordinary people, took financial risks common sense should have told them they never should have taken. Big banks. Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac. AIG. The Big 3 auto makers. The guy on your street who bought a home he couldn't afford, with no money down and no prospect of ever repaying his government-guaranteed loan.

Our representatives cut special deals to preserve the jobs and fringe benefits of politically-powerful unions like the UAW and MEA. The "stimulus" is a joke. In Michigan it's been diverted to preserve the jobs of government employees at all levels, not create new, productive, private-sector jobs. And union lobbyists are now working overtime to make sure special exceptions are carved out of Obama's national health care tax and subsidy plan in order to preserve their health benefits. Benefits that are already vastly superior to those of ordinary mortals who labor in everyday service and manufacturing jobs.

Bail outs aren't the only special preferences. Here in Michigan, our bipartisan Statehouse is enacting one special "incentive" (State legislative-speak for "hand out") after another to attract and shore up preferred businesses in the politically-preferred "green energy", "high-tech", automotive and film-making industries. Businesses that are incapable of making a profit in an over-taxed and over-regulated Michigan without those incentives. And any entrepreneur or business that's not in a "cool" industry, which doesn't employ or can't afford legions of lobbyists and lawyers to get their "fair share" of taxpayer money, is expected to suck it up and pay a confiscatory Michigan Business Tax. Sadly, many have closed up shop and left the State, followed by hundreds of thousands of their employees looking for jobs.

And then there's the City of Detroit. Michigan's very own Third World government. Where incompetence and corruption are King. And consequently, grinding poverty is the norm.  A vision of where Jennifer Granholm and Mike Bishop are swiftly leading our entire State.

Whether in Congress or the State legislature, Democrats and Republicans are exploiting the misery of jobless voters and the willingness of politically-powerful special interests to do what it takes to get their way, to put their parties and candidates in the best position to preserve and expand their political power. Actually solving our problems through fair, open and honest government is the farthest thing from their minds.

So my particular vision of our Libertarian Party of Michigan 2010 campaign theme looks like this. A vision of a Michigan that is a good place to live, work and raise our families. A place where our children will want to stay and build a future after they finish college.

My vision for Michigan is a "Libertarian Common Sense Plan" where government should be:

• Fair. No bail outs. No hand outs. No special deals for businesses, unions or individuals. Instead, cut spending now by eliminating all incentives, benefits, and programs that don't benefit the average voter or business. Cut government costs by eliminating all agencies and regulations that impede the creation of jobs and businesses, competition and personal freedom. Eliminate tax abatements, exemptions and discounts for the few preferred businesses, unions and individuals, and cut the tax rates paid by all.

• Open. Promote transparency by promptly posting budgets, finances, proceedings, legislation and documents for all levels of government on line. Encourage participation in government by permitting registration and voting by mail, replacing onerous ballot access requirements with simple and fair ones, and eliminating campaign finance requirements that are exploited by experienced professional politicians to screen out challengers.

• Honest. Recognize that the cause of the tidal wave of political corruption washing over our nation and government is the broad scope and power of government itself. Only by restricting the scope and power of government to grant special benefits to a few can we minimize the incentive for power-hungry individuals to seek public office and special interests seeking favors to corrupt our representatives. Cutting government spending, regulations and agencies, returning to part-time legislatures and demanding ethical behavior of our representatives are key to creating a good place to live, work and raise our families.

Let's dispense some Libertarian common sense for the 2010 elections.  Join me in promoting fair, open and honest government for Michigan.

LP of Michigan November Election Highlights

Libertarian Party of Michigan general election candidates ran their strongest races in many years. We contested all statewide races (Supreme Court, educational boards, US Senate) and Congressional races (15), plus about one third of the state representative races (32) and many county-level races, for a total of 85 candidates. Here are the highlights (unofficial vote totals):

Barr/Root received 23,740 votes, 0.4% and slightly more than would have been needed to preserve ballot access if Barr were the only statewide candidate, and third best historically, behind Clark (1980) and Browne (1996), with no state advertising and only one state visit.

Nonpartisan Supreme Court candidate (nominated in convention by the LPM) Bob Roddis received 421,091 votes, 11% and greater than the difference between the winning Democrat and defeated (a surprise!) Republican Chief Justice (never before has a Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice been defeated in a re-election bid).

US Senate candidate Scotty Boman received 76,379 votes, 1.6% and the best showing since Jon Coon's race in 1994, and many more votes than the other 3 third party candidates. He focused considerable effort to draw the votes of Ron Paul supporters.

Our Congressional candidates drew from 0.8% to 4.4% of the vote, eclipsing the previous high water mark in 1996.
Statewide educational board races (8) ranged from a high of 147,736 votes received (Nicole Michalak – Wayne State Univ. Bd. Of Governors) to a low of 91,765 votes received, comparable to the last high water mark, in 1996.

Candidates in the 32 State Representative races drew percentages 50% to 100% higher than in recent elections, ranging from 1.3% to 4.5% in three-way races. On average, they did slightly better on a percentage basis than the most recent high water mark in 1996, if you don’t count Jon Coon’s 1996 State Representative showing of 15%.

Two candidates in County level two-way races took between 20% and 30% of the vote, while three took between 10% and 20% of the vote. John Stedman took the highest percentage, with 24.7% and 55,628 votes in a two-way race for Kent County Sheriff. Macomb County Commission candidate Erin Stahl drew 10.4% in a three-way race.

Two candidates (Tom Bagwell and Larry Johnson) were elected Ypsilanti Township Park Commissioners in uncontested races (except by write-in challengers).

Congratulations to all our candidates for a job well done!

Michigan Libertarian Presidential Straw Poll

Yesterday, March 8, 45 candidates and activists packed a meeting room at the Best Western in Livonia for the Libertarian Party of Michigan's 2008 Campaign Training Conference. The program included a Libertarian Presidential straw poll. None of the Presidential candidates attended (all were invited, but many begged off to attend one or more of four state LP conventions across the country). However, the Wayne Allyn Root and Bob Jackson campaigns recognized the importance of the Michigan LP's block of 34 delegates, and sent campaign personnel to speak on behalf of their candidates. Mark Schreiber of Indiana spoke and fielded questions for Wayne Allyn Root, as did David Yardley of Michigan for Bob Jackson.

The results of the balloting were: Wayne Allyn Root 11 (37%); Bob Jackson 8 (27%); Ron Paul 2 (7%); Steve Kubby 2 (7%); Christine Smith 2 (7%); Mary Ruwart 1 (3%); Walter Williams 1 (3%); George Phillies 1 (3%); Daniel Imperato 1 (3%); None of the Above 1 (3%). As noted, 45 people attended, but only 30 cast votes in the straw poll. Some attendees looked at the long ballot, decided they had no idea who to vote for, and chose not to vote.

Redistricting the Right Way

Recently there's been a lot of press about changing the way Michigan redraws legislative districts every 10 years. Currently, they are gerrymandered by the (Republican or Democratic) party in power, in an effort to skew the votes in their favor and disenfranchise as many voters as possible. The latest proposal is to create a committee of 4 Democratic Party leaders/legislators, 4 Republican leaders/legislators and a 9th person appointed by a majority of the other 8.

Excuse me, but are Libertarians the only ones who see electoral fraud in the making?

The redistricting process should be fair. However, turning the keys to the process over to incumbent Republican and Democratic legislators and their cronies is a recipe for unfairness. Currently, due to Republican gerrymandering, only a handful of legislative districts are competitive, and only a handful of Michigan voters can cast votes that potentially could decide an election. Given the opportunity, the old party incumbents in Lansing will gerrymander districts to guaranatee their re-eelction. Instead, I propose a solution that won't favor the incumbents. Create a re-districting commission that includes one representative from each of the 6 ballot-qualified political parties -- Libertarian, Green, US Taxpayers, Natural Law, Democratic and Republican. And give the many independent Michigan voters a voice by requiring the 6 party representatives to appoint 3 more members to the commission who aren't affiliated with any political party. Now that's fair!

Bringing "libertarians" to the Libertarian Party

In their intriguing study, The Libertarian Vote, David Boaz and David Kirby use existing polling data to demonstrate something no self-respecting mainstream political journalist would ever admit -- that there is more to politics than liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, blue state and red state. They conclude that in the 2004 election approximately 13 percent of the electorate could only be characterized as small "l" libertarian, i.e., socially tolerant and economically conservative. Interestingly, they found that these libertarians are true "swing" voters, with very little loyalty to the older parties, and thus exercised a disproportionate effect on elections because they might switch their votes from one old party to the other.

What does this mean for the Libertarian Party? That our candidates can target not only single issue Libertarian voters, like gun rights activists, medical marijuana proponents and supporters of family rights, but also this large group of libertarians who support not just one, but a variety of Libertarian positions on the issues. In future posts, I plan to address ideas for identifying, approaching, welcoming, and involving these libertarian idealogues into the Libertarian Party.