July 2009 Page 1

Libertarian Strategy Monthly

Herding Cats Since May 2009
Volume 1 | Number 3 Wednesday, July 1, 2009

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

Napoleon Hill

In This Issue:
Pages 2-3 Privacy Alert:
Opinion
A Subcommittee Structure From The ACLU
Pages 3-7 The ACLU filed the
Opinion complaint on behalf of a
What We Should Do With traveler who was
illegally detained and
The National Party
harassed by TSA agents
Pages 7-11 at the airport for
Opinion carrying approximately
Campaign Season Is $4,700 in cash.
Almost Here On March 29, 2009,
Steven Bierfeldt was
Pages 11-12 detained in a small room
News & Analysis at Lambert-St. Louis
Growing Libertarian Trend International Airport and
interrogated by TSA
Page 12 officials for nearly half
News & Analysis an hour after he passed a
Poll Gives Insight Into metal box containing
American Politics cash through a security
checkpoint X-ray
Pages 12-13 machine. Bierfeldt was
News & Analysis carrying the cash in
Young Voters Lean connection with his
Libertarian duties as the Director of
Development for the
Pages 13-14 Campaign for Liberty, a
News & Analysis political organization
Liberty For Maine Forms that grew out of
Congressman Ron Paul's
Pages 14 presidential campaign.
News & Analysis
Former LP Staffer Writes To Read Full Press
Autobiography Release:
Pages 14-15 http://www.aclu.org/safefre
News & Analysis Opinion
e/general/39926prs200906
Brady For LNC Secretary 18.html
Issue Brief:
The Concord Coalition
reiterated its support for
enacting statutory pay-as-
you-go (PAYGO) rules,
particularly in light of
proposals to expand the
federal government’s
health care commitments.
Concord warned,
however, that the Obama
Administration’s PAYGO
proposal would exempt
$3.5 trillion of specific
policies from the rule and
protect most spending
programs from across-
the-board cuts intended to
enforce the rule.
“Finding a cure for the
nation’s dire fiscal
outlook will obviously
require a lot more than a
new budget rule, but
enactment of statutory
PAYGO would send a
very positive signal that
the federal government is
beginning to take the
problem seriously.” said
Robert Bixby, executive
director of The Concord
Coalition.
To Read Full Press
Release:
http://tinyurl.com/lepmrp

© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved Libertarian Strategy Monthly

July 2009 Page 2

the progress they are making on those

Opinions of our guests, expressed in goals. A “working” subcommittee
the opinions section, do not consists of members within the state or
necessarily reflect the opinions of national
Jake Porter or J.D. Porter Consulting. committee
and could
J.D. Porter
An Effective Subcommittee perhaps Consulting
Structure For State and have
volunteers,
National Organizations appointed Business, Non-Profit,
by the and Political Services
Conversing committee,
With Jake who are not E-mail:
necessarily jake@jakeporter.org
By Jake Porter members of
the state or www.jakeporter.org
What do you national
get when you committee.
have
approximately twenty managers, but What are the benefits of a
only about five staffers to do the work of subcommittee structure?
an organization? The answer is a top
down bureaucratic management A subcommittee structure can be added
structure that stifles growth, decreases to the state or national committee to
productivity, and wastes the resources of allow more oversight and more
the organization. committee member accountability for
results.
Don’t get me wrong, having state and
national committees and staff are very The following are just a few benefits of a
much necessary for the future of our subcommittee structure:
party; however, we are a small party. To
build a Libertarian future will require a • Accountability for results
vast amount of work that needs to be
• Better monitoring of progress
completed. We desperately need a
• Less confusion
subcommittee structure to decrease the
heavy workload of our staff and to • Less work for staff
accomplish the goals of the organization. • Meeting goals and objectives
• More motivation
What is a subcommittee structure? • Real work done by committee
members and volunteers
A state or a national committee sets the
goals and makes the major decisions of What subcommittees do we need?
their organization or they delegate the
making of specific decisions to staff. A Here are some ideas. Your list may be
subcommittee is given a specific area to different. Some subcommittees could be
set goals for, carry out those goals, and added, modified, or removed depending
report back to the entire committee on on your state organization:

© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved Libertarian Strategy Monthly

July 2009
• Affiliate Party Subcommittee
o Monitor problems and
progress of each state
o Monitor each college and
county organization
• Ballot Access Subcommittee
o Make certain candidates
will be on the ballot
o Monitor potential legal
changes to ballot access
requirements
• Budget and Fundraising
Subcommittee
o Determine methods of
raising revenue
o Propose a budget for
doing real politics
o Raise money
• Candidate and Volunteer Support
Subcommittee
o Develop guides and
resources to help
candidates
o Keep track of appointed
and elected officials
o Recruit candidates
• Communications and Marketing
Subcommittee
o Developing advertising
campaigns
o Distribute press releases
Now that I have addressed the
importance of creating a subcommittee
structure I ask that you consider trying it.
All we are saying is give the
subcommittee structure a chance. On
the other hand, we could continue to do
the same thing we have done since
before I was even born. Has that worked
very well?
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 3
J.D. (Jake) Porter, a 2008 Business
Administration graduate, previously
served as Chief of Staff to the George
Phillies Presidential campaign, Iowa
Coordinator for the 2008 Bob Barr
Presidential campaign, and worked as
Business Manager for the Saint Joseph
Telegraph. Today, he is the owner of
J.D. Porter Consulting, is the Alternate
to Region 6 of the Libertarian National
Committee, and resides in the state of
Missouri.
www.rationalreview.com
What We Should Do
With The National Party
By Dr. George Phillies
Originally Posted in
the December 2003
edition of
Libertarian
Strategy Gazette
A Program for a
National Chair:
What do we need in a Chair? A
Libertarian National Committee
(LNC) Chair needs to know how to run
meetings and adhere to Rules of Order.
As a professor active in faculty
governance, I've done that under
difficult circumstances. An LNC Chair
and Party CEO must understand that the
Libertarian Party is a voluntary
organization, not except for a very few
employees a hierarchical corporation.
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
Corporate management techniques (not
to be confused with honest accounting
procedures) routinely fail
catastrophically in volunteer groups. I've
seen these failures at close range.
The next LNC Chair needs to purge the
LNC meeting practices that helped give
the National Party its Decade of
Stagnation. The notion that LNC
members are there to write management
guidelines, but not to get their hands
dirty in the shop by doing real work,
needs to come to an end. Party
Members need to contribute to this end
when they decide who to elect to the
next National Committee. The notion
that an agenda should sometimes leave
mission critical items to late in the
meeting (see the December 2001
meeting for an example) should also go.
The National Committee should focus
on doing politics.
Finally, the LNC Chair is our Party
CEO. Potential Chairs should explain
what the Party should do.
So, what should the LNC be doing? I
offer a twelve step plan, substantially
from my book Stand Up For Liberty!
( http://3mpub.com/phillies )
In short:
1) Subcommittee Structure for the LNC
2) Candidate Support material
3) National-scale projects
4) Ballot access support
5) Incite activism and volunteerism
6) Libertarian affinity groups
7) Party Newsletter for politics;
legitimate libertarian news papers for
outreach.
8) Make the Party a group people want
to join.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 4
9) Move the National headquarters out
of Washington.
10)-12) That would be telling. You'll
have to read the rest of the article.
First, subcommittee structure. An
eighteen (see footnote 1) member board
that is any good has working
subcommittees. The LNC has a very
few. It should get substantially more of
them. To send a message to LNC
members, 'subcommittees' should be
called
'working Your Ad Here!
groups'.
Working Contact:
Groups exist
to do work jdporterconsulting@g
between mail.com
national
committee for advertising rates
meetings.
Obvious
Working
Groups for the LNC are Elections,
Political Action, Outreach, Fundraising,
Membership, and Operations.
Operations should have internal
Working Groups for Budget and
Finance, Conventions, Information, and
Audit (We have a few of these now.)
Some working groups should mostly be
people who are not National Committee
members. Note that when I proposed
which Working Groups we need I
deliberately listed the Groups that would
do real political activities first, and the
Groups that will shuffle paper later.
What do the proposed Working Groups
do?
Elections recruits candidates at the
Federal level, and encourages and
supports candidates running for office.
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
Why do Democrats and Republicans
reliably have strong Senate candidates?
Because when conditions get tough, they
can count on the President, Speaker of
the House,... to get on the telephone and
motivate people of their party to run for
office. Our National Chair should do the
same.
Political Action supports all other sorts
of political action, including Referenda,
Web Sites, Rallies and Demonstrations,
and effective Street Theater.
Outreach includes Affinity Group
formation, letters to the editor, speakers’
bureaus, the publication of prolibertarian
legitimate newspapers,...
Membership covers recruitment and
retention, arranges for novel
membership benefits, generates lists of
volunteers for various tasks,...
Second, the National Party should
develop and distribute extensive
candidate support materials. Actually,
I’ve already done that. With material
from Libertarians around the country,
and the assistance of Bonnie Scott, I
produced a Candidate Support CD
ROM. Some of you already have
one. If you were or will be a candidate,
you have but to ask me for a copy. I
proposed this in 2002. However, I did
not just talk. I made it happen.
Third, some activities are best done by
the National Party. The LNC should
foster cooperation with other libertarian
groups, including educational and
publishing organizations. The LNC is
well-placed for lobbying and press
relations. Libertarian lobbyists may lose,
but lobbying puts ideas before
the press and the public.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 5
Fourth, the LNC should support ballot
access efforts in the fifty states. Many
people have committed to us by voting
for our candidates. To retain these
people as supporters, they need the
chance to Vote Libertarian! in every
election. While many state parties are
reasonably expected to gain ballot access
by themselves, in a few states the
requirements are so onerous as to be
beyond the reach of the local state party.
The National Party should help them.
(However, the LNC should also think
about its acts. In the past, the LNC has
spent tens of thousands of dollars on
"ballot access" projects that made ballot
access worse for the recipient.)
The Libertarian Answer to Daily Kos
www.thedailyliberty.com
Fifth, some activities are equally
important for National, State, and Local
Libertarian groups. The LNC should
incite activism by encouraging members
to run for office, to work on Libertarian
campaigns, and to volunteer to build a
strong party. The National Party should
consistently ask members to volunteer
their time, not just their pocketbooks,
should track potential volunteers, and
should see that volunteer lists reach local
organizers who use the information. The
National Party should strive to develop a
stronger voter base, for example by
encouraging local campaigns and
referenda. The National Party should do
outreach to put our message in front of
voters. The National Party should do
legitimate fundraising for sound
projects, and account to the members on
how their gifts were spent. The National
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
Party should do good information
management, so activists can find each
other. Federal, State, and Local groups
should all do these, with National doing
its fair share.
Sixth, the National Party should help
develop libertarian affinity groups. An
affinity group has members with
common interests. Affinity groups
include the National Rifle Association
and the National Educational
Association. With great uniformity, each
affinity group supports only one political
party. An affinity group may also have
important non-political activities. The
Libertarian Party has had past successes
creating affinity groups. Our
DefendYourPrivacy web site was a civil
liberties protective organization focused
on a single issue of banking privacy.
Affinity groups that develop their own
clientele, members, and officers, so that
they support our candidates without
needing continued National party
intervention, are preferable.
Seventh, the National Party newspaper
should focus more on activist incitement
and support. Non-Party libertarian
legitimate newspapers, such as the
excellent Free Liberal described by Dr.
Milsted, should discuss Libertarian
policies and how they will benefit
America. Web printing is cheap.
The National Party usefully supports
good non-party newspapers by arranging
for copies to go to the membership as a
membership benefit. The LNC should
create a support fund to pay for sending
libertarian legitimate newspapers to
schools and public libraries, coffee
houses, and old age homes, among other
places, across America.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 6
Eighth, membership recruitment and
growth will occur when we have a
strong party. We cannot build a strong
party by recruiting members. When the
Libertarian Party does well, when our
candidates are heard with respect and
draw serious vote totals, Americans will
flock to join us. Bulk mail recruiting
letters sent to rented lists are a waste of
money. For a bigger party, first create a
better party.
Ninth, the National Headquarters should
leave Washington. I am proposing that
we move far from DC, not to a suburb.
We pay well over $30 per year per
square foot for our current space (see
footnote 2), or close to $100,000 per
year. In New Hampshire, comparable
space is $4-8. Moving to New
Hampshire would save the National
Party $75,000 per year, roughly enough
over a four year cycle to pay for 50-state
ballot access. Furthermore, DC has
an extremely high cost of living. The pay
scales that give marginal middleclass life
in DC will give a far higher standard of
living when paid in other parts of the
country, letting us afford a superior staff.
Notes: Consider Branch headquarters in
major tourist locations, so that the party
faithful can visit while the children are
on the roller coaster. Our lease means we
probably cannot move in less than
several years. And if you read claims
that I want to shut down the National
Headquarters, well, it's not true.
You'll notice that I just listed a twelve
step plan with nine steps. That's not an
accident. I have my nine steps, because
I've listened to lots of Party members
from around the country. The other
three steps are waiting for all of you to
create.. That's my last change in the way
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
the National party is run. I think that
members from all around the country
have good ideas for us.
George Phillies PVLA Member
http://3mpub.com/phillies
(1) Actually, read the Bylaws:
The number is _not_ fixed at exactly
eighteen, but other values are less likely.
(2) Or so an LNC member told me, and
the rent and space match.
Campaign Season Is Almost
Here!
By Rachel Hawkridge
Campaign season is almost here! If
you’ve ever thought about running for
office, it’s time to start planning.
Libertarian candidates have some
choices to make. There are two ways to
go.
The first is to run for a small, non-
partisan office. This could be anything
from a water or cemetery board to a
school board. These are very winnable
races. Where you don’t necessarily talk
about your political beliefs, but you
practice them. You influence policy.
Make decisions, and actually govern.
School boards are a great race for this.
Do not expect that people will know that
you are Libertarian, do not attempt to
change the world overnight. Especially
on a school board – this one should be
handled carefully, but can be a launching
point for a politician to actually get
elected to higher office. Someone who
has served on a school board for 4-8
years, putting in the time, the hard work,
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 7
will have some reputation and network
that may help to win a legislative, or city
council race.
The second is to run an educational
campaign. There might be a race in your
district that has no opponent, or where
you just have a particular passion, but
not any real hope of winning. In this
type of campaign, you would run a
legitimate campaign, maximizing your
exposure, taking every opportunity to
speak to voters and to get out the
Libertarian message. All the while
knowing that there is not much chance
of winning. These campaigns are
generally run for education and
information – a way to expose people to
Libertarian ideas, and talk about better
government.
www.libertyforamerica.com
No matter which strategy you decide on,
never enter into a race for a job that you
wouldn’t take, unless it is a strategy. For
instance, one time Ruth Bennett ran for
Lt. Governor on the platform that, if
elected, she would abolish the office of
Lt. Governor. Jack Tanner, and a couple
of our Florida Libertarians, got elected
to a board that accomplished nothing,
and cost taxpayers a lot of money, and
then they shut it down. All brilliant
Libertarian strategists. Thank you,
gentlepeople.
What do you plan to do? Need help
deciding? Go to your county auditor, or
secretary of State’s website, and see
what offices are up for election this fall.
What sounds attractive or interesting to
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
you? What fits with your interests,
skills?
Once you have an office in mind, start
doing the research.
• What are the issues?
• Is this office something that has
been in the news recently?
Corrupt? Incompetent?
• Spending too much money?
• Look up Voter Guide Statements
for the race in past years.
• Pay particular attention to the
statement of the winner.
• Start to write a statement that
incorporates Libertarian values.
Be careful that you don’t include
any information that, no matter
how true or Libertarian, has no
connection to the office. (In other
words, in a City Council race,
you do not mention federal or
state issues. This is not where
you talk about your 911 Truth
beliefs, or your Bircher
convictions, or your desire to
build ZeroG space stations.)
Then start to prepare –
• Get a photo taken – preferably a
professional shot. Dress for a
professional job interview (it is!),
and be cautious about any
emblems, symbols, or
backgrounds. You want a photo
that makes you look relaxed,
confident, and approachable.
Susan Hogarth reviewed a lot of
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 8
7 Principles Of Good
Government
Former New Mexico Governor Gary
Johnson’s Seven Principles of Good
Government:
“1. Become reality driven. Don’t
kid yourself or others. Find out
what’s what and base your
decisions and actions on that.
2. Always be honest and tell the
truth. It’s extremely difficult to
do any damage to anybody when
you are willing to tell the truth
regardless of the consequences.
3. Always do what’s right and
fair. Remember, the more you
actually accomplish the louder
your critics become. You’ve got
to learn to ignore your critics.
You’ve got to continue to do
what you think is right. You’ve
got to maintain your integrity.
4. Determine your goal, develop
a plan to reach that goal, and
then act. Don’t procrastinate.
5. Make sure everybody who
ought to know what you’re
doing knows what you’re doing.
Communicate.
6. Don’t hesitate to deliver bad
news. There is always time to
salvage things. There is always
time to fix things. Henry
Kissinger said that anything that
can be revealed eventually
should be revealed immediately.
7. Last, be willing to do
whatever it takes to get your job
done. If you’ve got a job that
you don’t love enough to do
what it takes to get your job
done, then quit and get one that
you do love, and then make a
difference.”
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
candidate photos last season – I
found it helpful.
• Have you been in touch with
your local LP affiliate to ask for
endorsement, campaign help,
volunteers? Do it now. This is
also a good place to start to get
help from Libertarians with your
Voter Guide Statement and
talking points.
• Put together a list of friends,
family, business contacts and
organizations that you can ask
for donations and help. Even
people who don’t have money
usually have something that they
can help you with. Putting up
signs. Sending out an eMail on
your behalf. Phone numbers of
people who do have money.
Ideas.
• Get online, and find a domain
name. JoeSmithForCongress.org.
Do not use
JoeSmithForCongress.freewebs.c
om, or something like that. It
should be simple,
understandable, easy.
Now is the time to get online, if you
haven’t already. Set up eMail accounts
through Google which also gives you
• Google Calendar (Great for
scheduling candidate events! The
entire team can access the
calendar.),
• Google Docs (for leaving Voter
Guide Statement, photos and
position papers, literature for
events, etc.)
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 9
Get a Facebook account for the
campaign. Be sure that it is used for only
campaign things. No pictures of you
doing beer bongs at a frat party. Which
means be careful who you friend. Maybe
the
campaign Your Ad Here!
account is
named Contact:
Willis
Campaign, jdporterconsulting@g
or Willis for mail.com
Congress.
Or rather for advertising rates
than a whole
account, set
up a Fan
page and
group for
the campaign.
Start a blog. I prefer Wordpress.com.
You can download and host Wordpress
on your own domain (best), but if not, or
to start, get
WillisForCongress.wordpress.com. You
can move the blog later, or even just link
from your website. On the blog,
comment on news stories or
developments that are current and
germane to your race. Always offer a
Libertarian solution.
Here’s an example of a blog entry . . .
"Pleasantville’s City Council plans to
raise taxes by 30% to pay for the new
park and rec center (make part of that
sentence a link to the news story).
Since Libertarians prefer to spend within
our means, and not burden your children
for recreational facilities, I would first
solicit private donations (in exchange for
naming), then set up a system where
users of the rec center would pay fees for
classes, groups would pay rental fees to
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
use the facilities, and businesses and
individuals could either provide ongoing
financial support or maintenance.
In this way, I estimate that we would
only have to raise taxes 10%. Of course,
my preference would be to wait until we
could raise the complete cost of the
facility from private sources and
community fundraising before we broke
ground and then support it through user
fees. "
This example, while some would attack
it as un-Libertarian, offers both the
proposed Libertarian solution and a
compromise. (Often, Libertarians in
office find that they can reduce
government by offering something less
than the original “full meal deal”. Being
the lone “No” vote may make you feel
good, it really doesn’t accomplish
anything. Making an amendment to a
motion can begin some discussion in a
meeting that just “No” doesn’t achieve.
Offering people smaller government
solutions helps to wean them off the
habit of taxes extracted at the point of a
gun. Who knows, maybe by the time a
voter has read your blog and smaller
government ideas for several months,
they may actually be ready to face the
idea of life without the all-encompassing
government control!)
Start to tweet. Sign up at twitter.com.
Use one of the link shrinkers to make the
link to your blog entry tiny, and tweet it
each time you blog. For example –
Willis offers small government solution
to 30% tax increase – http://is.gd/cBni.
#tlot #liberty Don’t forget the
appropriate hashtags – those #tlot and
#liberty words at the end. They’re a
“filing” system for twitter.
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 10
Now that you’re blogging, and tweeting,
use the tweets as your Facebook status.
This is a great way to stimulate
discussion among your Facebook
friends, and teach more about
Libertarian philosophy. Add as many
Facebook friends as you can within your
voting district. Search for likely
suspects, and add them.
Write letters to the editor that are
basically your blog articles. You may
have make some minor adjustments for
format or clarity. Post them to local
newspaper’s forums.
Take a few minutes to go to
DonorTownSquare.com, PayPal.com
and then ChipIn.com. Set up accounts at
all of them. Add the widgets to all of
your sites.
Since all of this can be a lot of work, and
you haven’t even started the “real life”
work of the campaign yet, consider
having a trusted volunteer of family
member function as your “online
campaign manager”. All of this can be
done by a ghost-writer, even remotely.
Your cousin George could be sitting in
Berthoud, CO, writing your blog and
conducting your online campaign for
City Council in Portland, OR.
Now, starts the physical part.
Doorbelling. One great candidate that I
know started in early spring, walking his
neighborhood, knocking on doors,
introducing himself.
"Hi, I’m Willis, and I’m running for City
Council this fall. I have this piece to let
you know what I’m about, and I’d
appreciate you taking a few minutes to
take a look at it. It has contact
information for me on it, and you can
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
call or eMail me with any questions you
might have. Have a great evening, and if
you think my ideas sound good, I’d
appreciate your vote."
He knocked on his neighbor’s doors
several evenings a week and some
weekends, and won the election in the
fall.
Always attend neighborhood events,
town celebrations, etc. They are great
opportunities for networking and
campaigning. And do I need to say it?
Always have your pocket sized
campaign piece in your pocket, and a
slim jim or something when appropriate.
More later – the fun stuff, like public
forums, interviews, candidate ratings.
____________________________
Rachel Hawkridge is the Region 7
Libertarian National Committee
Representative
Rachel’s website is located at:
www.lncregion7.blogspot.com
News and Analysis
National Polls Confirm
Growing Libertarian Trend
From the Libertarian Party of Missouri:
Three highly-regarded national polls
have confirmed a growing Libertarian
trend in U.S. politics. The Pew Research
Center, the Washington Post with ABC
News, and Rasmussen Reports have
published their findings on American
political attitudes in 2009.
"Across the board, these polls tell us that
most Americans believe in the free
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 11
market economy, are skeptical of big
government,
and take a Your Ad Here!
moral stand
against Contact:
government
intolerance jdporterconsulting@g
and mail.com
bigotry,"
said Glenn for advertising rates
Nielsen,
chair of the
Missouri
Libertarian
Party. "This is the essence of Libertarian
thought, and we welcome the results of
these national polls."
The Pew Research Center published its
annual report on political values and
trends last week entitled Independents
Take Center Stage in Obama Era. This
report concludes that "the proportion of
independents now equals its highest
level in 70 years" and that these
independents are more likely to be
economically conservative and socially
tolerant.
The Washington Post/ABC poll released
in April shows yet again that 5% of
Americans identify with a party other
than Republican or Democrat. Despite
the personal popularity of President
Obama, this same poll indicates that
87% of Americans are concerned by the
growing federal deficit, and 53% were
not confident in the government's ability
to cut wasteful spending in the
President's economic recovery package.
A Rasmussen Reports poll released on
May 11 asked 1,007 adults "which of the
following will be the biggest threat to
the country in the future -"big
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
business, big labor or big government?"
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of politically
independent Americans viewed "big
government" as the greatest threat,
virtually unchanged from the 60 percent
measured the last time the question was
asked in 2006 - before the financial
crisis and election of Barack Obama.
"Despite the two-party and two-
philosophy slant in these polls,
Libertarian trendlines are emerging,"
notes Glenn Nielsen. "I look forward to
the day when these organizations
acknowledge us for who we are: a truly
distinct philosophy, and not a mish-mash
of the Republicans and Democrats.
There has never been a better time to be
a Libertarian."
New Washington Post-ABC
News Poll Gives Insight Into
American Politics
According to a new very detailed
Washington Post-ABC News telephone
poll conducted between June 18 and
June 21st only 36% of those surveyed
view the Republican Party favorably and
56% viewed the GOP unfavorably. The
Democrats fared much better with 53%
favorable and only 40% unfavorable.
This could potentially be great news for
the Libertarian Party. The Republican
Party should be gaining support with all
the government spending by Democrats,
but they are actually losing support.
After eight years, the American people
no longer trust them on economics or
civil liberties. In fact, in many states the
Republican Party appears to be
completely falling apart. Additionally,
the Democrats also appear to be losing
support. For example, according to the
survey the Democrats favorability has
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 12
dropped five percent since last August
when they had a favorability rating of
58% and 36% unfavorable. With more
Independents the Libertarian Party could
potentially benefit much like Ross Perot
did in the 1992 Presidential election.
Another interesting survey question
found that 54% wanted a smaller
government with fewer government
services as opposed to 41% that would
support a larger government with more
government services. Just last June,
50% wanted a smaller government while
45% were in favor of a larger
government.
To read the entire Washington Post-
ABC News Poll please visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
srv/politics/polls/postpoll_062209.html
Young Voters Lean
Libertarian
Jim Burkee, an associate professor of
American history at Concordia
University Wisconsin, has written a truly
excellent article titled “Liberty-loving
Gen-Yers will reshape politics.”
To read Jim Burkee’s full article at the
Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel,
please visit:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/4
2998747.html
Mr. Burkee’s article gives details that
make me believe that the Libertarian
Party must start to reach out much more
vigorously to young voters than we have
in the past.
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
The Republican Party’s members tend to
consist primarily of elderly voters and
they do not appear to be attracting
younger voters. This is obviously not
sustainable for a long period of time.
Young libertarian leaning voters may
tend to vote Democrat, possibly as they
have already seen the damage the
Republican Party has done to our
country, but if they are presented with a
choice that is in tune with their own
beliefs they may be much more likely to
support that choice. Additionally, after
these young voters see the damage the
Democrats do with their economic
policies they may very well cease
support for Democrats.
In my experience talking with young
voters many want control over their
bodies, future, guns, and money. When
given the choice between the Democrats
and Republicans, they cannot get what
they want. With market competition,
young voters have rarely experienced
not having a choice when purchasing a
product at the store, but this is exactly
what is occurring in politics. When
given the choice between Democrats and
Republicans they get a product they do
not like.
Of course, the Libertarian Party is that
new product. Let us market ourselves as
that new product. Let us be the ones that
present solutions to the problems that
young men and women face. Let us be
the ones who dominate America’s
political landscape.
Liberty For Maine Is Formed
On June 9th, 2009, Liberty for Maine
was formed. The new organization will
advance the interests of freedom and
liberty in Maine in an active, creative
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 13
and assertive manner, offer support to
similar efforts underway in many other
states and nationally, and engage in
other activities as appropriate.
James Oaksun, 47, a Saco businessman
and a Maine delegate to the 2008
Libertarian National Convention, chairs
the new group. According to Oaksun,
the group has a full slate of officers, and
its operating bylaws are available upon
request. The group has also declared its
support for the Statement of Principles
of the national
Libertarian Party. Your Ad Here!
Mr. Oaksun said, Contact:
“Many important
efforts are in jdporterconsulting@g
progress across mail.com
Maine and across
America right for advertising rates
now, and there
are many people
here in Maine
who are totally
frustrated and discouraged because there
has been no organization in Maine that
has worked actively, publicly and
consistently to chart a new course
toward freedom. Until now.
“Over the next 90 days,” Oaksun
continued, “our new group will focus on
education, outreach and marketing,
principally at the major summer festivals
in Maine which attract thousands of
visitors from across Maine and across
America. We will start with the
Southern Maine Pride events in June.
With the recent passage of marriage
equality here in Maine and the likelihood
of a referendum campaign on the matter,
the Maine LGBT community and its
allies are energized like never before.
It’s a golden opportunity to align Maine
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009
libertarians in support of a vital and
immediate human rights and freedom
issue.”
Oaksun said Liberty for Maine would
work in concert with its principal
corporate sponsor, Virtual Galt
Corporation, in advancement of
freedom.
You can learn more about Liberty for
Maine by visiting their website:
http://liberty4maine.org
Former LP
Staffer Writes
Autobiography
Peter Orvetti, who
has formerly worked
at the Libertarian
National Committee
and the CATO
Institute, has written
an autobiography.
A Catholic upbringing in a
sleepy but changing New
England town started Peter
Orvetti on a spiritual adventure
that would include a dip into the
Religious Right, voyages to India
and China, a trip across America
and back on a bus full of hippies,
and a drunken year at Harvard
Divinity School that ultimately
landed him in rehab. Outside the
spiritual realm, he would become
a winning contestant on
America's most popular game
show, and would have an odd
encounter with a red-faced
president. It's no surprise that
new friends often tell him, "You
© 2009 Jake Porter--all rights reserved
Page 14
sure have a lot of interesting
stories."
Peter Orvetti is a journalist
residing in Washington, D.C.,
with his wife and sons. He has
published commentaries in
several magazines and
newspapers. This is his first
book.
Peter’s book is available from Amazon
and Barnes and Noble:
http://www.amazon.com/Reconciliation-
Half-Life-Peter-Orvetti/dp/1432741799/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books
earch/isbninquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=1432
741799
Dave Brady For LNC
Secretary
Dave Brady, Chair of the Libertarian
Party of Illinois, has announced that he
is considering a run for Libertarian
National Committee Secretary.
Bob Sullentrup, of Missouri, is the
current Secretary of the Libertarian
National Committee.
The next election of the Libertarian
National Committee will take place next
year during the 2010 Libertarian
National Convention.
You can learn more about Dave Brady at
his website:
http://davebrady.info
And those of you on Facebook can join
Dave’s Facebook group of supporters:
Libertarian Strategy Monthly
July 2009 Page 15

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