[Lnc-business] Positioning

[Joshua Katz]

It occurs to me that events at present are unfolding in a way that benefits
us:
1.  A Democratic White House clearly dragged its feet, and demanded a lot
of redactions, to a report about crimes committed by a Republican White
House.  There will be no prosecutions, and a Democratic Senate participated
fully in the redactions.  We are on the side of the instinctive American
feeling that we have, and should have, high moral values that prohibit this
kind of behavior; the two old parties are not.  In addition, there has been
talk, so far without results, of Ron Udall reading the unredacted report
into the Congressional record.  I mention this last point because one of
the people who sought or 2008 nomination read the Pentagon Papers into the
Congressional record.
2.  There are protests around the country about police - these move rapidly
from institutionalized racism to police brutality to militarization of
police to the government protecting itself from prosecution and the
unfairness of the courts.  Some of the protests have even gone into the
"fees and fines" analysis I have pointed to in the past - minorities get
pulled over more often, and the structure of small fees and fines every
time you turn around (more often if you are a minority) has a
disproportionate impact on the poor.  It makes it much, much harder than it
ought to be to acquire savings and build capital.  These protests are
highly libertarian-charged, even if not all of us agree with every word.
Most libertarians are probably united in disliking the violence involved.
A few points - first, many of the protests have been non-violent but the
violent ones get reported the most.  Second, violence is something that
happens when a group no longer believes there is any other way to seek
justice.  If we want to reduce the violence of these protests, we need to
provide that hope that there is someone in government who will listen,
understand, and fix it.  We can actively make these protests less violent
and more productive by stepping forward as the part of the system that will
actually listen.

So, my question is - how can National get into a better position on this?
We put out a strong stance on Ferguson, and people noticed.  I found the LP
statement circulating in non-libertarian circles.  I found memes based on
Mr. Sarwark's words circulating in non-libertarian circles.  Now we have an
even clearer case, and the demonstration that Ferguson was but one example
of a huge, troubling trend.  It shows that the attacks on Brown as a person
were irrelevant because the same claims can't be made for Eric Garner,
whose executioner will also not be prosecuted.

I understand the desire not to take specific stances on specific cases,
although I'm glad we made an exception for Ferguson as I think it did us a
good PR job.  I think we're best served at this point by getting in front
of the public as the only people who can credibly claim that we'll do
something about police brutality.

The issue is, I'm not convinced a press release will help here, because
"Libertarians Oppose Police Killing People" isn't news.  There's nothing to
actually report.  We haven't actually done something - all we can do is
remind people that this is our issue and that we care, we will speak for
them, we will speak to these issues - and elect us so we can fight these
issues.  That isn't news, it's campaigning.

A more effective route would be doing what we can to get the chair/ED/PD on
any tv show or radio show that will take them.  Authorizing some funds for
travel for the chair/ED/PD to go to one or two of these protests, where
there is a lot of media and the ability to make a statement, might also be
worth considering.  The academic world will, no doubt, begin hand-wringing
soon about the torture report - it is important that we find ways to make
sure those in the party of an academic bent get into these discussions as
much as possible.

So, I am suggesting that, in coordination with the chair and applicable
schedules, the LNC ask staff to mine media contacts this week and next for
opportunities to get in front of the public while these issues are fresh
and relevant.  Due to the meeting this weekend, I'd suggest that this be
done primarily next week.

I'd also suggest that the LNC urge affiliates in impacted states to seek
out media opportunities by encouraging their chairs and officers to go to
protests and find media, present their credentials, and send the message
that the LP is with all non-violent protests against our criminal injustice
system, police militarization, and the exemption of government from basic
laws of morality - in both contexts above.

Joshua A. Katz
Westbrook CT Planning Commission (L in R seat)
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