[Lnc-business] Screening Presidential candidates

[Kevin Ludlow]

Mr. Wiener,

Thank you so very much for providing that information.  Naturally I do wish
there was a bit more to it, but I suppose I can appreciate why it is
limited.

Still, I think it's pretty disappointing that we appear to lack the
proverbial stones to intervene in matters that quite obviously tarnish the
party's image.  Random aside about that:

As I have gotten to know more and more people within the Libertarian
Party's leadership, the one peculiar aspect that I keep hearing from people
is that the bulk of their friends are Libertarians.  I say it's peculiar
because it's unusual for a person to only have friends who care about
politics in the first place, much less who only care about the Libertarian
persuasion of politics.  It's certainly possible people have just spoken
hyperbolically about this point, but I have truly heard it with frequency.

If that happens to apply to anybody on this list, I would strongly urge you
to consider the kind of tunnel vision that could create.  I bring it up
because I'm honestly questioning if this body realizes how substantial that
kind of image is to people outside of our immediate spectrum.  I promise
you it's very bad.  It might be fine for all of us because we know the
party has much deeper parts to it and plenty of wonderful people, but you
don't bring your new girlfriend to your crazy drunken uncle's house the
first month you start dating.  Sure there's more to your life than just his
lunatic rants, but she'll never know because she's not going to stick
around to find out.  It's the same thing.

I just hope that some day this party really starts to consider the power
that is marketing -- especially when it's bad marketing.

Thanks again, Mr. Wiener, for pointing out that rule.

Kevin Ludlow
Region 7 Rep

On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 11:51 PM, Daniel Wiener <wiener at alum.mit.edu> wrote:

> Kevin, I agree with you that I don't like our party being embarrassed by
> fringe candidates.  I have urged for a long time that we create more
> stringent criteria for officially acknowledging those individuals who've
> decided to run for the LP's Presidential nomination.  (Not to stop them
> from running, just not publicizing them.)  Four years ago I proposed a
> Policy Manual amendment to do just that (see the email below), but it went
> nowhere.  Who knows, perhaps the LNC may have more interest now than it did
> then in coming up with *something* to distinguish serious candidates from
> frivolous ones.
>
> However, back in 2011 I did succeed in adding the following provision to
> the Policy Manual:
>
> *Section 2.06 PARTY COMMUNICATIONS*
> *5) Assuring Quality Communications*
> If a majority of all LNC members notify the Secretary of their belief that
> a proposed or actual public communication is detrimental to the image of
> the Party, such notification to occur no later than 72 hours after the
> public communication is published, the Secretary shall inform the Executive
> Director and Chair of this finding, and such communication shall not be
> further disseminated, and to the extent possible, already-disseminated
> material shall be promptly removed from the public sphere.
>
>
> You should keep this provision in mind for any future instances in which
> you've spotted something which you think is "detrimental to the image of
> the Party".  Whether it's something new on the LP web site or Facebook page
> or whatever, you should immediately email the LNC with your objection.  If
> a majority agree with you and act fast, it can be quickly deleted.  Failing
> that, four LNC members can sponsor a motion to delete it, although the
> voting on such a motion will take a lot longer.
>
> As a member of the Advertising & Publication Review Committee, I should
> also mention that the APRC does look at all LP communications.  However,
> its role is officially limited to assuring that the Platform, Bylaws, and
> Policy Manual are not violated, and its deliberations are required to be
> confidential.  So when issues arise from time to time, no one outside the
> APRC sees what things are prevented from being published, nor does anyone
> else hear the concerns and arguments (and disagreements) which are
> expressed within the committee.  That can often be frustrating for those of
> us on the committee, but those are the limitations we have to abide by.
>
> Dan Wiener
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Daniel Wiener <wiener at alum.mit.edu>
> Date: Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 9:14 AM
> Subject: Policy Manual motion on Presidential candidates
> To: LNC Discussion <lnc-discuss at hq.lp.org>
>
> I haven't seen any further suggested modifications for the last five days,
> so at this time I am proposing a motion to make the following changes
> (underlined in blue) to Section 2.08(2) of the Policy Manual, and I am
> asking for co-sponsors.
>
> Daniel Wiener
>
> *Section 2.08(2) Limitations on Party Support for Public Office*
>
> *Party resources shall not be used to provide information or services or
> promotional material for any candidate for public office prior to the
> nomination unless:*
>
> * • such information or services or promotional material facilities are
> available and announced on an equal basis to all Libertarians who have
> declared they are seeking the nomination for President or Vice-President,
> providing that a candidate is qualified according to the following
> criteria:*
>
> *·      The candidate is a sustaining member of the national party; and*
>
>
> *·      The candidate supplies a list of at least 100 sustaining members
> of the national party who have declared that they consider the candidate to
> be "acceptable"; and*
>
>
> *·      The candidate has raised at least $5,000 in campaign contributions
> from donors other than the candidate or the candidate's immediate family.*
>
> *·      During the month immediately prior to the national nomination
> convention, an additional criterion is that the total money which the
> campaign has raised since the candidate announced **shall have exceeded
> $10,000* *(from donors other than the **candidate or the candidate's
> immediate family)**.*
>
> *• or, such information or services are generally available and announced
> to all party members** in the case of non-national candidates.*
>
> *• or, the service or candidate has been approved by the state chair in
> the case of non-national candidates.*
>
>
> *Qualified Presidential or Vice-Presidential candidates may, with the
> assistance of any LNC member, post promotional material to the LP Blog, but
> the total number of such posts shall be limited to the number of 30-day
> periods prior to the nomination convention (rounded up) from when a
> candidate first became qualified.  A list of qualified candidates along
> with links to their web pages shall be featured on the www.lp.org
> <http://www.lp.org/> web site and in LP News, and may be included in
> appropriate publications and mass emailings to members.  In each case there
> shall be a disclaimer stating that the party does not necessarily endorse
> or agree with the candidates or the contents of their web pages. *
>
> *The above restrictions do not apply to the dissemination of newsworthy
> information about candidates and their campaign activities, where the
> source or the object of the information involves significant media outlets
> which are not affiliated with the candidate.  Contemporaneous newsworthy
> information about a candidate shall be aggregated to the maximum extent
> practical. The APRC shall be authorized to resolve any uncertainties by
> majority vote.*
>
>
>



-- 
========================================================
Kevin Ludlow
512-773-3968
http://www.kevinludlow.com
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