[Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2016-15: Censure John Moore

[Alicia Mattson]

DD>> In the introduction to my testimony, I mentioned my positions with the
LNC and the LPNE and I said that while I was there to testify as a private
citizen, Libertarians are overwhelmingly against the death penalty and that
I was personally aware of no Libertarians in Nebraska or across the nation
that support the death penalty. <<DD

Not to change the subject or start a debate on the death penalty...just
addressing a factual detail that came up in the example situation.  At the
national convention there was a counted vote on the adoption of our death
penalty plank, and there were 364 in favor and 105 opposed.

-Alicia




On Sat, Oct 22, 2016 at 12:44 AM, David Demarest <dpdemarest at centurylink.net
> wrote:

> I will delay my vote until we hear from John Moore. It may be that merely
> offering the motion to censure will achieve our intended purpose to express
> our outrage. In the meantime, however, we need to consider Ken’s salient
> point about taking into account an elected official’s duty to represent the
> views of his constituents and the articulate responses by Caryn and Alicia.
>
>
>
> I must say I am bothered by the reference to the 60% of constituents
> favoring the position that Assemblyman Moore voted for as justification for
> his misguided votes. As Caryn has correctly pointed out, we have a duty to
> reflect the principles of our party. More importantly, we have a duty to
> reflect our personal principles of conscience that hopefully are reasonably
> consistent with our party’s principles. Even allowing for the fact that no
> two Libertarians are going to agree on all details of all principles,
> Assemblyman Moore’s votes go beyond the pale. Here is a recent example from
> my personal experience on the cronyism evils of basing political positions
> and votes on the consensus of constituents regardless of any considerations
> of principles and morals.
>
>
>
> Last week I testified against the Nebraska referendum to reinstate the
> death penalty at a legally mandated District 2 hearing. The Unicameral,
> with the support of Libertarian Senator Laura Ebke, narrowly overrode
> Governor Ricketts’ veto of the bill that repealed the death penalty.
> Governor Ricketts then used a “substantial” contribution from his personal
> fortune to sponsor the ballot referendum to reinstate the death penalty
> that was the subject of the hearing. In the introduction to my testimony, I
> mentioned my positions with the LNC and the LPNE and I said that while I
> was there to testify as a private citizen, Libertarians are overwhelmingly
> against the death penalty and that I was personally aware of no
> Libertarians in Nebraska or across the nation that support the death
> penalty.
>
>
>
> Republican State Senator Merv Riepe, a Ralston High School classmate of
> mine, testified that his opinion poll showed that his constituents favored
> the reinstatement of the death penalty *three to one* with the clear
> inference that he intended to reflect his constituents’ views [regardless
> of any moral considerations]. I looked Senator Riepe squarely in the eye
> and responded with the following passionate testimony:
>
>
>
> “… the possibility of the death penalty being used as a *political
> football* to obtain reelection votes raises a host of ethical questions.
> To those who might be tempted to advocate the death penalty for political
> purposes, you need to reexamine your conscience and your political,
> personal and moral priorities.”
>
>
>
> The point is that reflecting the “consensus of the constituents” for
> obvious reelection purposes is not an acceptable or moral justification for
> Assemblyman Moore’s two egregious votes. Let’s see what Moore has to say
> but keep in mind that our duty is not only to our party’s principles but
> also to our personal principles.
>
>
>
> ~David Pratt Demarest
>
>
>
> *From:* Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org] *On Behalf
> Of *Alicia Mattson
> *Sent:* Saturday, October 22, 2016 1:19 AM
> *To:* lnc-business at hq.lp.org
> *Subject:* Re: [Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2016-15: Censure John Moore
>
>
>
> I am as upset as the rest of you about the two votes in question, but that
> doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to vote yes on this motion.
>
> Particularly on the stadium vote, Assemblyman Moore held the power of the
> deciding vote.  Had he voted no, it would have failed instead of passing.
> We had a Libertarian in a position to make a big real-world difference, and
> it didn't happen.  Facepalm.
>
> IF it's true that his motivation was to play to his constituency in hopes
> of getting re-elected, I wonder how he will feel about the votes in
> hindsight in the event that he is not re-elected.  What's the point of
> being there if you can't vote your conscience?  That's why on the LNC I
> also vote the way I think I ought to vote even if other LNC members stage
> organized email campaigns from their friends.  Should we be offended at a
> public official playing to his constituents if we do the same thing as
> party officials?
>
>
>
> I have several issues with this motion.  I particularly appreciate Mr.
> Moellman's questions, and I think we probably should have had a
> conversation with Mr. Moore before we flung a motion into the wind.  I
> don't think it's sufficient to just hear how other people represent his
> position to us.  We should get it straight from him.
>
> I am not thrilled about the wording in this resolution.  "...convey a
> strong message to all and sundry..." ?  Who talks like that?  We're
> discouraging others from switching to the LP until they completely agree
> with us?  With which of us?  Because we don't all agree, either.  I
> probably would have added that his vote was effectively the deciding vote.
> Etc.
>
> Censure is an action taken by a group against a member of that same
> group.  Mr. Moore is not a member of the LNC.  Have we even confirmed that
> he's a member of the national party?  As of the national convention in May,
> our records did not yet indicate he had signed our membership
> certification.  We know he switched his party registration in NV, but that
> doesn't make him a member of the national party.  We wouldn't censure
> Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton because they're not members of the LNC or
> even the LP.
>
> The state affiliate that nominated him has already censured him, so what
> does this accomplish for the LNC to pile on?  We can't make him return the
> money.  Is it just to make ourselves feel better?  Is the LNC going to
> become the purity police that monitors every local/state/federal elected
> official and passes resolutions about them?  I am concerned about starting
> such a trend.
>
> If we hadn't already donated the funds, I'd vote to rescind that
> decision.  That ship has sailed.  I wouldn't vote to donate to him again.
> I'm not certain that this motion accomplishes anything productive.
>
> -Alicia
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 21, 2016 at 10:20 PM, Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> We have an electronic mail ballot.
>
>
>
> *Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by October 31, 2016 at 11:59:59pm
> Pacific time.*
> *Co-Sponsors:*  Harlos, Demarest, Hayes, Vohra, Starchild, Goldstein,
> Redpath
>
> *Motion:*
>
> Whereas Nevada Assemblyman John Moore, a former Republican who in January
> 2016 switched to the Libertarian Party while in office, has during the past
> month voted not once but twice in the span of as many days to raise taxes
> on his constituents, including a vote to support a "More Cops" tax which
> the Libertarian Party of Nevada has tirelessly and thus far successfully
> opposed, and a vote to provide a $750 million subsidy to finance a
> billionaire-owned sports stadium at the expense of, among others, indigent
> persons renting weekly rooms in motels; and
>
> Whereas the elected leaders of our state affiliate party in Nevada have
> rightfully voted to censure Assemblyman Moore for these egregious votes; and
>
> Whereas we wish to convey a strong message to all and sundry that while we
> welcome sitting legislators in the Republican or Democrat parties who
> decide to switch to the Libertarian Party as an act of conscience, we do
> not welcome them if they intend, as members of our party, to continue
> voting and acting like Republicans or Democrats;
>
> Therefore be it resolved that the Libertarian National Committee hereby
> censures Assemblyman Moore for his recent votes in support of tax
> increases, requests that he return the $10,000 campaign contribution which
> the LNC this season voted to send him, and admonishes him to henceforward
> be a better champion of the values held by members of the political party
> with which he has chosen to affiliate if he intends to remain a Libertarian.
>
> -Alicia
>
>
>
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>
>
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