[Lnc-business] Region 6 Removal Motion Input Summary

[Joshua Katz]

A REAL libertarian votes how they wish, on any motion they wish - whether
made or not.

Joshua A. Katz


On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 7:58 PM, Sam Goldstein <goldsteinatlarge at gmail.com>
wrote:

> David,
>
> There was never a removal motion so how could you vote No?
>
> Sam
>
> Sam Goldstein
> Libertarian National Committee
> Member at Large
> 8925 N Meridian St, Ste 101
> Indianapolis IN 46260
> 317-850-0726 <(317)%20850-0726> Phone
> 317-582-1773 <(317)%20582-1773> Fax
>
> On Wed, May 24, 2017 at 8:24 PM, David Demarest <
> dpdemarest at centurylink.net> wrote:
>
>> Dear LNC Members:
>>
>>
>>
>> The following is a compendium of LNC Region 6 comments and polls
>> regarding the LNC motion to remove Arvin Vohra from the LNC Vice-Chair
>> position that were communicated to or discussed with me as the LNC Region 6
>> Representative followed by a brief summary of my analysis and decision to
>> vote NO on the removal motion:
>>
>>
>>
>> *Region 6:*
>>
>>
>>
>>    - LNC Region 6 Representative David Pratt Demarest opposes the motion
>>    and has communicated his official opposition in detail to LNC members via
>>    the LNC Business List and via personal unofficial communications to the
>>    broader audience via Facebook, email and various other communication
>>    channels
>>
>>
>>
>> *Nebraska:*
>>
>>
>>
>> Poll requested by LPNE SCC Chair Scott Zimmerman:
>>
>>
>>
>>    - Yes, I support removing him – 24
>>    - No, I think he should stay – 7 (including Region 6 Representative)
>>    - He should resign – 6
>>    - I don’t know/indifferent – 5
>>    - Warned not to do it again, and a motion passed that all [sic: LPNC]
>>    members are to stay away from controversy – 3
>>
>>
>>
>> Signed LPNE SCC member communications requested by Region 6
>> Representative David Pratt Demarest and reiterated by LPNE Chair Scott
>> Zimmerman:
>>
>>
>>
>>    - LPNE District 2 Coordinator Joe Hedlund: We need to be more mindful
>>    about what is said from our leadership, it can have very damaging
>>    consequences. Arvin did lots of damage to our party, he should be held
>>    accountable, as all of our top leaders should. Please consider that the LNC
>>    should write up some guidelines that our leaders could use in the future to
>>    avoid situations such as this one. These guidelines could be quite helpful
>>    so that we can avoid having these problems in the future, they could also
>>    be passed on to the people that are in charge of our social media. These
>>    guidelines may not be 100% foolproof, but at least they will be in writing,
>>    so that there may be a guide to aid them.
>>
>>
>>
>>    - LPNE Chair Scott Zimmerman: I oppose the motion to remove Arvin. He
>>    used poor judgement in his choice of messaging. Additionally, he needs to
>>    understand that with his position as Vice Chairman of the Libertarian
>>    Party, comes the responsibility of speaking on behalf of the entire
>>    organization. I believe the delegates will decide Arvin's future level of
>>    involvement with the LP at the 2018 National Convention.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Illinois:*
>>
>>
>>
>>    - Scott Schluter, Chairman, Southern Illinois Libertarian Party,
>>    Political Division Director, Libertarian Party of Illinois:
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm the Political Director of the Libertarian Party of Illinois.  I am
>> writing you concerning Vice-Chairman Vohra’s recent comments and attacks on
>> social media of which I'm sure you're already aware. LPIL unanimously
>> approved a motion to request the Vice-Chair's dismissal from the LNC. The
>> letter we sent is attached. Region 6 Rep. David Demarest has informed me
>> that he intends to vote "no" on the motion made by an LNC member regarding
>> the Vice-Chair's dismissal. I respect his position and his right to vote
>> how he sees fit. However, it is my desire that the other state affiliates
>> in Region 6 will join Illinois in requesting our national leaders vote in
>> defense of our tireless campaigning and recruitment efforts that the
>> Vice-Chair has damaged. I hope that each of you considers this and look
>> forward to seeing similar resolutions if you so choose. Thank you all very
>> much for your time and consideration in this matter.
>>
>>
>>
>> Attached Letter without individual signatures:
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear LNC,
>>
>>
>>
>> The Libertarian Party of Illinois approves and recommends the immediate
>> removal of LNC Vice-Chairman Arvin Vohra on the grounds that he is actively
>> subverting our recruitment efforts and damaging the reputation of the
>> Libertarian Party.  By lobbing uncalled for attacks on our service members,
>> Vice-Chairman Vohra has directly hurt our efforts to spread the message of
>> liberty in Illinois. He has repeatedly called members of the U.S. military
>> and veterans “immoral murderers”, “killers for hire”, and “accomplices to
>> murder”. Our veterans and military make up a significant portion of LP
>> voters. They know more than any of us exactly what monstrosities our
>> government is capable of.  It is for this reason that many of them turn to
>> the LP and become some of the most active members in the liberty movement.
>>
>>
>>
>> In Illinois, we are in the middle of completely changing our party
>> structure to comply with State law.  To do this, we are attempting to
>> recruit a high number of Libertarian Precinct Committeemen.  It is a very
>> daunting task and one that takes the work of every single volunteer hour we
>> can muster. Vice-Chairman Vohra’s comments have made this goal more
>> difficult.  Our candidates, many of whom are veterans, are having to answer
>> questions about why their party hates them.  Free speech is not a license
>> to say whatever you want without repercussions.  The repercussions of
>> Vice-Chairman Vohra’s words are being directly passed on to our recruiting
>> and campaigning efforts.
>>
>>
>>
>> The Libertarian Party of Illinois is of the opinion that Vice-Chairman
>> Vohra has violated The LNC Policy Manual Section 2.01 paragraph 4, which
>> states, “All collective deprecation, whether alluding to sex, race, color,
>> national origin, disability, age, religion, or any other protected
>> category, must be avoided. Every person is a unique individual, and as the
>> Libertarian Party is the Party of Individual Liberty, this injunction
>> should doubly apply.”
>>
>>
>>
>> Vice-Chairman Vohra’s comments and insistence on repeating them without
>> apology have put that much more of a burden on our already overworked
>> volunteers, directors, and candidates.  It is for these reasons that we
>> recommend and expect the removal of Vice-Chairman Vohra from the LNC.
>>
>> Sincerely, State Organizing Committee, Libertarian Party of Illinois
>>
>>
>>
>> Iowa:
>>
>>    - James Schneider, State Central Committee Chairman, Libertarian
>>    Party of Iowa:
>>
>> I have spoken about this in great detail with members of our state
>> leadership day from the day of the first post from Mr. Vohra.  I have read
>> every post that Mr. Vohra has made, the comments under each of those posts,
>> and as many parallel discussion threads as I can find.  Last night I shared
>> the resolution Illinois wrote and directly asked if we should issue a
>> similar statement.  About half of our team is neutral on this, expressing
>> that individuals should voice their opinions on the matter how they see
>> fit.  The other half not only wants him to be removed, but that our state
>> party should publicly distance ourselves from the national party.  Not
>> one Iowan from social media, our membership, or elected leadership in our
>> has stated this behavior is something to be praised.
>>
>> The Iowa Party has made significant progress over the last 6 months, we
>> have until next March to file, but we already have verbal commitments from
>> 54 candidates to run in our first ever primary next year.  Like Illinois,
>> we will be heavily recruiting precinct captains attempting to fill all
>> 1,681 precincts in the state for next year’s elections.  This is an extreme
>> challenge in rural areas where we might only have a half dozen people with
>> their voter registration set as Libertarian.  The actions of Mr. Vohra are
>> severely damaging our efforts.  Many of our largest donors were also very
>> offended by his comment about donors.  We were doing 4-5 radio interviews a
>> week prior to this, and had to start declining these requests hoping that
>> drama would blow over and we could continue speaking on positive growth and
>> issues, not internal drama.
>>
>> In no way should the National Party be making things more difficult for
>> state affiliates and individual campaigns.  The purpose of a political
>> party is to support candidates through the electoral process.  Being
>> tactful on discussing an issue is not the same as being dishonest, and I am
>> personally offended by Mr. Vohra by him stating that we are ‘liars’ for not
>> being as blunt as him.  I campaigned full time last year and easily spoke
>> with 10,000 potential voters one-on-one.  I didn’t lie to a single one of
>> them, and I did it without offending them.
>>
>> I personally believe that Mr. Vohra should resign from a position of
>> leadership in the National Party and continue his efforts either in another
>> type of liberty organization like a think tank, or if he chooses to remain
>> affiliated with the party, be only a candidate.  I have no issue with
>> candidates being as radical and abrasive as they like, its easier for the
>> public to accept that their opinions are their own, and the only volunteers
>> that leave would be on his own campaign.  But knowingly damaging other’s
>> efforts is wrong.  This behavior needs to stop, and end long before the
>> next National Convention.  I will continue to discuss with our leadership
>> team and hopefully come to a conclusion before the end of the day.
>>
>> Unnamed Region 6 State:
>>
>>    - I received an email in my official Region 6 Representative capacity
>>    that requested my approval of the removal motion accompanied with a request
>>    that the discussion be kept private. In the ensuing email discussion, the
>>    individual resorted to profanity and included an implied threat of email
>>    stalking. I communicated the threat to the state chair who agreed to speak
>>    to the individual. I have received no further communication from the
>>    individual who issued the threat.
>>
>> Summary:
>>
>>    - I have received and exchanged a number of communications from
>>    interested parties in both my official and unofficial capacities that were
>>    not expressly intended for direct communication to the LNC. Most of them
>>    were sincere and a mixture of thoughtfulness on both sides from my personal
>>    perspective. The preponderance, particularly of the more strident
>>    communications from my personal perspective, favored approval of the
>>    removal motion. However, I also received a number of more measured
>>    responses that did not favor approval of the removal motion. A surprising
>>    number expressed agreement with my analysis of the philosophical merits of
>>    Arvin’s underlying logic but most expressed concerns about Arvin’s
>>    communication techniques.
>>
>>
>>
>>    - I was initially offended by Arvin’s logical contentions but have
>>    come to realize that they represent perhaps the most serious challenge
>>    faced by the Libertarian Party and the LNC regarding how we individually
>>    deal with the overwhelming number of moral dilemmas imposed on both
>>    veterans and the rest of us by the government. Accordingly, I have
>>    speculated about the intent of Arvin’s swift kick in the pants as a
>>    necessary attention-getter to prevent this most important subject from
>>    being swept under the rug. However, that remains pure intuitive and
>>    unsubstantiated speculation on my part.
>>
>>
>>
>>    - In conclusion, I have consistently expressed that I will always
>>    listen carefully and thoughtfully to all Region 6 input and will always
>>    vote my conscience as consistently reflected in my opposition to the
>>    removal motion.
>>
>> Respected LNC members: Let me know if you have any questions on the
>> Region 6 input above and my intention to vote NO on the removal motion if
>> it gains the necessary cosponsors. I will NOT cosponsor.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>>
>>
>> ~David
>>
>>
>>
>> ~David Pratt Demarest
>>
>> LNC Region 6 Representative (IA, IL, MN, MO, ND, NE, WI)
>>
>> Secretary, LPNE State Central Committee
>>
>> Cell:      402-981-6469 <(402)%20981-6469>
>>
>> Home: 402-493-0873 <(402)%20493-0873>
>>
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>>
>>
>
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