[Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2018-05: Suspension of Arvin Vohra
Nicholas Sarwark
chair at lp.org
Fri Apr 13 01:35:30 EDT 2018
Dear All,
I have stayed quiet about this controversy and the ones prior for two
reasons. One, I think it's more effective to say what we support rather
than condemn what someone else says; we should drive the message instead of
reacting to someone else. Two, I believe in empowering the committee to do
the business of the party and don't want to unduly influence the debate or
the vote until all members have had the opportunity to be heard.
When I was in Louisiana for their state convention, a group of us were
talking in the hotel lobby when we were approached by an African-American
woman. She said that we seemed unified and she wanted to tell us about a
group working to assist women coming out of prison. This woman had been
sentenced to 25 years in prison for possession of a small amount of crack
cocaine. She had recently been released after serving 19 years and told us
about how she didn't want to get involved in drugs because she had seen her
father involved in drugs. She told us that she ended up using because of
pain from being sexually assaulted and physically abused, it was a way for
her to escape her pain. She told us that she wanted to take the bad thing
she did and turn it into something positive and help others.
The state stole money from its citizens to lock a woman in a cage for using
an unapproved substance to deal with her trauma. Everything about this
situation offends me, but most of all the way that the war on drugs stole
her fundamental human dignity and treated her like less of a person.
Rhetoric that refers to groups of people as "murderers" or individuals as a
"cancer" who need to be removed is disgusting. We must not dehumanize
others or treat people as less than individuals in our fight for liberty.
If we do, we will corrupt our gains and become as those we would fight
against.
My children go to public school and their teachers and school board members
are good people. My family members serve in the military and they are good
people. Members of my family have used welfare benefits and they are good
people. Every one of the controversial statements that attacked one of
those groups has offended me personally and made my job more difficult. I
completely disagree with messaging that attacks people instead of
positions, that attacks groups instead of treating people as individuals.
When I gave my speech for None of the Above for Chair in Las Vegas in 2012,
it was due to the factionalism and infighting I saw on the LNC leading up
to that convention. LNC members focused more on trying to oust each other
or gain advantage internally than they did on trying to advance the goals
of the Libertarian Party. That internal focus resulted in stagnant
fundraising, candidate recruitment, and membership numbers.
Since 2014, our committee has been able to move away from the internal
factional fighting and focus on moving the Libertarian Party forward. We
are improving fundraising, candidate recruitment, and membership. These
recent controversies have regressed us back to internal fighting instead of
fighting the two old parties. We need to stop the internal fighting and
focus on our real opponents.
Many of the people who have contacted me about this vote have told me that
if the Vice Chair worked for them, he would have been fired. If he worked
for me, he would have been fired as well. But the Vice Chair is not my
subordinate. He, along with every other officer and at-large member of the
LNC, serves at the pleasure of the delegates at convention. In just over
two months, those delegates at convention will get to vote for all of the
officers of the LNC, including the Vice Chair.
I would not overturn the choice of the delegates at convention when there
was controversy over statements made by the Presidential and Vice
Presidential nominees they chose. I will not overt urn the choice of the
delegates when there is controversy over statements made by the Vice Chair
they chose. I have nominated the Vice Chair at convention twice; he has
won twice. I will not nominate him in New Orleans. Our strategies have
diverged too much for me to support him for another term.
I vote no.
Yours in liberty,
Nick
On Mon, Apr 2, 2018 at 11:16 PM Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com> wrote:
> We have an electronic mail ballot.
> Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by April 12, 2018 at 11:59:59pm
> Pacific time.
>
> Co-Sponsors: Harlos, Van Horn, Katz, Hayes, Goldstein, Redpath,
> Hewitt, O'Donnell
> Motion:
> WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party holds the non-initiation of force as its
> cardinal principle and requires each of its members certify that they
> neither advocate or believe in violent means to achieve political or
> social goals.
> RESOLVED, that the Libertarian National Committee suspends Arvin Vohra
> from his position of Vice-Chair for sustained and repeated unacceptable
> conduct that brings the principles of the Libertarian Party into
> disrepute, including making and defending a statement advocating lethal
> violence against state employees who are not directly threatening
> imminent physical harm. Such action is in violation of our membership
> pledge. These actions further endanger the survival of our movement and
> the security of all of our members without their consent.
> -Alicia
>
-------------- next part --------------
Dear All,
I have stayed quiet about this controversy and the ones prior for two
reasons. One, I think it's more effective to say what we support rather
than condemn what someone else says; we should drive the message
instead of reacting to someone else. Two, I believe in empowering the
committee to do the business of the party and don't want to unduly
influence the debate or the vote until all members have had the
opportunity to be heard.
When I was in Louisiana for their state convention, a group of us were
talking in the hotel lobby when we were approached by an
African-American woman. She said that we seemed unified and she wanted
to tell us about a group working to assist women coming out of prison.
This woman had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for possession of a
small amount of crack cocaine. She had recently been released after
serving 19 years and told us about how she didn't want to get involved
in drugs because she had seen her father involved in drugs. She told
us that she ended up using because of pain from being sexually
assaulted and physically abused, it was a way for her to escape her
pain. She told us that she wanted to take the bad thing she did and
turn it into something positive and help others.
The state stole money from its citizens to lock a woman in a cage for
using an unapproved substance to deal with her trauma. Everything about
this situation offends me, but most of all the way that the war on
drugs stole her fundamental human dignity and treated her like less of
a person.
Rhetoric that refers to groups of people as "murderers" or individuals
as a "cancer" who need to be removed is disgusting. We must not
dehumanize others or treat people as less than individuals in our fight
for liberty. If we do, we will corrupt our gains and become as those we
would fight against.
My children go to public school and their teachers and school board
members are good people. My family members serve in the military and
they are good people. Members of my family have used welfare benefits
and they are good people. Every one of the controversial statements
that attacked one of those groups has offended me personally and made
my job more difficult. I completely disagree with messaging that
attacks people instead of positions, that attacks groups instead of
treating people as individuals.
When I gave my speech for None of the Above for Chair in Las Vegas in
2012, it was due to the factionalism and infighting I saw on the LNC
leading up to that convention. LNC members focused more on trying to
oust each other or gain advantage internally than they did on trying to
advance the goals of the Libertarian Party. That internal focus
resulted in stagnant fundraising, candidate recruitment, and membership
numbers.
Since 2014, our committee has been able to move away from the internal
factional fighting and focus on moving the Libertarian Party forward.
We are improving fundraising, candidate recruitment, and membership.
These recent controversies have regressed us back to internal fighting
instead of fighting the two old parties. We need to stop the internal
fighting and focus on our real opponents.
Many of the people who have contacted me about this vote have told me
that if the Vice Chair worked for them, he would have been fired. If he
worked for me, he would have been fired as well. But the Vice Chair is
not my subordinate. He, along with every other officer and at-large
member of the LNC, serves at the pleasure of the delegates at
convention. In just over two months, those delegates at convention will
get to vote for all of the officers of the LNC, including the Vice
Chair.
I would not overturn the choice of the delegates at convention when
there was controversy over statements made by the Presidential and Vice
Presidential nominees they chose. I will not overt urn the choice of
the delegates when there is controversy over statements made by the
Vice Chair they chose. I have nominated the Vice Chair at convention
twice; he has won twice. I will not nominate him in New Orleans. Our
strategies have diverged too much for me to support him for another
term.
I vote no.
Yours in liberty,
Nick
On Mon, Apr 2, 2018 at 11:16 PM Alicia Mattson <[1]agmattson at gmail.com>
wrote:
We have an electronic mail ballot.
Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by April 12, 2018 at
11:59:59pm
Pacific time.
Co-Sponsors: Harlos, Van Horn, Katz, Hayes, Goldstein, Redpath,
Hewitt, O'Donnell
Motion:
WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party holds the non-initiation of force
as its
cardinal principle and requires each of its members certify that
they
neither advocate or believe in violent means to achieve political
or
social goals.
RESOLVED, that the Libertarian National Committee suspends Arvin
Vohra
from his position of Vice-Chair for sustained and repeated
unacceptable
conduct that brings the principles of the Libertarian Party into
disrepute, including making and defending a statement advocating
lethal
violence against state employees who are not directly threatening
imminent physical harm. Such action is in violation of our
membership
pledge. These actions further endanger the survival of our
movement and
the security of all of our members without their consent.
-Alicia
References
1. mailto:agmattson at gmail.com
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