[Lnc-business] Motion - Seeking Cosponsors

[Arvin Vohra]

Fellow Members of the LNC,

Over the last decades, we've fought for debate inclusiveness. We've fought
against the 15 percent rule, 10 percent rules, 5 percent rules.

A few days ago, the Convention Oversight Committee announced a new rule for
the Vice Chair debate. The rule is that to participate in the debate, you
need 10 percent of the tokens handed out. Given that there are at least 5
bona fide, legitimate candidates, who have participated in debates around
the country, and that some percentage of the convention goers will forget
to hand in tokens, this rule is essentially guaranteed to eliminate at
least one of the options. It will also make it very difficult for
non-insiders to be considered by the convention.

If this was a congressional debate, we'd fight this rule. If this was a
presidential or senate debate, we'd fight this rule. If this was a debate
for county council, we'd fight this rule.

We should not be holding ourselves to lower standards than we hold politics
in general. I get that as a private organization we have the "right" to do
so. But why would we want to hold ourselves to such a low standard?

In addition to the moral issue, there is a clear strategic issue. When we
complain about debate exclusion, our opponents need only point to our own
behavior. "The LP complains about our 5 percent threshold, but they use 10
percent threshold, which is functionally a 20 percent threshold, given that
so many people don't hand in debate tokens." At least in the polls the CPD
uses, people actually have to answer the polling questions.

This is the first time in a while that there is major excitement about the
Vice Chair debate, and it is also the time when the COC has started acting
as a worse version of the CPD, creating an 11th hour exclusionary rule.

The LP stands for open debates. I personally stand for open debates. I've
had the honor of speaking outside the CPD office in DC, protesting against
their actions. Today, I ask the Libertarian National Committee, just as I
have asked the Commission on Presidential Debates, to ensure a fair and
open debate at our convention.

I ask for cosponsors for the following motion:

"Direct the COC to change inclusion rules as follows. Any candidate who can
get 10 signatures should be included in the debate. Convention delegates
may sign more than one petition."

Respectfully,

Arvin Vohra
Vice Chair
Libertarian National Committee

-- 
Arvin Vohra

www.VoteVohra.com
VoteVohra at gmail.com
(301) 320-3634
-------------- next part --------------
   Fellow Members of the LNC,
   Over the last decades, we've fought for debate inclusiveness. We've
   fought against the 15 percent rule, 10 percent rules, 5 percent rules.
   A few days ago, the Convention Oversight Committee announced a new rule
   for the Vice Chair debate. The rule is that to participate in the
   debate, you need 10 percent of the tokens handed out. Given that there
   are at least 5 bona fide, legitimate candidates, who have participated
   in debates around the country, and that some percentage of the
   convention goers will forget to hand in tokens, this rule is
   essentially guaranteed to eliminate at least one of the options. It
   will also make it very difficult for non-insiders to be considered by
   the convention.
   If this was a congressional debate, we'd fight this rule. If this was a
   presidential or senate debate, we'd fight this rule. If this was a
   debate for county council, we'd fight this rule.
   We should not be holding ourselves to lower standards than we hold
   politics in general. I get that as a private organization we have the
   "right" to do so. But why would we want to hold ourselves to such a low
   standard?
   In addition to the moral issue, there is a clear strategic issue. When
   we complain about debate exclusion, our opponents need only point to
   our own behavior. "The LP complains about our 5 percent threshold, but
   they use 10 percent threshold, which is functionally a 20 percent
   threshold, given that so many people don't hand in debate tokens." At
   least in the polls the CPD uses, people actually have to answer the
   polling questions.
   This is the first time in a while that there is major excitement about
   the Vice Chair debate, and it is also the time when the COC has started
   acting as a worse version of the CPD, creating an 11th hour
   exclusionary rule.
   The LP stands for open debates. I personally stand for open debates.
   I've had the honor of speaking outside the CPD office in DC, protesting
   against their actions. Today, I ask the Libertarian National Committee,
   just as I have asked the Commission on Presidential Debates, to ensure
   a fair and open debate at our convention.
   I ask for cosponsors for the following motion:
   "Direct the COC to change inclusion rules as follows. Any candidate who
   can get 10 signatures should be included in the debate. Convention
   delegates may sign more than one petition."
   Respectfully,
   Arvin Vohra
   Vice Chair
   Libertarian National Committee
   --
   Arvin Vohra
   [1]www.VoteVohra.com
   [2]VoteVohra at gmail.com
   (301) 320-3634

References

   1. http://www.VoteVohra.com/
   2. mailto:VoteVohra at gmail.com