<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br></div><div>Paul,</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Thank you for your message. I share your concerns about nationalism and racism, both of which are anti-individualist and contrary to libertarian values. On the other hand, it appears the Florida LP has been doing something right, as I understand that the candidate you defeated in the party's nomination for U.S. Senate who had been the most visible LP member associated with ethno-nationalism, recently left the party and become a Republican, which in the Trump era sounds like a better fit for him. Hopefully this will result in some of the other people who left the party over these concerns returning to the fold.</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Unlike fascists however, we have not set up our party as a top-down organization characterized by "strong leaders", and thus there is little that the Libertarian National Committee can or should do about state-level disputes, or about leadership standards, which are established in the party's bylaws by convention delegates. But I do agree with you that we need better leadership standards to ensure that decision-makers in the LP, and people who represent the party by running for public office, hold libertarian values. I believe the party should be a "big tent" and welcome everyone, but welcoming everyone need not mean allowing just anyone to hold party office or be a party leader, just as a church may welcome anyone to come and attend Sunday services as part of the congregation, but not just anyone to preach from the pulpit or make decisions about church finances and policy. </div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Some steps that might be taken include adopting stronger ideological qualifications for voting membership or other decision-making roles in your local or state LP, and seeking to get solidly libertarian members to attend our national convention and vote for such changes in our national bylaws. Members of the LP Bylaws Committee can also be lobbied* to introduce such an amendment. If you wish to write something up and run it by me, I would be happy to provide input. I've suggested one possible requirement to be a party decision-maker or be endorsed as a Libertarian candidate (the party generally can't stop people from running as Libertarians, but can refuse to endorse or support them) would be to score a minimum of 80/80 on the Nolan Chart's "World's Smallest Political Quiz", or better yet on an expanded version of the quiz with more questions designed to elicit a respondent's views on a broader range of civil liberties, economic liberties, and world affairs questions. We can also adopt resolutions denouncing racism and nationalism as un-libertarian. If you have other ideas, or some specific action you are requesting the Libertarian National Committee to take in sending this letter to LNC members, please let us know.</div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I am sorry to hear that you are still receiving threats and feel yourself and other Libertarians at risk for violence or harassment. I hope that you and your colleagues in the Florida LP will be brave and not allow such reprehensible tactics of intimidation to work. Thank you for standing up and speaking out, and all that you do for the cause of freedom.</div><div><br></div><div>Love & Liberty,</div><div> </div><div> ((( starchild )))</div><div>At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee</div><div> <a href="mailto:RealReform@earthlink.net">RealReform@earthlink.net</a></div><div> (415) 625-FREE</div><div> @StarchildSF</div><div><br></div><div>*Right now, the page where members of the Bylaws Committee and other LP committees are listed (<a href="https://www.lp.org/lp-committees/">https://www.lp.org/lp-committees/</a>), despite my repeatedly requesting it, unfortunately still does not contain contact info for members of these committees to enable people to reach them (except for Caryn Ann Harlos, who as a committee chair pushed for her contact info to be included). If you value transparency and accountability, please contact LNC members (<a href="https://www.lp.org/libertarian-national-committee/">https://www.lp.org/libertarian-national-committee/</a>) and staff (<a href="https://www.lp.org/staff/">https://www.lp.org/staff/</a>), and let them know that you want email addresses and phone numbers for the rest of the committee members added to the website.</div><div><br></div><br><div><div>On Jul 20, 2017, at 5:30 PM, Paul Stanton wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><span style="font-family:Verdana; color:#000; font-size:12pt;"><div style=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-74124338-62bb-8b83-689a-a89db3884390"><div dir="ltr" style=""><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">July 20, 2017<br class="kix-line-break"><br class="kix-line-break">Subject: Perhaps "Working with White Nationalists" Is Not the Best Approach?<br class="kix-line-break"><br class="kix-line-break">Dear members of the Libertarian Party of Florida Executive Committee:</span></span></div><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></span><div dir="ltr" style=""><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">We are losing good members, and the trust of the public, due to the elevation of leaders in extremist hate groups to our party leadership. We need a new approach. Local libertarian-leaning politicians and voters associate us with far-right extremists. As of yesterday, my county no longer has a full slate of candidates for the Florida House. One of the Libertarian candidates I drafted will now unfortunately be running NPA. Yesterday, we also lost our incoming Rules Committee chair. Previously, both our former gubernatorial nominee and our senatorial nominee (prior to me) have resigned their LPF memberships, among countless other Libertarian activists and volunteers. A member of my 2016 Senate campaign ended her participation with the party, because her employer forbids associations with members of extremist hate groups advocating for violence. A single friend (who ceased her participation after receiving death threats) has reported that no fewer than 30 of her acquaintances have withdrawn from Libertarian Party activism due to risks to themselves and their reputations. </span></span></div><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></span><div dir="ltr" style=""><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">During my US Senate campaign, I never expected the situation that unfolded. I expected the personal attacks, but I never expected racist fantasies about my mother, posting of personal information about members of my family, or the violent threats and sexual harassment targeting my supporters and members of my campaign. Last month, after I introduced a motion (which was killed) to remove Florida’s member of the Libertarian Party Platform Committee for his <a href="http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anti-racist_is_a_code_word_for_anti-white#.22The_mantra.22" mce_href="http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Anti-racist_is_a_code_word_for_anti-white#.22The_mantra.22">racist statements</a>, I was accused of wanting to kill all white people, in a “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_genocide_conspiracy_theory" mce_href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_genocide_conspiracy_theory">white genocide</a>” conspiracy theory. And now today, there have been threats that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldiers_of_Odin" mce_href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldiers_of_Odin">militant</a> <a href="http://www.theindychannel.com/longform/who-are-the-american-guard-patriotic-nationalists-or-skinheads-in-disguise" mce_href="http://www.theindychannel.com/longform/who-are-the-american-guard-patriotic-nationalists-or-skinheads-in-disguise">hate</a> <a href="https://godsandradicals.org/2017/03/18/heathen-know-nothings-the-american-guard/" mce_href="https://godsandradicals.org/2017/03/18/heathen-know-nothings-the-american-guard/">group</a> <a href="http://forward.com/fast-forward/368055/white-supremacists-and-skinheads-join-pro-trump-rally/" mce_href="http://forward.com/fast-forward/368055/white-supremacists-and-skinheads-join-pro-trump-rally/">the</a> <a href="https://www.adl.org/blog/behind-the-american-guard-hardcore-white-supremacists" mce_href="https://www.adl.org/blog/behind-the-american-guard-hardcore-white-supremacists">American Guard</a> may be waiting for me in the parking lot, or harassing county party meetings. We must have higher standards for our party leadership!</span></span></div><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></span><div dir="ltr" style=""><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">Sadly, these are common intimidation tactics among white nationalists, and there are several other victims throughout Florida. This behavior cannot be accepted. We cannot continue to elevate these people. Libertarianism stands for maximum freedom for everyone, universally. We dishonor ourselves and our party by enabling liars with wildly divergent philosophies, who stand immediately adjacent to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Movement_(United_States)" mce_href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Movement_(United_States)">neo-Nazis</a>, <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/vinlanders-social-club" mce_href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/vinlanders-social-club">white nationalists</a>, <a href="https://johnmhudak.com/2017/07/16/rise-of-the-anarcho-statists-part-iii-augustus-sol-invictus-the-unconquerable-sun-god/" mce_href="https://johnmhudak.com/2017/07/16/rise-of-the-anarcho-statists-part-iii-augustus-sol-invictus-the-unconquerable-sun-god/">fascists</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaws_Motorcycle_Club" mce_href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaws_Motorcycle_Club">organized criminal syndicates</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Front" mce_href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Front">domestic terrorists</a>.</span></span></div><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></span><div dir="ltr" style=""><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">The situation needs to change. There is a clear, ongoing failure of unaccountable party leadership to address the extremist, unlibertarian entryism that is occurring.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana, geneva;" mce_style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><br></div></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana, geneva;" mce_style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><span mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">In liberty,</span></span></span></span></span><span mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;" mce_style="font-size: 14pt;">Paul Stanton</span><br></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">Regional Representative (7)</span></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana, geneva;" mce_style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" mce_style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">Libertarian Party of Florida</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana, geneva;" mce_style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">✉<a title="region7@lpf.org" href="mailto:region7@lpf.org" mce_href="mailto:region7@lpf.org" mce_onclick="if(window.location==top.location){Popup.composeWindow('pcompose.php?sendto=region7%40lpf.org');}else{top.Popup.composeWindow('pcompose.php?sendto=region7%40lpf.org');}; return false;" target="_blank">region7@lpf.org</a><br><br>Follow me on Facebook: <a title="fb.com/Stanton4Liberty/" href="https://fb.com/Stanton4Liberty/" mce_href="https://fb.com/Stanton4Liberty/" target="_blank">fb.com/Stanton4Liberty</a></span></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana, geneva;" mce_style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></span></div><div style="font-family: verdana, geneva;" mce_style="font-family: verdana, geneva;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" mce_style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" mce_style="font-size: 10pt;">CC: LNC</span></span></div></span></div>
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