Document:LP News 1972 November Issue 11: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Document:LP News 1972 November Issue 11 (view source)

Revision as of 09:15, 1 March 2021

8,934 bytes added ,  1 March 2021
→‎HOSPERS VOTE PROJECTED AT 5,000+
No edit summary
Line 31: Line 31:


All these figures indicate that if we can get members, money, and ballot listing, the LP has a great future in store. Whether this future potential is realized is up to you.
All these figures indicate that if we can get members, money, and ballot listing, the LP has a great future in store. Whether this future potential is realized is up to you.
==SYMMS WINS IN IDAHO==
Steve Symms, a libertarian running for Congress as a Republican in the First District of Idaho, pulled off an unexpected miracle, and won.
Steve, an unabashed libertarian, didn't even expect to make it past the primary, but won an upset victory in a three-way race, and then went on to win by a handy margin {about
55% to 45%) in the general election.
Ralph Smead, the man who was behind Steve's entry into the race, attended the LP ExecComm meeting in Albuquerque, and said that Steve appreciated the  endorsement  LP had given him, and hoped to co-operate with us in the future. Ralph also showed films of Steve's TV spots, which were a refreshing change from the usual BS. In one, Steve urged citizens to "take a bite out of government," illustrating his point by biting into an apple )Steve is an apple grower). In another, he asked why U.S. citizens are not allowed to own gold, and in yet another, he pointed out the dangers of gun-control laws, and urged their repeal. And in practically every spot, he stated that "the issue is freedom," and called for "Less Government."
Steve took many stands directly from the LP National Platform, and used an adaptation of our arrow-and-TANSTAAFL emblem on much of his literature.
We congratulate Steve on his victory, and look forward to seeing a Congressman stand up for liberty in the House of Reprehensibles.
(A note of interest on the Symms race. Idaho is probably the most libertarian state in the country, and thus is probably the only state where a libertarian could capture a GOP
nomination. Idaho gave John Schmitz 9% of its Presidential vote; the highest percentage he drew in any state.)
==IN OTHER RACES...==
Elsewhere, libertarians did not fare as well. In Massachusetts, Avi Nelson failed, by a narrow margin to capture the GOP nomination for Congress in the Third District. This is no doubt partly due to the fact that (in contrast to Idaho) Massachusetts is probably the most "liberal" (i.e. collectivist) state in the country. Nelson, however, tried to downplay his libertarianism, running as a 100% Nixon man; it didn’t help, and he lost anyhow -- which perhaps serves him right, for abandoning his principles.
In New York, Guy Riggs was unable to get on the ballot in his attempt to run for the State Assembly. He assures us that he'll be back again, however.
Also in New York, Gary Greenberg and Walter Block were ruled off the ballot, even though they both had far more than the necessary number of signatures. Apparently, the Democratic incumbent in Gary’s Congressional District was getting scared; according to the NY LP, he and his cronies spent over $10,000 to get Gary and Walter disqualified
Similarly, in Illinois, the Democratic incumbent challenged Paul Stout’s petitions, and managed to tie up the court hearing until after the ballots had been printed, without Paul's name on them.
Despite these actions, both Gary and Walter in New York and Paul in Illinois continued to distribute literature; although their constituents were denied the right to vote Libertarian, they did get to hear some libertarian ideas.
No data is available on the efforts waged by Manny Klausner in California, Pasquale Giordano in Georgia, and David Odden in Washington. From what we have heard, none of them received more than a handful of votes (only Odden was on the ballot), but all of them did a great job of disseminating libertarian ideas.
==IMPORTANT NOTICE==
In accordance with the decision reached by the National ExecComm in Albuquerque, the LP Newsletter will be published on a bi-monthly, rather than monthly schedule during 1973.
LP Members who are receiving the Newsletter as part of their membership will receive issues until the expiration of their current membership Those who subscribe as non-members will have their subscriptions extended so that they will receive their full twelve issues. New subs will receive only six issues for their $2.
The LP Newsletter is published by the National Office of the Libertarian Party. Items of interest to LP members are welcome. David F. Nolan, Editor.
Base Circulation This Issue: 931 Copies.
==POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE==
VIII. FOUR MORE YEARS
To nobody’s surprise, Richard the Lyin' Hearted swept to a landslide victory over George McGrovel; the only aspect of his triumph that was in any way amazing was its sheer magnitude. Six months ago, even the most pro-Nixon estimates gave McGovern more states and a higher percentage of the vote than he actually got.
Indeed, McGovern lost so badly that one is tempted to agree with those who claim that the match was fixed from the start; that McGovern was trying to lose. Certainly, he managed to do just about everything that he could to assure his own defeat, from taking stands calculated to drive even the most rabidly anti-Nixon conservatives back into the Nixon camp, to dumping his Vice Presidential candidate in the manner that would most effectively undermine his own integrity and credibility.
But, whether McGovern blew it deliberately, or simply through his own ineptitude, the net result is that Nixon not only won, but won by such a margin that he now has a mandate to do whatever he (or those who control him, if there be such) may choose.
What course he will follow we cannot say; his first remarks following his victory contained some anti-bureaucratic rhetoric, but we don't place much faith in Nixon's rhetoric.
Our guess is that the second four years of Nixon will be much like the first four. Increasing commitment to international involvements, more inflation, more controls, and, perhaps, an economic crash.
In any event, the picture that is already shaping up for '76 is not a pretty one. Assuming that he will accept it, Teddy Kennedy has the Democratic nomination in his pocket. On the Republican side, we can expect to see Spiro Agnew making his bid, although not without competition from such perennial favorites as Rockefeller and Reagan, along with a "liberal" Senator or two (e.g. Percy and Taft), and perhaps a couple of phony conservatives (e.g. Brock, Dole and Gurney).
So, when the dust clears, we will probably face a choice between Kennedy and some Nixon surrogate. And, given the fact that things will probably be in even more of a mess than they are now, plus the fact that Teddy Bear has "charisma," we can expect the American voters to run to EMK in '76 just as they ran to FDR in '32. And the thought of a Teddy Kennedy administration is enough to scare even your normally imperturbable editor.
So where does this leave us? As I see it, we have two options. One is to do the Ayn Rand trick, and throw our support to the GOP candidate, in hopes of stopping Teddy. The other is to immediately begin a massive educational effort to make the American people realize that the current Administration's policies — particularly in the economic
sphere — are leading us toward disaster, and that the only hope for improvement lies in a reversal, rather than an amplification, of those policies.
The former course would be a great error, as I see it, for two reasons. First, because it probably wouldn't work, anyhow; barring some miracle, it seems certain that Teddy Kennedy is going to win in '76, if he runs. And more importantly, because if we do throw in with the GOP even once on the "lesser of two evils" basis, it will permanently destroy our credibility as a party of principle.
The second course, in contrast, offers us an opportunity to make a great deal of progress in converting people to the libertarian viewpoint. If we, and we alone in the political arena, correctly predict what is going to happen, and why, then people will be far more inclined to turn to us to get them out of the mess.
In other words, we must prepare now to take advantage of the widespread public dissat- isfaction that is inevitably going to occur when present policies result in catastrophe.
-/- DFN
==LP MATERIAL IN STOCK==
The following items are the only ones currently available from LP National. Minimum order $2. 10% discount on orders of $20 or more.
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS — no charge up to 24; 11?2 each for 25 or more.
1972 PLATFORMS — less than 10 copies, 15¢ each; 10-24, 12¢ each; 25-99, 10¢ each; 100-999, 8¢ each; 1,000 or more, 6¢ each.
NEWSLETTER — this issue only available; same price schedule as Platforms, above.
POLITICAL ACTION MANUAL — $1.25; 3/$3l 6/$5; l5/$10; 25 or more, 60¢ each.
HOSPERS 4th OF JULY SPEECH — revised to include short membership application, 35/$l; 100/$2.50; 500/$i0; 1,000/$17-50; 5,000/$75.
LAISSEZ FAIRE BUTTONS -- l|1?4" with Libersign, 25¢; 3/50¢; 7/$l; 25/$3; 100/$10; 250/$20.
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES — 11" by 14" in hand lettered script, on heavy textured paper, $1; 3/$2; 10/$5.
WHERE THE MONEY WENT — paperback expose of bureaucratic bungles totaling $l80 billion, 750 (only six copies left).




Retrieved from "https://lpedia.mywikis.net/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1549633"

Navigation menu