The Temper Tantrums of Joseph Knight

While Joseph Knight has been at times an invaluable activist in the Libertarian Party of New Mexico, there have been other times when he was (and is, at present) a royal pain in the ass. Since his recent blow-up and infantile behavior over the nomination of Bob Barr to the LP’s presidential ticket, I’m posting a list of those previous temper tantrums, lest anyone forget.

April 1997 — Dr. Charles Mellon of Placitas, New Mexico volunteered to run for Commissioner of Public Lands and offered to throw 5000 FRN of his own into the campaign pot. His only stipulation was that he get the nomination in 1997, instead of the usual nomination at the 1998 State Convention. This way, he would have more time to build name recognition for his candidacy.

Come the 1997 State Convention, held in April at the Best Western next to the Intel facility in Rio Rancho. I came in just as Joseph yelled, “Fuck you, Anne!” to Anne McCracken, another long-time activist, and stormed out of the room. It seems that Joseph had objected to the early nomination of Dr. Mellon on the grounds that it wouldn’t be fair to anyone who came along in 1998 and wanted to run for the same spot on the LPNM’s ballot line.

March 1998 —

One of the scheduled speakers at our 1998 State Convention in Socorro was Fred Frolich. Fred wanted to run for Magistrate Judge on the LPNM’s ballot line. Joseph caught wind of this and sent a letter to myself and several others. This letter alleged that Fred was or is some sort of white nationalist of the Aryan Airhead variety, and that if Fred did indeed speak, Joseph would picket the convention. Joseph said that he would also invite the Anti-Defamation League to join said picketing.

A month later, on the second weekend of April, Frolich was there and explicitly denied any sort of Aryan Airhead sentiments or connections after being asked by Ed Nagel. Joseph wasn’t there to picket. Nor did Joseph send any sort of documentation to support his allegations.

August 1999 — January (?) 2003 —

Joseph got on my case off and on for three years because of my support for the Draft L. Neil Smith for President camapign. This was after Neil made some comments about Michael Cloud, Harry Browne and the LNC while speaking at the June 1999 State Convention in Taos. Those comments were later borne out to be true, in that there were improper dealings between the 1996 Browne campaign and the LNC before Harry Browne won the nomination, i.e., the LNC offered support to the Browne campaign that it didn’t offer to others.

Because of Neil’s comments, Joseph said that he opposed Neil being listed as a speaker at any further LPNM events. It was only after the Russell Means campaign ended in disaster for the LPNM that Joseph changed his mind on this, and in January / February, 2003, Joseph asked me to if I could get Neil as a speaker for that year’s convention in Albuquerque.

April 2005 —

Joseph reacted to the idiotic decision of the LNC to raise basic membership dues to 50 FRN by sending vitriolic emails to the LNC, threatening to quit the party if the dues increase was made permanent.

March 2006 — Joseph sent a proposal to that year’s State Convention in Rio Rancho that would grant full voting membership (“Caucus membership,” in the LPNM’s lexicon) to any member who either paid the requisite dues, or demonstrated “outstanding activism,” without proposing any standards as to what would constitute “outstanding activism.” He didn’t show up to support his proposal, yet got pissed off when it didn’t pass, especially after some of the comments made by those who were there — “No one is stopping anyone else from paying another members’ dues,” and comments comparing this to a welfare handout.

May / June 2008 —

This is the most recent one, that concerns the Bob Barr nomination. Joseph returned from the National LP Convention in Denver this year rather upset about the nomination of Bob Barr as the LP’s presidential candidate. I myself among others was not exactly thrilled at the prospect, but fellow Libertarians Steve Kubby and Tom Knapp said to give the guy a chance, so I did, on account of Barr’s apologies for his misdeeds and professing that his conversion was genuine. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Joseph, as he had no problem sliming Bill Koehler and myself as “Vichy-linos” because of our willingness to give Barr a chance.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-discuss/message/2307
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-discuss/message/2237
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-discuss/message/2240
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-discuss/message/2361
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-discuss/message/2380
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-discuss/message/2382
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kcufmedia/message/387
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kcufmedia/message/388

Because of these tirades and tantrums, I cannot in good conscience support Joseph for leadership positions in the LPNM any more. Nor will I as Interim Chair of the Boston Tea Party of New Mexico appoint Joseph to the BTPNM’s State Committee.

Bob Barr Drops the Ball [1]

At this year’s [2008] Libertarian Party National Convention, there were fourteen candidates for the LP’s presidential nomination. At almost the last minute, former GOP Congressman Bob Barr jumped into the running. There were some serious questions about his past — whether or not he had changed from being a drug-warring, pagan-outlawing, homophobic war pig. There were other questions about the “Bob Barr Leadership Fund” slush PAC that he had set up — while a sitting regional LNC representative, the Bob Barr Leadership Fund gave about 50,000 Federal Reserve Notes to Republican candidates, many of whom are directly opposing Libertarian candidates in partisan elections. Examples include —

• Ken Blevens, running for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire — the BBLF gave John Sununu 3000 FRN, and NONE to Blevens.
• Allen Buckley, running for U.S. Senate in Georgia — the BBLF gave 1500 FRN to Saxy Chambliss, and NONE to Buckley.

When questioned by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the Fund’s expenditures, Barr said that “”I won’t be cross-examined.”

Then, come convention time, the convention organizer, BetteRose Ryan of the Colorado LP was allegedly bullied by LNC or Watergate insiders to substitute Richard Viguerie as the convention’s keynote speaker at the last minute. Here’s the article by David F. Nolan.

Then there’s former Executive Director Shane Cory’s smear of Mary Ruwart. Shortly afterwards, I and others called for his termination from his spot, only to find that Cory had voluntarily resigned from the spot beforehand. Why did this cretin resign? To take an editorial spot at ThirdPartyWatch.com, which Stephen Gordon had just sold to Richard Viguerie. Shane then set about blocking anti-Barr posts from the site, as Tom Knapp found out the hard way.

Following that Denver convention, at which Barr won the presidential nomination after SIX rounds of voting (a record for any political party in 200-plus years of American history), he seemed to toe the line. What convinced me to give Barr a chance was this note from Steve Kubby.

While the campaign site wasn’t exactly inspiring, neither did it have anything particularly damning in terms of deviations from the libertarian line. Until now — the campaign recently released this fundraising letter.

I’m still wondering where some LPers get off misrepresenting the libertarian position like this. Immigration isn’t an issue per se, but is often pointed at as a “problem” in immediate need of solution. Any true libertarian can see through this shell game — the real problems come from Washington DC and Mexico City, not from people looking for work sneaking across the border.

And I’m wondering what the next issue is where the libertarian stance is misrepresented. We know that Barr supports some kind of “national consumption tax,” whether it’s a sales tax or gross receipts tax (where services as well as goods are taxed). The one that’s gotten the most press is the UNfair “Fair Tax.” So far, Barr & Co. haven’t tried to push it, but if the immigration fundraising letter is any indication . . . .

Last thought on this for now — this sort of fundraising letter is the sort of thing that should go out from a Constitution Party candidate to Minutemen types who actually think that the border can be locked down as advocated, NOT from the LP’s standard-bearer to the LP’s ranks.

ADMIN NOTE — There’s a reason that I put the “[1]” in the title — based on Barr’s past record and these recent events, I’m expecting more entries with this title, and I want to be able to reuse the title as needed.

The Boston Tea Party v.2

Back in July, 2006, the Libertarian Party‘s National Convention saw the LP’s platform gutted by Carl Milsted and cronies, all to get rid of the “extreme” and “wacky-sounding” rhetoric contained in the pre-2006 platform, because that sort of language “scares people off.”

There’s one problem with that sorry excuse for an operating premise — there are people who are NOT scared off by the sort of principled rhetoric that the Milsted Minions are terrified of. Instead of being scared off, they are ATTRACTED by it. I ought to know, as I’m a piece of evidence supporting my side here. Back in 1993, I was disgusted by the Republican Party’s support for anti-gun bigots. At the same time, I received some literature from the LP. One of the news items covered was an “assault raffle,” where the Arizona LP’s Phoenix chapter was raffling off a MAK-90 as a fundraiser. I thought “Here’s a group that I want to be a part of.” I filled out and mailed the enrollment coupon on 1 January 1994, and have remained in the LP ever since.

As a result of the 2006 Portland Platform Purge, Tom Knapp founded the Boston Tea Party. The BTP (v.1) slowly became inactive, but Tom resurrected the BTP platform as the World’s Smallest Political Platform, or WSPP.

Fast-forward to May 2008. There are fourteen candidates for the LP’s presidential nomination. At almost the last minute, former GOP Congressman Bob Barr jumped into the running. There were some serious questions about his past — whether or not he had changed from being a drug-warring, pagan-outlawing, homophobic war pig. There were other questions about the “Bob Barr Leadership Fund” slush PAC.

In the midst of all of this, I saw a note from Jim Davidson on Facebook pitching the revitalized Boston Tea Party. At first I thought it was a joke — the first meeting of the BTP was held in Denver concurrent with the 2008 LP National Convention — but then I noticed that one individual, a Dr. Tom Stevens, was already trying to take it over, and the BTP hadn’t even nominated any candidates. Stevens and cronies have since resigned, after setting up a few bogus “state affiliates.”

When Stevens and his buddies quit the BTP, there was at least one vacancy on the National Committee. Somehow my name came up as a good interim replacement, and I accepted the nomination to the Committee. Since then, I’ve set up a Yahoo! group for the BTPNM and have recently applied to the National Committee for state affiliate status.

And so, I’d like to take this time to invite libertarians, both Big-L and small-l, to consider joining the Boston Tea Party. You don’t need to give up whatever partisan status you have with any other party to do it — all you have to do is sign up on one of the BTP’s email lists or message boards, and signify that you support the BTP platform.

Boston Tea Party USA Official Site
BTPUSA Myspace Group
BTPUSA Facebook Group

BTPNM Yahoo! Group

It’s Time, America — Stand Up and Be Counted!

The Barr / Root 2008 Provo Campaign

The recent nomination victory of Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root to the Libertarian Party‘s presidential and vice-presidential spots on the ballot, respectively, has left many Libertarians outraged, dismayed and pessimistic. Some have already left the LP after the bitterly fought nomination process in Denver this weekend — it was a fight for the heart and soul of the LP, among other things. Others are suggesting that at least one state affiliate decline to place the Barr/Root ticket on the top of their ballot.

To those leaving — I’ve considered it myself. If I don’t like the way this campaign turns out, I won’t run for any further postings in the LPNM — I’ve been State Secretary for the past four years, did two terms as State Vice-Chair, served as a District 1 and At-:Large Representative on the LPNM Central Committee, have occupied the post of Bernalillo County LP chair for ten years (webmaster for about six), Editor of New Mexico Liberty for almost five years, and recently founded the CNM Libertarians. I’ve also done my share in maintaining the LPNM’s internet presence — the Myspace group, -forum on Yahoo and the -discuss lists come to mind.

Considering the time, cash and effort that I’ve put into the LP, I don’t like to see that effort and money go to waste because a candidate seems to want to weasel around issues that he or his supporters don’t want to deal with.

To those fighting the nomination after the convention is done and over with — it’s hard enough getting candidates to be listed ON the ballot. What you’re proposing might require a lawsuit against your state’s Secretary of State. Add to that mix another lawsuit by the LNC, quite probably joined by the Barr Campaign. There HAS to be an easier way to get your point across.

Which brings me to the point of this article. Some have accused both candidates of being less than fully libertarian. Personally, I’m more worried about the support allegedly given by both Barr and Root to other parties’ candidates. I created these banner advert and bumpersticker graphics as a way to keep the hard issues in the public square, and to help the LP’s more radical members to keep the candidates somewhat on track with the libertarian message.

If the candidates and their campaigns like these banners, cool. If not, maybe they should check their premises.

Below each banner, I’ve posted the HTML code for each one, set to link to this article. Feel free to download and post on your site. If you want to link them to the official sites for Bob Barr or Wayne Allyn Root, that’s fine by me too. (The banners for “Barr/Root ’08 will be posted shortly.)

If anyone has suggestions for more banners, or wants to gripe to me about how these “suck,” are “too radical,” whatever, my email address is kcufmedia@gmail.com.

NOTE — NONE of these banners have been endorsed by Bob Barr, Wayne Allyn Root, anyone affiliated with their campaigns, anyone in the LP’s National Headquarters, or anyone on the LNC. NOR have they been endorsed by anyone in the LPNM, aside from me, acting in my personal capacity.

<a href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoAK-47GBLTBannerBump.gif”></a&gt;

<a
href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoAK-47MarijuanaBanne.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoAK-47PeaceBannerBum.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoDTOMJollyRogerBanne.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoGlockGBLTBannerBump.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoGlockMarijuanaBanne.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoGlockPeaceBannerBum.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoM-4GBLTBannerBumper.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoM-4MarijuanaBannerB.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoM-4PeaceBannerBumpe.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoUziGBLTBannerBumper.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoUziMarijuanaBannerB.gif”></a&gt;

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href=”http://weblog.xanga.com/kcufmedia/658814015/the-barr–root-2008-provo-campaign.html”><img
src=”http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/KCUF_Media/BobBarr2008ProvoUziPeaceBannerBumpe.gif”></a&gt;

The 2008 Denver Bloodbath — Neo-Con Artists on the Loose!

Yeah, yeah, I know — I’m an “armchair delegate.” If it wasn’t for having to drop 750 FRN to have a head gasket replaced recently, I would probably already be in Denver at this time, and would have already have handed whatever delegate token that I had been given to Steve Kubby.

Earlier I reported here and here [copied elsewhere] about the Bob Barr Leadership Fund handing out cash to Republican candidates, while offering NOTHING to the Libertarian candidates that those Republicans are running against. All of this while Barr was sitting on the Libertarian National Committee — Barr was elected to the LNC in December, 2006.

Here’s the page from the FEC’s disclosure database.

I discussed the Barr situation with LPNM State Chair Jay Vandersloot
about ten days ago. My informing him of it was the first he had heard
of it, but said that he was still planning on supporting Barr, on the
grounds that a Barr candidacy would give the LP its best chance for
exposure in this election. Jay is an honorable, honest guy who is truly
a “big tent” Libertarian that others in the Deform Caucus profess to
be. Still, I think he’s on the wrong track here.

Since the story broke on Last Free Voice, the story is popping up on other libertarian-oriented sites. For example — A Libertarian Mole?

George Phillies [official campaign site] opined on Barr’s financial fun and games with his “Leadership Fund” slush PAC.

When questioned about his PAC shenanigans, Barr said “‘I won’t be cross-examined’ about the fund’s finances” [from the article — MWB]. Guess what, Bob? People inside and outside the LP are going to ask you questions about your slush fund, whether you like it or not. You’re a public figure, and this is part of the deal.

Jarret Wollstein of the International Society for Individual Liberty [ISIL] throws in his support for the Libertarian Party’s actual libertarians.

Apparently, the formerly independent thirdpartywatch.com has been bought out by social-conservative direct-mail guru Richard Viguerie, who promptly installed the LP’s former National Director Shane Cory as its editor-in-chief. Cory then set about censoring anyone who posted comments that call Barr’s integrity into question — for example, Tom Knapp.

Next, David Nolan reported that Viguerie (among others) have been bullying Convention organizer BetteRose Ryan as to who the keynote speaker will be — at first, they insisted on Barr as the keynoter, then Viguerie when Barr made his presidential campaign announcement. Also in on the game is former Reform Party bigwig Russ Verney. Here’s the link to Nolan’s page on the affair.

Hell, even the Ron Paul Republicans are watching this fiasco. So much for going for their votes should McClown be coronated in Minneapolis.

As if the behind-the-scenes BS wasn’t bad enough, Barr has made comments that —

• He’s OK with state governments defining personal relationships between consenting adults.
• He’s not too keen on repealing Drug Prohibition
• His campaign will bring Republicans who are disgruntled with the McClown campaign, which will be good for the GOP’s down-ballot. (Where is his support for the Libertarian down-ballot? Oh, right — I covered that above, in the parts about the slush PAC.)

Ron Paul, the RINO

Ron Paul, the RINO
by Mike Blessing [kcufmedia@gmail.com]

I just know that I’m going to catch hell for this article, just for the title. But that’s OK, as I’m becoming known for having an unconventional take on the issues and current events.

For those who don’t know, “RINO” is short for “Republican In Name Only.” Usually, the acronym has been used as a term of derision for people such as John Chaffee, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani — the “country club Republicans.” These are usually the folks that are OK with, if not active supporters of, banning your guns, regulating your business, spending your tax FRNs on “progressive” federal spending projects, and sending your kids off to die in foreign wars.

As if the Falwell Followers and Pat Robertson devotees weren’t bad enough, with their desires to put round-the-clock surveillance cameras in every American’s bedroom, to prevent “unChristian” behaviors.

The truth, however, is that these types are closer to the Republican tradition, and that it’s the good Dr. Ron Paul who is the “RINO.” The fact remains that Dr. Paul is the exception where the Republican Party is concerned, and not the rule.

While Republican candidates like to portray their party as one that fosters the shrinkage of government with spending cuts, tax cuts, regulatory repeals, and keeping the nation out of foreign wars, the reality is the exact opposite. Back in the 1850’s, when the “Grand Old Party” was founded from the ashes of the Whig Party, its ideological basis was Henry Clay‘s “American System” of protectionism, central banking and federally-subsidized construction projects.

This is exactly what George W. Bush has been pushing for the last seven years since being inaugurated — a 21st Century spin on mercantilism, where spending increases every year, more regulations come from Washington DC, more federal buildings go up, and more of a budget is needed for next year, so they can do it again — harder and faster.

This sort of behavior on the part of McCain, Bush, Giuliani, and most Republicans might be implicitly sanctioned by the Constitution — read Hologram of Liberty by “Boston T. Party” for the details there. Still, in contrast to the lamestream GOP, Dr. Paul has
spent the last year using his presidential campaign to ask the American
people, “Is this really necessary?” while informing the public that
NONE of this is explicitly sanctioned by the U.S. Constitution.

For this, Paul’s supporters are labeled “Paulestinians,” “Paultards” and “the Paulstapo” on Republican sites like Free Republic. (If that name isn’t a misnomer, what is?) If anything, the GOP doesn’t deserve anyone of Paul’s character. I’m beginning to doubt that it ever did.

That’s on top of the past ten years that Dr. Paul has spent in the United States House of Representatives, and his terms prior to that — all of that time has been spent by his standing up for individual rights. Granted, he’s not perfect — he apparently wants to curb the numbers of immigrants coming to America, and supports some form of state-level regulation concerning the issues of abortion and same-sex relationships — but at present, he’s gotten more press coverage for libertarian ideas in one year that the Libertarian Party has in the last ten years.

It’s for this reason that I’ve gotten involved with the local Ron Paul group, waved signs from the roadside at 6 AM at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta, gotten spray paint all over my hands on two occasions, and that Koehler and I used signs from the meetup group as backdrop for New Mexico’s Consumer Advocate from September through December, 2007. It’s for this reason that I recently signed up to be the Ron Paul Precinct Chair for the 23rd Precinct of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, despite the fact that he’s a Republican candidate, and I’m an officer in the Libertarian Party of New Mexico.

Should Dr. Paul lose the upcoming Republican presidential nomination, there is very little (read that to mean “NO”) chance that I will vote for the Republican nominee. At this point, I couldn’t care less what the Republican Kool-Aid drinkers call me — “Paulestinian,” “Paultard,” “Losertarian,” whatever — there is no way that I’ll even consider voting for Rudy-Poo, the Manchurian Senator or Mitthead. It just isn’t going to happen, so Eric Dondero better get over it.