My Return to the Boston Tea Party

Hello Dr. Tom Stevens, Tom K, and other BTP'ers:

It's been about a year or so since I posted my last message to everyone here.

Back when the BTP had completely and utterly flatlined (at a time when the site was invaded and occupied by spam bots) and showed no interest in reviving itself, I decided to resign from the National Committee and from the Party. Hence, I did. I posted my resignation and departure from the Party, with the hope that maybe Tom Knapp and the others would have noticed. The other part of the reason for my departure was because of my involvement with the Ron Paul campaign, and I was campaigning for Ron Paul. Hence, the end of my membership with the BTP.

Since then, the RP Revolution, despite the success of Ron's book and the success of the campaign's ability to get the message of liberty out, has failed to maintain that level of interest. Even Ron's campaign has failed to breathe libertarian air into the GOP. With John McCain already coronated as the victor of the GOP race, the odds of Ron pulling off a major GOP victory in September at the GOP's next convention are more than likely nil. While I do support Ron in spirit, I was, for the most part, disappointed with the final outcome of the entire race and the decisions made by the campaign from January 2007 up until this point.

When Ron was hit with the racist newsletter scandal, Ron's answers were unsatisfactory, even to me (and I was a big campaign supporter of his). Since the campaign's announcement that it would "wind down," my interest in his campaign has mostly fizzled.

Now that I am supporting Dr. Mary J. Ruwart, I don't think that a BTP presidential candidate slate is a good idea. If Mary Ruwart gets the LP nomination, then running a candidate would be a slap in the face to her. However, if Bob Barr (who just entered the LP presidential fray) and Wayne Allyn Root (the Republican-in-Libertarian clothing candidate).

While I do support the reconstitution of the BTP, I cannot support any of its candidates.

I'll explain more when I feel up to. But now understand that this is my choice and decision.

I have, however, returned to the BTP, and I remain a member of the Party here as well.

I am looking to start a Michigan chapter of the BTP and, if and when I move to NH, maybe start an affiliate there as well.

I am considering another run for the BTP national committee; however, if it means that I must attend the LP's Denver convention, I won't be able to do that, as I don't have the funds for it.

More on this later....

Thanks!

Yours in Liberty,

Todd Andrew Barnett

‹ Mandatory Seat Belt use as a Primary Violation and Police Powers violating the IV Amendment to the US Constitution I hear we are being called racist ›
Submitted by Todd Andrew Barnett on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 20:49
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Comments

1

kanchansinha:

Hi,

Thanks for the information.I would like to know more about it.

Snoreta

nevada drug rehab

03/19/2009 - 01:28
2

inDglass:

Link broken by admin. Spam.

03/21/2009 - 15:15
3

planetaryjim:

Dear Todd,

Thanks for calling after the LP nominations for Pres and Veep were concluded. I agree with your view that the LP is not your home any longer. Many others I spoke with at the convention were disheartened and felt betrayed.

Please help us make the Boston Tea Party a place worth being.

Thanks. Talk to you tonight.

Regards,

Jim

05/26/2008 - 02:43
4

planetaryjim:

Dear Friends,

Recently, I was asked this rather interesting question. To what end
have a Boston Tea Party? If the LP is ineffectual, why bother with
yet another third party? Here are some excerpts from my reply.

I'm not sure that the LP is ineffectual. It is certainly gaining
some attention now that major party candidates like Mike Gravel
and Bob Barr are attracted to it. However, I think what we saw in
2006 in Portland shows that the LP needs to be "kept honest." I
see the Boston Tea Party as a watchdog for the LP, staying firmly
to the tip of the Nolan Chart, and giving the radical, hard core,
dedicated anarcho-capitalist LP members a place to go if the Reform
Caucus pursues its idiocy.

Like any good student of history, I'm aware that politics tends to
move toward the available center. People compromise. It is in
their nature to cooperate, which is what free markets are all about.
And, in cooperating, they seek common ground.

So, our role as the Boston Tea Party is to hold down the extreme. We
should push further out into the territory of less government, less
restriction, more liberty, greater security for private property, and
more free markets. If the Democrats and Republicans try to compromise
with the LP, they'll find us even more radical and difficult.

So, how are we doing so far?

Here's where the Boston Tea Party stands right now. We have the
following officer core:
Chair -- Jim Davidson
Vice-Chair -- Tom Stevens
Secretary -- Michelle Luetge
At-Large -- Michael W. Reid, Jr.
At-Large -- Alex Fitzsimmons
At-Large -- Rocco Fama

and we have affiliates in NY, NJ, PA & now TN. I would like to
add Colorado to that set. I also have contacts in Kansas, in
Wyoming, and in Texas. I might be able to add Missouri. Dr. Tom
says he may be able to get a team in Louisiana if all goes well.
Joe Black and Bo Shaffer in Colorado contacted me about forming an
affiliate there.

We have a prospective presidential candidate, Alden Link, who
has agreed (tentatively) to modify his campaign to correspond to
the BTP platform and program. And, we have a potential source
of funding for ballot access. I gather that Tennessee and
Louisiana both have fairly easy ballot access.

To give you an idea of who I am in the matter, I would direct you
to this article I wrote very recently:
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2008/tle463-20080413-03.html

Regards,

Jim
http://indomitus.net/ -> some more of my writing

05/21/2008 - 00:04