| 2012 Presidential Campaign:
First, the 2010-2012 LNC Chair should not under any circumstances be a candidate for our 2012 Presidential nomination. This is a clear conflict of interest. Additionally, in the past, there have been serious allegations that our party has suffered from some national staffers playing party politics with our Presidential nomination. It would be a terrible idea to place someone with the ability to hire and fire staff in a position to use party resources to directly benefit his or her campaign or to sabotage a competitor's campaign.
The Budget:
The Libertarian Party needs a budget that will spend money on doing actual politics. For example, we should have a budget that includes ballot access, advertising, and candidate and volunteer support. At the end of the year, it should be included in the Annual Report sent out to all dues paying members of the party so they can decide if we are spending their money wisely.
Strategic Planning:
There is absolutely no reason, no excuse for a million dollar a year organization not to use any strategic planning. Unfortunately, this is what the LNC does. It is an embarrassment, it is inane, and it could possibly be the downfall of the Libertarian Party. Would you invest in a business with no plans or goals? I sure wouldn't.
When I talk about strategic planning, I am not discussing a 250 page detailed plans with pictures and arrows on it. I am talking about beginning with the end in mind, and then finding out what we can do short-term to get to our destination. For example, our goal long-term could be to control Congress by 2030. Realistic or not, it doesn't really matter. What matters is what we do today to get to that point. Based on that goal, we could set goals for this LNC term and determine what we should do during this term to reach our goals for the term. By setting short-term goals, we will be much closer to our end goal no mater if we ever actually reach it or not.
A few, but not a complete list of goals for the 2010-2012 LNC should be:
Affiliates: We should have an active party in every state and Washington D.C.
Ballot Access: There is no excuse that our Presidential nominee should not be on the ballot in at least 49 states and Washington D.C. in 2012.
Communications: Our supporters should be able to download flyers, brochures, and other materials to help them campaign. It would be a good idea to produce a radio and television advertisement to brand the Libertarian Party. If we don't establish our own brand, someone else will and we may not like how we are perceived by the American public.
Elections: Candidates should be given information like was available in the "Success 99" documents that help them fundraise, advertise, talk to the media, etc.
We should try to increase the number of candidates we run for Federal office and both the vote totals and the percentage we receive by a specific percentage over 2008. This creates stability as a party that does not run candidates, doesn't have much influence in the public debate.
Subcommittees: As the old Toby Keith song said, "A little less talk, and a lot more action" is exactly what we need on the LNC. Gabbing and gossiping about other LNC members and endless discussion of Roberts Rules of Order is an unproductive use of time and resources to say the least. If you want to be an LNC member, you should be on a working committee to help set, monitor, and implement goals and strategy.
Positive Campaigning:
I don't know about you, but I hate receiving gloom and doom direct mail. "Donate now or we will turn of the lights!" That type of negative thinking brands us as losers that spend too much money on lights and not enough money on real politics. Think of something positive, and raise funds for that. For example, production of a high-quality television advertisement sounds like a good project that needs to be funded. Another good example is ballot access so you can vote for a Libertarian in your state.
National Headquarters:
No doubt, this part of my article will cause some controversy, but it is an issue that desperately needs to be discussed.
Washington D.C. is a very expensive location to have the national headquarters. Additionally, the high cost of living in Washington D.C. means that we are forced to pay staffers more than what we would pay if they, for example, worked in Des Moines, Iowa where the cost of living is much more affordable.
Please don't get me wrong. There are benefits to having the national headquarters in Washington D.C. For example, it is easier to lobby for or against proposed legislation, it is good for media relations, and it provides staff with great networking opportunities. On the other hand, it uses a lot of money from our donors that could be spent on critical items such as ballot access, and advertising. Additionally, moving from Washington D.C. would also make it far less likely that our party would go broke in the future. Also, with some work, we could have a D.C. organization that could effectively handle media opportunities, and lobbying efforts.
The next LNC Chair should be willing to at the very least discuss the possibility of moving the national headquarters and put this party back into financial stability.
Inner-Party Fighting:
The next LNC Chair should not be a vocal member of any faction. He or she must be someone who can unite the party. A party divided cannot stand! The next LNC Chair must be committed to growing membership and working with others, not purging volunteers from other factions.
Executive Decisions:
According to our bylaws, our party Chair is our Chief Executive Officer. We need a Chair that takes a hands-on approach to what goes on in the party. The Chair should be able to make decisions, and admit his or her mistakes when things go wrong. Just because we have an Executive Director does not mean the LNC Chair gives up his or her responsibility to oversee the management of the party. |
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