Article Contributed on: 2/23/2008 9:24:48 PM
Denver will be host this year to the Libertarian National Convention, and while most folks think of political conventions in terms of silly flat topped hats, lots of flags and buttons, and partying late into the night, this Convention has that and more, and in many ways is a very, very different animal.
Picture a Convention where you don't have to be a member of the party to hear speakers and breakout sessions on topics of interest (yes, you do have to be a Libertarian to vote for platform, bylaws and candidates issues, but that is only part of the Convention).
Libertarian ideas have been swirling around the Republican campaign (in the person of Ron Paul mostly), and more people have heard about this party focused on Constitutional checks and balances and keeping government small and less intrusive. Now, with the Convention appearing at the Adam's Mark Hotel from May 22-26, 2008, it's a great opportunity for those interested in hearing more. Ticket packages are available on the net at: http://www.denverlpcon.com.
One of the most unusual things about this Convention is that it is NOT being paid for by the taxpayers, or by corporate and lobbying interests. At the end of January USA Today reported on the huge amounts of dollars ($16 million from corporate sources already for Denver's planned Democratic Convention in August) going into "the big guys" major party convention treasuries:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-01-29-conventions_x.htm
The Campaign Finance Institute:
http://www.cfinst.org/pr/prRelease.aspx?ReleaseID=60
reported a marked increase in private and corporate contributions to major party conventions in the past ten years, even though taxpayers were still forced to shell out $15 million dollars for each of the Democratic and Republican Conventions in 2004.
How much public money is going to this year's major party conventions? The Federal Election Commission says "Each major political party is entitled to $4 million (plus cost-of-living adjustments)," but the footnote makes it clear just how out of range things have become:
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/pubfund.shtml#8
"In 2008, the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) brought the convention committee entitlement to a total of $16.82 million" (they are using 1974 as the base year for the adjustment).
Now it seems the major parties are collecting both from the public *and* from the lobbyists and corporations. Oddly enough, one of the arguments for public finance was to keep the influence peddlers out of the equation. And still Conventions never seem to do much more than break even. And we wonder why, when we continue to elect major party candidates to office, they spend our money like there was no tomorrow. It's an old habit, I guess.
The Libertarians are doing on a shoestring what the Democrats and Republicans, with their huge membership bases, were unable to do -- finance their own Convention without having to rely on big corporate donations, or public funds that should probably be going to help mend our creaking economy. Sure, folks who come to hear the speakers and attend the events will have to pay to get in, but, after all, they are getting the benefits of their attendance. Why should all of us have to pay so that major party attendees can get in for free?
Not that the Libertarians don't have any businesses sponsoring the event -- they do, but those businesses believe in the freedom movement, and are there to market their goods and services to the delegates, and the general public, not to show up with megabucks, hoping to use Convention contributions to influence candidates to vote for their favorite bills and look out for corporate interests once elected. Libertarians do *not* believe in corporate welfare of any kind, and support free market competition.
Since the Libertarian Party has opposed the war in Iraq, as well as our recent tendency to stick our noses in the day to day affairs of other countries which partially contributed to its birth, demonstrations against the war to convince candidates to stop supporting it are unnecessary. Many of the security precautions that lead to things like "Free Speech Zones" are unheard of in a party that is profoundly supportive of First Amendment freedom of speech.
But there are topics being discussed at this Convention that you definitely will not hear discussed (should you be fortunate or connected enough to be even allowed to attend) at the major party Conventions.
Bob Barr, former Republican Congressman and lifetime member of the Libertarian Party will be speaking about his work with organizations created to help restore checks and balances in government. Reggie Rivers (yes, former Bronco Reggie Rivers) will be talking about his new book "The Colony." Tony Ryan will speak about Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (http://www.leap.cc), an organization of current and former members of law enforcement who support drug regulation rather than prohibition. Jessica Peck Corry, a public policy analyst with the Independence Institute will speak on property rights (http://www.jessicacorry.com). She is the author of "At the Crossroads of Condemnation: The Debate Over the Use of Eminent Domain for Private Development & Open Space." David Harsanyi, award-winning columnist at the Denver Post, and author of "Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggist Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning American into a Nation of Children" will also be speaking.
As you can tell, these are folks who talk straight, don't mince words, and aren't going to be sugar-coating a thing. If you're sick of spin, it might just be a refreshing change. The goal is to get folks to think about where our society is going and why, and to keep alive the values set forth in the Constitution. You may not agree with everything that gets said, but the discussion both in and out of the sessions will be lively, and you will certainly be using the olde grey matter the entire time.
In-depth breakout sessions include "A Libertarian Solution to America's Energy Problems" by Jim Remmert, author of "Common Sense in the 21st Century," who became a Libertarian working at the highest levels of Exxon during the 1979 energy crisis. Dr. Noah MacKay will address the challenges of alternative medicine in a society geared towards (www.wellnessatwarpspeed.com) bureaucratic control.
For those of you looking to find out more about Libertarianism, David Nolan, one of the founding members of the LP, and creator of the "Nolan Chart" you may have seen at local fair booths (http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html), will be there, as will Sharon Harris from the Advocates of Self-Government. There will be two related talks on "What is libertarianism?" and "An Introduction to Economics for Libertarians." Elected Libertarians will talk about what it's like to "fight City Hall" when you're elected to local office. It's a lot to take in, but there are packages to sign up for just a few things, or for a lot. The Exhibit Hall below the main lobby will be open to the public in any case, with a host of Liberty-minded organizations with booths, some for candidates running for office, some for organizations, and there will be speakers from time to time in the Exhibit Hall. With a coffee shop in the middle of it all, and wireless access, and even some special summer event opportunities for the more intrepid (rafting, a trip to the US Mint, a Rockies/Mets game, a visit to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and more), there is a lot to do, a lot to hear, a lot to think about for the cost of attendance.
It's a Memorial Day Weekend you won't soon forget. So if you're looking for something completely different, and a way to shift your focus from those day to day mundane matters to thinking about who we are as a nation and how we will stay true to our American founding principles, join us at the Libertarian National Convention and be part of the Freedom Movement.