My Very First 2020 Libertarian Party Platform Committee Report

Hey, everyone ...

... because this is where I write about Libertarian Party stuff, and because my selection as a member of the party's 2020 platform committee is largely due to support from some of you, I'll try to keep you informed as to the committee's proceedings as frequently as necessary and in as much detail as reasonable.

The committee is in the process of "convening" via an email list. I'll post a public viewing link once I figure out what that link might be.

Two initial procedural issues are already shaping up:

1. When and how the committee will elect its permanent chair (Caryn Ann Harlos is acting chair until we do that); the "when" being open and the choices being by email ballot, by voting at an online conferencing software "meeting," or by voting at a phsyical meeting; and
2. Whether or not to have any physical meetings prior to the party's national convention.

Since I don't know who will be running for the position of chair, I don't have any opinions to share on that matter. Naturally, you'll know who I end up voting for and, if anyone is interested I'll be glad to share my reasons.

I'll be blunt concerning physical meetings:  It is 2020, not 1920 or 1820. Email, online voting systems, and audio/video conferencing systems make physical meetings unnecessary and are more transparent/accessible to the party's interested members than physical meetings.

 If anyone on the committee doesn't have a computer and Internet access, he or she can buy or rent those two things for less than the expense of flying to a far-away city and spending a couple of nights in a hotel.

The main argument for physical meetings is that it lets committee members get to know each other better and develop a collegial spirit that makes it easier to cooperate. Which may be true, but most of us know each other already and physical co-location isn't likely to change our mutual feelings for each other too much.

All that said, if we have a physical meeting I will do what I have to do to attend it, including requesting your financial support for the expenses involved. As you may remember, in 2018 that included a 14-hour Greyhound ride (it ended up being cheaper to fly to Missouri, see my mother, take the bus to Columbus, and fly home from Columbus than to just fly both ways to and from Columbus; I got a visit with Mom out of the deal, so I'm not complaining).

And that's where we are -- the committee members are still "checking in" on the email list. Once everyone's "present," we'll start doing stuff.