Although I ended my memberships in and associations with the state Libertarian Parties that I used to belong to (Florida, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania) when they were taken over by the Mises PAC, I remain a "sustaining member" (read: newsletter subscriber) of the "national Libertarian Party" (read: the Libertarian National Committee), if for no other reason than that my monthly pledge (canceled when the LNC was taken over by a Republican PAC) has me "paid up" through next May.
I have not rescinded my membership certification pledge ("I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals"), and unless I do I will, per the LNC's bylaws, remain a "member" in perpetuity. Things would have to get worse than they are now for me to do that.
But some libertarians are leaving the "national LP," and some of them are going to other parties, including the US Pirate Party.
In fact, at least one such libertarian, Brianna Coyle, is now a member of the Pirate National Committee, and key language from the LP's former anti-bigotry plank ("we heard they were done with it") has been added to the Pirate platform.
I'm not quite there yet. Since I don't really need to affiliate with a political party at all, I can afford to be choosy. And while I like the cut of the Pirates' jib, already have the mustache for it, and am about to get my ears pierced for hoops, I have some problems with that platform.
The first plank ("Putting People Before Corporations") is just kind of incoherent. While I'm anti-corporate because I'm pro-free-market, the plank seems to treat it as a matter of speech not being speech if we don't like the speakers ("the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that allows corporations to buy elections"), and to treat taxation as being a balance between competing interests ("cuts in corporate tax rates while raising payroll taxes") rather than what it is (theft/extortion).
The second and third planks ("Opening up Government" and "Defending Your Privacy") aren't bad.
The fourth ("Promoting Culture & Knowledge Through Copyright Reform") goes both not far enough and too far. Copyright should be abolished, not limited, and DRM software should be perfectly legal (as should the breaking of such software). It should be more like the fifth ("Fostering Innovation by Abolishing Patents").
The sixth ("Police Reform") could use some work (where's the money to be "invested" in "community care" going to come from?), but overall not bad.
The seventh is the pirated LP anti-bigotry language.
The seventh is basically an omissions plank that says they're working on more stuff.
Under the party's bylaws, the Pirate National Committee "may adopt such optional platforms and policies as it sees fit by a majority vote. It may further enhance these mandatory platforms with optional positions by a simple majority vote."
And "A Subcommittee shall be a working group formed by act of the PNC to achieve a specified purpose."
What I'd personally recommend is that that the PNC create a "platform subcommittee" to rewrite that platform from top to bottom, in a coherent manner, embodying whatever they consider to constitute a "pirate ethos." I suspect there's a fairly strong similarity between that and a "libertarian ethos," but I could be wrong.
I'll continue keeping an eye on the Pirates, as I consider them promising. And who knows, I may eventually spit on my hands, hoist the black flag, and beginning slitting throats with them.
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