Writing In Spite of the Boredom/Disgust, But Only to a Point

If you follow this blog, you may have noticed that

1. After an extreme uptick leading into the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, I opined on the Libertarian Party's internal situation quite a bit; and that
2. At some point not long after I went silent on the subject.

I had occasion to discuss that situation with reader GregL over lunch the other day, and figured I should probably update the rest of you as to the reasons for my silence.

TL;DR: The sound of the convention's closing gavel hadn't yet finished carrying across the hall before the Libertarian National Committee (and certain state party organizations) had descended back to (and exceeding) the depths of its previous (take your pick of ratios) incompetence/corruption. The result in my attitude was a quick deceleration from interest in fighting it to depression over it to boredom/disgust with it.

Extension of Rant:

Some state affiliates, after accepting representation at the convention, participating in the convention, and thereby obligating themselves to honor the results of the convention, announced that they had no intention of doing so. For example, at least one (Colorado) announced that it would be putting RFK, Jr., rather than party nominee Chase Oliver, on its presidential ballot line.

LNC chair Angela McArdle, as well as an LNC majority, didn't just coddle that behavior. In direct defiance of their bylaws-decreed obligation to support the nominated presidential ticket, they encouraged, and conspired to support that behavior. Not all of them, but most.

One major exception was secretary Caryn Ann Harlos, who submitted the nominated ticket to Colorado's secretary of state. Under Colorado election law, it is either the national chair or national secretary who does that to put the ticket on the ballot.

McArdle's reaction to the secretary doing a job she was both entitled and obligated to do? A temper tantrum about how Ms. Harlos had defied the chair's AUTHORITAH (which wasn't the case, but which would still have been proper had it been the case).

And then Ms. McArdle moved a "hold my beer" motion proposing a "joint fundraising agreement" with RFK's campaign. Under that agreement, people could contribute to the LNC, which would take a commission and then spend the rest of the money ... supporting one of the Libertarian Party's presidential opponents against its own candidate.

The motion passed, and survived an appeal to the Judicial Committee. Since then, ads for Kennedy bearing the notice "paid for by the Libertarian National Committee" have been running.

Now that Kennedy has dropped out of the race and endorsed Donald Trump, ads supporting Trump in "Kennedy's voice" -- and once again bearing the endorsement of the LNC -- are running.

I shit you not.

For a while there, I was fascinated with the continuous train wreck, featuring flatcars loaded with flaming dumpsters, that the LNC/LP has become over the last couple of years. And when I had an opportunity to attend the national convention and try to redeem/repair the party, I did so.

Now I'm just bored and disgusted again.

Maybe I'll get interested again. If so, it will probably be after the rapidly approaching LNC bankruptcy -- a bankruptcy that, in my opinion, has been intentional all along on the part of the Mises PAC and timed for (if possible, to maximize the grift/graft/Republican benefit opportunities) after the November election.

I guess we'll see.