only 2 of the 4 points were bad – the sound effects that played along with the points made should clue you in to the ones I mean, along with the lengthy description I wrote along with the video on you tube.

when the bell rings, it’s a good issue. When you hear the horn, it’s shit.

the 2 that sucked totally overshadowed the good.

but those 2 are gone now :)

I just wanted it to be clear that even within the FSP ranks, we have all sorts, not just those upset with the platform changes… We have our share of radicals and moderates, purists and pragmatists.

I’m one of the more active pragmatists, and then you have someone like Russell Kanning, one of the more active anti-political purists. Our methods are completely different, sometimes at very much odds, but in person, we get along just fine, if of different minds. We camped near each other at PorcFest, even. We know we’re on the same side, working for the same goal, even if we disagree about how to get there, or where ‘there’ exactly is. We’ll likely be arguing strongly over just how little government is needed 20 or 30 years from now when we are all old and gray, but in the meantime, we are all working toward ‘less’ ….

I don’t have the latest polling data, but 2 years ago when the war on terror and the war were much more popular, Russo’s poll showed that barely 50% of the public supported the Patriot Act.

I’m sure a solid majority now opposes the Patriot Act.

So the Patriot Act does mean “you’re nuts”. That’s right its means the U.S. Congress is nuts.

I am well aware of that, and I have no problem with that. I feel that right now the time is ripe for appealing to those who are newly disillusioned with the LP and politics in general, and let them know there is an alternative outside of politics, specifically the NH Underground. The FSP is a broader umbrella organization whose sole purpose is to get all types of liberty lovers to NH, which is great! Yet if the only option in NH was to work within the political system, I would no longer be interested, since I now feel abandoned by the one party that I felt even remotely aligned with. I plug the FSP whenever I can, partly because they are better known than NH Underground, and because anarcho-capitalists like myself are among those welcomed by the FSP.

Sorry if I made you feel left out.

It goes to show that _both_ sides are working within the FSP… The FSP is NOT just for those who are upset with the platform, but also for those who approved heartily of the change.

Thank goodness there exists an alternative for all of us who are newly disillusioned with the LP and the political system in general: Free State Project/ NH Underground! Please consider joining me in making a last (victorious!) stand for liberty in the Free State of New Hampshire, where the Second American Revolution has already quietly begun… know what, maybe it’s not such a sad day for liberty lovers after all! http://www.nhfree.com http://www.freestateproject.com

This is hyperbole bull crap, Brian. Where in the platform does it call for abolishing government? Where in the platform does it call for all regulations to be ended? Where does the platform insist that all changes be made suddenly?

It is hard to have rational conversations with people who simply pull facts out of their ass. It is also hard to discuss politcal strategy with people who insist they know what other people want to hear but have no data to back their claims – in fact there is data that refutes their claims (regarding party growth).

If voters think we are all nuts, maybe it is because some libertarians make stuff up or exaggerate.

Well well, the shoe is on the other foot. Will you have good grace to fade away now, or will you hang around and complain for the next few years? Seems like this ‘nonsense’ isn’t going away.

Give me a break. How about a little intellectual honesty, Tim. This is more about a certain group’s disdain for certain LP positions than any sort of cohesive strategy of attracting more people to the LP.

The whole notion that the LP should fold whenever an opponent criticizes a position is really ludicrous. This is what political opponents do.

The number one gripe with Democrats is that they don’t have a message.

The number one complaint about Republicans is that they claim to be conservative, but they aren’t.

The one thing that people do respect the LP for has been sticking to principles. It seems the so-called pragmatists either don’t agree with many LP positions or they are unable to understand/articulate the benefits of these positions. The BS that “I’m for it but the voters aren’t” isn’t cutting it.

The tv ad is too clever – by half.

MSNBC puts up a favorable graphic?!?

We’ll just not promise to do anything terribly radical to begin with is all. This is how you move the nation in a libertarian direction.

The LRC is advocating doing exactly what turns most people off of politics all together.

Yeah. So what’s the difference between the RLC and the LRC? Each pushes watered down libertarianism. At least the RLC actually elects candidates from time to time.

And you would have gotten to endorse religious-right-wing neoconservative big-government types on your letterhead and insisted you were “making a difference” too.

the more the general voter base finds out about libertarianism, the LESS they are likely to vote for it

I don’t think that’s a fair characterization. The more people find out about anarchism masquerading as “libertarianism,” the less they are to support LP candidates who don’t necessarily agree with the anarchism espoused in the current platform.

the info is no longer up on the web that I know of, but I bet someone can find it.

The pledge has been left in place for another 2 to 4 years in any case. Everybody will just have to deal accordingly.