The Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
NEW (9 January, 2007):
The LP Radical Caucus offers a press release sketching a Libertarian response to the Bush adminstration’s war escalation.
The press release is for the use of any Libertarian Party affiliate or organization wanting a rapid and forceful response to Bush’s call for escalation in Iraq. Please feel free to place your group’s name and contact information on it and release it to your local media. If you would like to make changes, feel free to do so. No credit need (or should) be given – release this under your own group’s name. The LP should be providing affiliates with platform-compliant, forceful statements on current news events. The LP should be taking a strong antiwar stand. The activists of the LP Radical Caucus offer this release to help LP affiliates make a strong Libertarian statement on current events.
9 January, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[contact info here]Libertarians:
The people must lead, and the leaders must follow.In November, the American people clearly demanded an end to war and occupation in Iraq.
George Bush’s response is now clear: he plans to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam and escalate a war that most Americans and most Iraqis do not support; a military occupation and puppet rule that has killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and killed or maimed tens of thousands of American soldiers.
The Democratic Party has also turned a deaf ear to those who voted in the vain hope that Democrats would end the occupation. Democratic Party leaders in Congress have opted for ‘partnership’ in the crimes of the Bush administration, rather than leadership in ending the unlawful military action.
The Libertarian Party stands absolutely opposed to the war in Iraq and to foreign military intervention anywhere. The politicians have demonstrated that they will not lead, so they must be made to follow. If those opposed to the war – from left, right, and center – gather together with a passionate focus solely on ending American imperialism, the rulers will follow the people – as they should. If we let ourselves be divided at this critical moment in history by our domestic differences, the wars started in the last century will linger on and end in disaster. We must stand united against the coming draft, against the expansion of imperial rule, and against all aggression both at home and abroad.
Libertarians call on Congress to end taxation and spending in support of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, to end preparations in place for a new draft (including selective service registration), and to end punishing embargoes everywhere which encourage war and discourage the expansion of peace through trade and communication.
As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others.
We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized.
http://pauliecannoli.wordpress.com/2007/01/10/lp-radicals-antiwar-press-release/
Less
aynrkey
bostonteapartygoer
Kenn Jacobine
mattdharris
Mike Seebeck
Miche
paulie
Jim Davidson
ponggod
Stuart Richards
Todd Andrew Barnett
This is excellent.
See if Phillies wants to put out this or something similar – I’ve already suggested to Knapp and Ben Todd that we do the same.
BTW, I brought up the idea of the Radical Caucus doing press releases, and now we’re doing them.
This came about because Susan had been fighting with LPHQ about proofreading and picking apart their press releases and they were very defensive about it, so I suggested we do our own and hopefully they’ll use some of our stuff and come to see us as allies.
The initial response was positive, but it was suggested I volunteer and write one.
I did, it sucked as I expected, so Susan and others came up with one that is a lot better.
Now I’m hoping that local affiliates and our Presidential campaigns pick up on it, and that whatever Shane and Steve come up with will incorporate some of these ideas to the best extent possible.
Hopefully, soon we will all be working on the same page on this kind of stuff.
Or, at least, learning from each other and improving constantly in the process.
-p
Unsurprisingly, Phillies already has.
Cool!
Are you faxing, emailing it out to media, calling them, etc?
Yes.
Paulie! Your PR didn’t ‘suck’ – and it will probably be released – I just thought it was vital to get something out about Bush’s escalation ASAP. Next will come war agaisnt Somalia, probably, then back to domestic issues. The Radicals aim to correct what we perceive as a softness towards the war issue by the national LP. Your idea that the Rads start providing PRs to local (and national!) affiliates was excellent! I am hoping to see them becomes better and better. My goals as technical correctness (in writing), adherence to the platform, and rhetorical strength – not neccesarily in that order.
Nigel – thanks for the compliment.
Thanks to all those who use this or subsequent Rad PRs – if you do; let Paulie, me, or other Rads know so we know they are of some use in the marketplace.
Compare and contrast – I think your is a lot better.
Here’s the one I wrote.
I don’t think it’s near on the same level.
But, I’m glad to have helped make yours possible.
Everything needs editing. But I do appreciate the compliment.
I will – because I am sure you won’t be offended by it – tease you a bit though.
“Singing Statement”?
Is that when Bush talks about a bill in verse?
I’m always paranoid I will mis-spell ‘libertarian’ in a press release or newsletter or something. I know it will happen eventually. When I made Badnarik ’04 shirts and someone who saw it on me in a shop said ‘I’m afraid of Librarians’ I was *sure* I’d finally done it.
Afraid of librarians. Talk about having ‘issues’!
I don’t mind the teasing, LOL.
“Singing Statement”?
Is that when Bush talks about a bill in verse?
It’s when he goes a capella.
Afraid of librarians. Talk about having ‘issues’!
I can grok that. Personally, what I’m afraid of is Liberians.
If you ever dealt with Chuckie Taylor, Jr., when he’s in a bad mood, you’d know exactly why.
Then there’s the whole issue of pro-Lieberman Aryans. Don’t they know he’s Jewish?
I think it’s fair to say that Kubby’s stated position on Iraq (and US foreign policy in general) is very much in harmony with the “LP Radicals” position.
On thinking about this, though, the piece above isn’t really a “press release.” It’s an organizational statement, or position paper, or call to action, or whatever from the LP Radical Caucus. It needs something else to become newsworthy.
There’s one overriding, important thing to remember about press releases:
The press doesn’t give a damn what you think. Press releases are about what you do.
A good press release would be :
- Five past Libertarian presidential candidates endorse Radical Caucus’s statement on war
or
- Three contenders for LP’s presidential nomination endorse Radicals’ statement on war
or
- Radicals challenge LP candidates to endorse statement on war
I used to go round and round with Gordon on this. It’s not too hard to turn a position into a news release — just incorporate it into a speech, or set up a rally, make some kind of challenge using it or whatever, and then do the release about the action. Reporters won’t do articles about what you think, because what you think is only news in their once-per-election candidate “roundup.” They’ve got to have some kind of event or action to hang any other story on.
As a side note, Kubby’s “Open Letter to the 110th Congress,” released the day before the Radicals’ statement, also shares some specific positions with it.
Regards,
Tom Knapp
Tom,
Valid point.
Help us out with drafting it even better?
And/or do one for the campaign, specifically on the surge speech issue?
BTW, are we doing PRs yet and what list(s) are you using for distribution? I have some lists which you may already have, but I don’t just want to assume you have them if you don’t and then feel stupid.
Paulie,
Don’t get me wrong — I love it. And, as a matter of fact, I made a couple of minor drafting suggestions that Susan seemed to like and use.
It’s just that, on thinking it over, I realized that it’s not really a press release. It’s potentially much more. Not quite on the level of the Port Huron Statement or the Ann Arbor Declaration, maybe, but in that direction. It’s not a press release … it’s a benchmark or challenge for libertarians to rally around and candidates to be judged by their adherence to. To the extent that the Radical Caucus carries weight, this is it throwing that weight around some. The trick is translating that into newsworthy action. The news is not the statement itself, but what it’s used for.
We’ve done some press releases, but I’m a stickler for them being about “real news” as you can tell. The last one was in November some time. In December, a few things we expected to be able to brag about either got delayed or fell through.I’m tentatively planning two releases for later this month (I’ll tell you what for in private email).
Steve’s been getting his IDEAS out during that time, of course. But ideas aren’t newsworthy. Action is. And Steve’s actions in December were largely internal and not of great interest to the media — attending LP and movement events, etc., but not acting as a keynote speaker or anything.
In February, things will get more interesting. The Nevada convention is on February 10th, followed by Oregon, New Mexico and California in March and April (those are the conventions we’ve so far confirmed Steve’s planned attendance at). That’s four conventions. I only know of three opponents who are scheduled to attend any of them. I’m hoping they’ll stagger their withdrawals and endorsements of Kubby, one to each convention, so that we can get more releases out of it
Regards,
Tom
We (in NC) have gone round-and-round about whether a PR can be a ‘declaration’ or must be ‘newsy’. I think both are fine – maybe PR isn’t the best name, though – possibly a category such as ‘position release’ as opposed to ‘news release’. I think it’s not uncommon for social and political-change orgs to make positions statements this way.
Lots to think about, as we refine the process. I do NOT particularly want the radical Caucus making ‘news’ *except* within the LP. I DO want the Rads to be able to offer things to affiliates, though, and position papers, news releases, whatever, may fall into that category.
Thanks for the pondering.
Well, as much as I’ve clashed with the LP Radicals in the past, I think that you guys are on to something here. Instead of fighting over what National does, if all the different party caucuses organize and put out their own stuff, we can increase our effectiveness and maybe see something come of it all.
I agree with the antiwar position and I think it’d be tragic to see the LP discard its opposition to the war that we’ve established with the Exit Strategy and our various position statements.
Digg here
http://digg.com/political_opinion/Libertarian_Party_Radicals_Antiwar_Press_Release