Thanks John, I did not know that you were another person who had not signed the pledge. What is interesting about this is that you were at the business meeting in 2003 (sitting quite near me) and I think you voted in that meeting. Our stupid by-laws say that anyone who has not signed the pledge is not a voting member. Did you vote?
Ralph (your good buddy) didn't sign the pledge until 2002, until the LPCO informed him that the only way that he could run for office was to sign. That was a lie, or just misinformation, because there's nothing that would prevent him from running, he just wouldn't have been supported or confirmed by the state party. He would have had to petition on to the ballot. He caved and signed. He doesn't talk about it a whole lot, but he's another supporter of doing away with it, even though he signed it. Not only is the thing immature, but there's just no way that party officials can keep track of who's signed it and who hasn't. They could keep track, but they don't. Tom Parker, LPBC membership director, keeps track in his database. He calls these people 'supporting members'. The state databases don't have such a field to delineate who's who, and since they don't there's no way for them to be able to screen voters from non-voters at the convention. On a selfish note: Of course I think that you know that I can't do much in the Boulder group (LPBC) even though I'm a mover and shaker. After six years of membership and as a director for one of those years, Tom suddenly noticed that I'd never signed it. I have to beg others to make motions for me; I can't officially take on tasks; bla bla bla. A director of the state board, yet in my own affiliate I get buptkiss. So what I have come to realize is that there are a number of hardcore Ls that have been completely excluded from the process and growth of this party. They understand what libertarianism is about, and a pledge isn't part of that. paul -----Original Message----- From: John A. Lappart [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 8:51 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Bo Shaffer; Jeffrey Oliver; Rand Fanshier Cc: Lpco-Platform; Jerry Van Sickle Subject: Re: Pledge V: the saga Let me try to explain why I will never give in to this extortion and sign the insepid pledge. For starters, I did not sign a pedge when I came into this world, my Liberty is not effected by it. It was designed as a phoney show piece, by some nannies, to, some how, show the world they are not some kind of wacko. I am here to work with people in a political party, who are interested in controling government, not other people, by electing people to office who will advance Liberty by returning the government to Constitutional order, not to attempt to create a utopia. I am not a exclusionist, nor wish to join a fraternity, society, club, brotherhood, religion or cult, which is based upon exculsiveness I think it is non-libertarian to make reqirerments that limit other people from participating, there are too many control freaks prevent any effective organization, now. I believe the pedge would be very much a part of a conservitive party, not one that's based upon the natural rights of man. jal [|>]
