Dancing with Despair

This column begins with the tale of two readers. The first asked me to write a letter to our political officeholders that could be copied and sent to those at all levels of government. I told him that I would do that for today, but my second reader and friend asked me if I were feeling alright because my recent columns seemed to be rather despairing. So, I’ve decided to address the issue of my apparent disillusionment before I compose the universal letter of condemnation. I am fighting an oppressive sense of despair about the state of our nation.

As many of you may know, I was an activist with the Republican Party for more than 40 years. I was a central committee person, executive committee member, YR officer and organizer, TAR adviser, campaign manager, campaign consultant, contributor to candidates, state and national parties, Senate and House campaign committees, attendee at National Conventions, state conventions, attended a two-week training session for future party leaders, served as a candidate for office and as a State Representative. In other words, my GOP bona fides are ironclad. It is with sadness that I note that what we are currently witnessing in Washington and in the states around the country is symbolic of why I left the party in 2004. Our nation, I believe, is on the brink. Our liberty becomes increasingly imperiled. Our property rights are being trashed or ignored. Our fiscal integrity has been compromised beyond recovery in my lifetime…or perhaps forever. So, what is the GOP doing? Offering plans for a 25-year glide path…assuming Congress will follow anything for more than two years running. They have not attempted to defund the largest grab of our U.S. economy in history. They are measured and professional…and too damn political…as they march around in self importance doing nothing of real significance. Listen up, Republicans. Climb out of your foxholes and TAKE THE HILL. General George Patton would never have said “we’ll work out the best deal we can with Hitler before we give him more ammo.” But…that’s what they’re doing with Obama and the debt limit. TAKE THE HILL.

Some of my best friends are Democrats. I pray for them daily. To have your wagon hitched to such a deceitful, despicable star must be the perfect recipe for cognitive dissonance. Republicans claim to recognize the problems and nibble at them, but Democrats create the problems and deny that they exist. If they aren’t deceitful, they are certainly certifiably delusional.

A couple of years ago I joined the Libertarian Party because the principles of “minimum government and maximum freedom” appealed to me. During my lifetime I had witnessed the massive growth of government at ALL levels. Big government is not only extremely costly, but as it grows it crowds our individual liberty and restricts our God-given rights. I joined the Libertarians because I was certain that they had not been tainted or corrupted by holding power for long periods of time. Libertarians believe their principles. They do not have a statement of principles that merely provides window dressing for the quadrennial convention. The Libertarian Party was a refreshing landing place for my disgust with the old two parties. Many of the people I encountered during my year-long statewide campaign last year stated that they, too, shared those principles. “I may be a Republican, but I’m mostly Libertarian,” they would say to me. Even the most famous and revered Libertarian in the land clings to the GOP banner despite the fact that they demean and belittle him incessantly. My decision was based on the fact that I would rather die on the sword of principle than live in a world of co-option and compromise.

While I’m in the ranting mode, I will not allow my Libertarian friends to escape criticism. The fact that we hold no offices of note, by definition, makes us political rookies…sometimes naïve and stupid. To succeed we must get beyond the “good showing,” ten per cent mentality. To many of you Tea Party types who CLAIM to be upset with the status quo…when are you going to put your efforts, your time and your money where your mouths are? For the first rounds you have become a despised and loathed tool of the GOP. They’ll use you and abuse you. They already have. You have told me that “Libertarians can’t win,” and you are dead-solid correct as long as YOU support the party that hates you and distrusts you. People like me who want a constitutional government that honors our personal liberty will continue to lose as long as you and your friends and neighbors support the two old parties, but when you do that…..we ALL lose. America loses.

So, where do you stand? Are your reactions the same as the GOP? Engaging in handwringing and lip service while our country either fades away or collapses in a heap?  Try this little quiz. The key is LIBERTY.   www.theadvocates.org/quiz

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com    or   www.littlestuff-blogspot.com

Reading the Tea Leaves

A quickie analysis of the Libertarian Party and Tea Party (C4L, Tea Party, 912, Liberty, Patriot and other like-minded groups) impact in the mid-term election of two weeks ago yields some interesting points. The massive GOP blowout that swept the party of Lincoln into power in the nation’s capitol has been credited to a great degree to “Tea Party” activity. With a few notable Senate exceptions (Angle (NV), Buck CO), perhaps Miller (AK) and O’Donnell (DE), most Tea Party endorsed or supported candidates were electorally successful and led the way to a 60-plus seat pickup in the House and at least a 6 seat gain in the Senate for Republicans.


A cursory glance at results in Ohio would suggest a similar outcome in the Buckeye state. There are some numbers that suggest, however, that the co-opted “Tea Party” activists lost some impact when they strayed beyond traditional GOP RINO candidates. A look back at the May 4th Primary Election reminds us that Sandy O’Brien (Secretary of State) and Seth Morgan (Auditor) were both favorites of the Ohio Tea Party groups. Each of them garnered around 30% of the Republican vote and failed to secure their respective nominations

Throughout the newly formed activist groups, righteous anger and disgust with how the state party apparatus had been used to advance the prospects of Dave Yost for Auditor and John Husted for Secretary of State was notable. An additional galling aspect was that Yost had changed from an Attorney General candidate to Auditor in order to provide an open field for former Senator, Mike DeWine, after some funny business with petitions for Tea Party AG favorite, Steve Christopher. Christopher failed to qualify for the ballot, and DeWine did, indeed, enjoy an open field.

Over the past ten months I’ve had the opportunity to speak to several dozen Tea Party-type groups. Almost without exception they pronounced their loathing of DeWine and his questionable conservative values. They also expressed heated discontent with Yost and Husted along with State Chair, Kevin DeWine. I sensed that grassroots were angry and would not blindly work for a victorious RINO slate. At their various meetings they often stated that it was time to teach the GOP a lesson---that the Republican Party could not take their allegiance for granted.

Robert Owens was the Constitution Party Chairman and its candidate for Ohio Attorney General. A former prosecutor he was an instrumental drafter of the Health Care Freedom Amendment, a statewide measure to repeal the noxious national legislation (Obamacare). So, Owens had credentials, youth and energy, and he offered a viable alternative to DeWine. The Ohio Liberty Council is a statewide alliance of liberty-oriented groups, and their endorsement arm, The Ohio Tea Party PAC, endorsed Owens’ candidacy. He was the ONLY statewide candidate to receive at least 7/8 approval from their 58 affiliates (at least 51 local organizations). Owens was a tireless campaigner, traveling all over the state to many venues and winning adherents.

In 2010 for the first time in 76 years, a minor party had a full slate of statewide candidates. The Libertarian Party of Ohio had candidates for every major office including Marc Allyn Feldman, their Attorney General hopeful. Clearly, Feldman’s candidacy would have some impact on Owens’ Constitution Party candidacy, but the key Ohio Tea Party PAC endorsement and the general Tea Party organizations’ disillusionment with DeWine’s nomination could, nevertheless, yield a significant vote total for Owens. Apparently, Tea Party endorsements did not translate into votes.

Three of the Libertarian candidates for statewide office garnered more than 177 thousand votes each suggesting that a base of around 175 thousand for statewide LPO challengers. In the Attorney General race, however, Feldman’s 104,554 tally lagged considerably behind his party mates. Owens’ presence in the race coupled with Feldman’s inability to wage an aggressive campaign were the two most instrumental factors in Feldman’s final number. So, did the Tea Party activists propel Owens into contention? Did they overcome the 100 thousand plus votes that Feldman siphoned from Owens’ potential? Did the Tea Party faithful soundly reject the re-cycled Mike DeWine? No, no, no.

They did not deliver. They crawled back upon their favored RINO and rode him once again. Same old, same old. Fervor and endorsements did not deliver votes. Owens’ final total was slightly more than 127 thousand votes while DeWine had nearly one million seven hundred eighty-three thousand (1,782,821).

Comments: earl4sos@gmail.com or cnpearl@woh.rr.com

Dissatisfaction

The current political environment bristles with excitement. As I travel across Ohio meeting with various groups, I am struck by how many people are becoming familiar with the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, and the wisdom of the Founders. Each local organization has its own organizational structure even if it has been patterned after a national model. Each local group has its own emphases and priorities sometimes in accordance with the larger organization, and often in addition to those that are of broader concern. Certainly, the level of activity and the nature of their actions vary widely among the newly-active.


At the risk of engaging in oversimplification, I believe that I can place the members of the Patriot groups, Tea Partiers, Liberty Lobbyists and so forth into four distinct categories: the Discontented; the Dissenters; the Disillusioned; and the Disenfranchised. Not only does each local organization appear to reflect one of these categorical distinctions, but within each local committee, one can find some members who represent the various aspects of the spectrum. The Discontented believe that the political system is generally operating reasonably well, but that on specific issues and certain policy matters, the government (federal, state, or local) has failed to address the concerns of the voters. The Disillusioned suspect that the entire government apparatus at every level has gone haywire, and they fear that it may be too late to restore any level of sanity to our system of self-governing. The Disenfranchised believe that government has become a cudgel of tyranny that is committed to beating the citizenry into submission. The Dissenters represent, in my view, the largest segment of the Patriot movement. They merge their love of country, respect for the Founders and the Documents, with passionate belief that they can ferret out good candidates, support them and restore the nation, state or local community. Generally Dissenters are more optimistic about the future of the Republic than are the other attitudinal categories. In my experience, Dissenters are Republicans who seek to purge the party of RINO’s and liberals. They maintain their allegiance to the GOP while seeking to support candidates who represent the conservative mainstream and the principles associated with conservatism. Some Dissenters have chosen to run for County Central Committee posts in order to assure that the conservative emergence is not short lived.

Many of us who are Libertarian candidates either seek or are offered opportunities to meet with many of the Patriot groups to explain our positions and to engage in informational dialogue with their members. Our assumptions as we encounter the Patriot groups are varied. Some of us go with the idea that all citizens who are disgruntled provide a willing audience for our message of smaller Constitutional government, low taxes and more personal freedom. It is up to us to convince them that Libertarianism is the vehicle for them to express their dissatisfaction. Our anti-tyranny, pro-freedom message should be attractive for the Disenfranchised people. Their angst will find a home in a third party such as ours. The Disillusioned, too, provide an opportunity for Libertarians to acquire some votes and support. They desperately want a new direction of governance that is more citizen oriented—more bottom up.

The Discontented and Dissenters are more problematic for Libertarian candidates. If they have been Democrats and are discouraged with the leftist progressive influence within the party, then they become ripe targets for the Libertarian message. If, on the other hand, the Discontented and Dissenters are within the ranks of the GOP, then their primary focus is to reform and restore the party. A Libertarian candidate who clearly shares their views and their objectives may be considered if he/she is not running for an office that could sway the balance of power between the two old parties. The fact that these four groups are frustrated with the political systems as it presently functions is an advantage for Libertarians, but because this is perceived to be a Republican year due to Democrat overreaching at the federal level, the Discontented and the Dissenters may decide to “stay home,” and thus become more difficult to convince that Libertarianism is in their best interest. Nevertheless, we should engage them all and share our message of liberty.

Comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com

Fighting the Tide

In a column I wrote for another venue (Buckeye Libertarian, LPO.org due in February), I used a beach/tide metaphor to describe the present political environment in the United States. Now that I have become fully infatuated with nautical metaphors, I want to develop another one to illustrate the differences between Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. It’s not a perfect metaphor, but if it were perfect, then it wouldn’t be a metaphor, it would be what is. I once worked with a corporate training company that sought to teach supervisory personnel how to communicate using word pictures. The theory was that some people are visual learners and some retain information better from an auditory source, therefore word pictures should be an effective tool for both of them.


Imagine a small island. We’ll name it Freedom Island, and it sits in the bay a couple of miles from the mainland. It’s a tropical island that is rich in natural resources that are sufficient for everyone to survive and thrive. Some people might think of Freedom Island as utopian because of the bounty that’s available. Others aren’t so sure. They believe that because the residents of Freedom Island have to climb the trees to pick the fruit, to till the rich soil to raise the crops or to hunt and fish for meat, then the island lifestyle is unnecessarily demanding. They whine that not everyone is capable of climbing, farming or hunting with a high level of skill. They complain that some trees are more productive than others. They bemoan the fact that some residents awaken before others in order to acquire the best farmland or fishing hole. They call an island-wide meeting, and insist that all the crops, housing, water and meat be pooled and distributed equally. Fortunately for Freedom Island the true believers in redistribution were few, and their demands were defeated. In a huff, the Complainers decided to leave the island and go to the mainland. They hysterically demanded that “the island” provide them with a boat for the journey, and chose a 16 footer with the only two motors to make the trip. Seeing that they would be left behind without a boat with motors, and feeling some pity for the complainers, another group of residents asked for a boat to follow the Complainers to the mainland. We’ll name them the Followers. Those who remained on the island called themselves “The Doers,” and they wished the others good fortune as they cast off for the journey to the other side.

The Complainers revved the engines wide open as they streaked across the water to the promised land of equality and fairness. The Followers left shortly thereafter with all eight members rowing in unison as they trailed the speeding Complainers. It was an incoming tide to the mainland and both boats made remarkable progress. The Complainers arrived on the mainland and joyfully celebrated their escape from Freedom Island. The mainland was barren and harsh, but everyone there was equal. The Followers were rowing as diligently as they could, but their arms, backs and shoulders were aching. The tide stopped. The waters became calm, and the Followers could go no further. They were halfway between the island and the mainland, and they called for help. Meanwhile, their boat began to leak…slowly sinking into the water. Their cries were more frantic, but the Complainers couldn’t hear them because their joyous celebration drowned out the pleas for help. One Doer on the island shore heard the distant voices and sprang into action. He jumped into the only remaining boat and rowed toward the Followers. He noted as he rowed that the Followers boat continued to slowly drift toward the mainland, but he discerned that their craft would sink before they reached the shore. He rowed on without stopping.

Finally, the diligent Doer reached the Followers’ foundering boat. He helped them into his tiny watercraft. Because the boat would be overloaded, he had them discard their excess baggage. The only gear permitted on the little was the bare essentials. The Doer began to row back to the island as the Followers thankfully expressed their relief about returning to Freedom. It took a long time for the Doer to steer the tiny heavy craft across the bay to Freedom Island, but when they finally arrived, the Followers kissed the soil and exclaimed that they never really wanted to leave. The only reason for their abandoning Freedom Island, they claimed, was because so many other people wanted to go to the mainland. End of story.

Unless you are a complete dolt, you understand that the Complainers are Democrats/ Progressives, the Followers are Republicans/Conservatives and the Doers are Libertarians. Dump the excess baggage. Turn this boat around. Row against the tide for freedom. The left is racing toward a socialist/fascist state while the right is drifting just behind them. The Right doesn’t turn it around. It merely slows down the drift to tyranny. Only by supporting and electing someone whose principles are smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom can we turn the tide. I hope that we aren’t too late. I hope that the boat doesn’t sink before we can save the republic. It’s the principles that matter. The people are incidental.

Please comment or email: cnpearl@woh.rr.com

Branding freedom

Kellyanne Conway made a speech last week that I found very interesting. As an accomplished pollster and poll analyst, she examined the motivations for current voters in various demographic groups. She made one point that really caught my attention, and that observation will be the focus of this column.


“(in the present environment) most consumers are brand loyal but not brand monogamous.”

In other words, we have strong preferences, but occasionally drift outside our circle of comfort. The reasons for aberrations may be many but generally revolve around circumstances that encourage us to alter our usual patterns of purchasing. One such example may be price. If a competing brand of similar quality is demonstrably cheaper than our normal, then we may opt to consume the competitor. Perhaps the unfamiliar brand is a new entry into the market, and we buy it to compare with our traditional one. Possibly, our normal brand is temporarily out of stock, therefore we pick up what, we hope, is a viable stand-in.

So how does Kellyanne’s pithy observation apply to Today’s political scene? Consider the term “brand loyal” to reflect traditional Democrats and Republicans. Voters are generally party-loyal for three primary reasons: Family tradition, the party platform, or personal involvement. But when the brand becomes disagreeable or not up to its expected standards, then the voter may to test another variety. From my own experience I have heard people condemn the unresponsiveness of the two Old Parties. They vote for them because they’re loyal and unsure of the reliability of an “off” brand. Alternate brands, especially Libertarians, must seize the opportunity that massive voter discontent with the two majors has developed. While I am aware that some within the Libertarian Party sneer at those who remain blindly attached to the dying duopoly, it is time to swallow the bile and actively recruit those who may be privately questioning their previous loyalty.

Just as some Democrats jumped the fence and voted for Reagan, so too did some Republicans support Obama. Perhaps in both cases (certainly the present one) they may have felt “burned,” but that sense of betrayal works in our favor because it illustrates the paucity of honor and consistency within the other parties. We can sell our message by emphasizing our long-lasting fealty to the ideal of a smaller government that is faithful to its Constitutional roots. We can emphasize that our commitment to lower taxes will generate more funds for economic activity, and thus create more jobs, more growth and more prosperity. Finally…our greatest brand is freedom. True political and economic freedom isn’t enough. People, citizens, voters must exercise every element of freedom that does not threaten a civil society. They must be allowed to do so without any suggestion of government interference. Polls and anecdotal evidence seem to suggest that a huge number of U.S. voters are willing to hear the Libertarian message. We are tasked to deliver that message of freedom in such a way that our audience believes we care about their well-being, and that we seek victory for our own selfish reasons.

Please comment or respond: cnpearl@woh.rr.com