Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Carla Howell, LP Executive Director, Tells Sam Sloan All Libertarian Party Presidential Candidates Now Need The Approval Of 5 LNC Members To Be Listed At LP.ORG

There are four published criteria for declared Libertarian Party Presidential Candidates to be listed on the national party's website at lp.org. These are:

•Filed to run for president with the F.E.C. as a Libertarian
•Seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party exclusively
•Dues-paying member of the National Libertarian Party
•Campaign website is current with contact information

Sam Sloan, a declared Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate who was runner-up for the New York State Libertarian Party's Gubernatorial Nomination in 2010, has met all four conditions and is still not listed at lp.org. Mr. Sloan filed FEC Form 1 and FEC Form 2 to run for President with his party affiliation being Libertarian. He is seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party exclusively. He has been a dues-paying member of the National Libertarian Party and has been registered to vote as a Libertarian Party member in California for over six years. Finally, he has a campaign website with current contact information.

This information was forwarded to national and after two days passing without his being listed as a Presidential Candidate, Mr. Sloan wrote them an e-mail in which he said:

I am still not listed as a Libertarian Party Candidate for President on the lp.org website.

Kindly explain why I am not listed?

On January 24, 2012, Carla Howell, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party, wrote Mr. Sloan back with an explanation, which included new hurdles that have been established to keep only "acceptable" candidates listed on the website. Ms. Howell wrote:

All presidential candidates must obtain the approval of at least five LNC members to be listed at the lp.org web site. I will forward your request to them today to inform them that you are seeking such approval.

If and when we receive five approvals, we will immediately post your name at our web site.

Thank you for your interest.

Sam Sloan was contacted for his reaction to this new listing barrier. He said:

The Libertarian National Committee has an obligation to be neutral when it comes to party members seeking the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination. It is fine for the webmaster to put up a disclaimer saying the views of the various candidates do not necessarily reflect the views of the party but it is totally inappropriate to list only those candidates who five LNC members believe should be listed. If the LNC unites around Gary Johnson, would it be appropriate to only list his name on the website? Of course not!

It is the delegates who decide who should receive the nomination of the Libertarian Party. All candidates should have the opportunity to be listed on the national party's website so all Libertarian Party members can read their various positions on the issues and decide for themselves who to support. The LP should not be in the business of only listing "approved" candidates or those with "insider" support.

The Libertarian Party loses the moral high ground when they continue to seek to exclude candidates they don't like. The LNC first set objective criteria and when I met all their conditions for being listed, they then set up a new subjective barrier no candidate can possibly meet. How will LNC members decide whether I should be listed? Will it be based on my ideological purity? Will it be based on whether I might be an embarrassment to the LP because I support decriminalizing polygamy? Will I not be listed because some think Muslims can't be Libertarians or because I sued the New York State Libertarian Party for the serious improprieties I observed during the 2010 gubernatorial nominating process?

Well, you get my point. The front runner for the Libertarian Party's Presidential Nomination is Gary Johnson, someone who was excluded from the Republican Presidential Debates for not meeting certain standards and now the Libertarian Party seeks to exclude legitimate, announced candidates for the Libertarian Party Presidential Nomination and to deny them a fair chance to reach LP members. I have also just learned that many state affiliates intend to exclude from upcoming Libertarian Presidential Debates those candidates not listed at lp.org. This is a great injustice to all Libertarian Party members. 

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