Sunday, November 15, 2009

Objectivist Party Governing Board Extends Free Membership Through December 31, 2010

On November 15, 2009, the Governing Board of the Objectivist Party voted unanimously to extend free membership in the Objectivist Party through December 31, 2010.

The text of the motion that passed was the following:

MOTION: that membership in the Objectivist Party from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010 be free; that the Objectivist Party Chair be authorized to receive applications for membership in the Objectivist Party, which shall consist of a person's full name & address, e-mail address and contact phone number (cell, home or business); that the Objectivist Party Chair be empowered to grant memberships, assign membership numbers and terminate memberships "without cause"; and that individuals accepted into membership in the Objectivist Party shall be considered both members of the Objectivist Party and members of any chartered affiliate in the geographic location in which they reside; and that all individuals who were members of the Objectivist Party on December 31, 2009 have their memberships automatically extended through December 31, 2010.

Dr. Tom Stevens, Jonathan Damgaard Jakobsen, Dodge P. Landesman and Dallwyn Merck all voted in favor of the motion. All appropriate notations have been made at the party's website.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Dr. Tom Stevens Renews Membership In Republican Liberty Caucus

On November 5, 2009, Dr. Tom Stevens renewed his membership in the Republican Liberty Caucus, a national organization of liberty-minded and libertarian-oriented members of the Republican Party. New York State does not yet allow voters to register Objectivist so Dr. Stevens remains a registered Republican for the time being.

The Statement of Principles of the Republican Liberty Caucus is the following:

The Republican Liberty Caucus supports individual rights, limited government and free enterprise.

We believe every human being is endowed by nature with inherent rights to life, liberty and property that are properly secured by law. We support a strict construction of the Bill of Rights as a defense against tyranny; the expansion of those rights to all voluntary consensual conduct under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments; and the requirements of equal protection and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.

We support the Constitutional restrictions on federal government powers enumerated in Article I, Section 8 as an absolute limit on all government functions and programs. We oppose the adoption of broad and vague powers under the guise of general welfare or interstate commerce.

We oppose all restrictions on the voluntary and honest exchange of value in a free market. We favor minimal, equitable, and fair taxation for the essential functions of government. We oppose all legislation that concedes Congressional power to any regulatory agency, executive department, or international body.

We support the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, the republican form of government it requires, and the right of all citizens to fair and equitable representation.

We believe these are also the proper positions of the Republican Party.

Dr. Stevens does not believe the Republican Liberty Caucus will succeed in taking over the Republican Party from social conservatives from within but he supports its efforts to run pro-liberty candidates for office in Republican Primary Elections.