Before January 24, 2012, Libertarian Party Presidential Candidates needed to meet the following criteria to be listed on the national party's website:
•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
Carla Howell refused to list Sam Sloan and Mosheh Thezion despite their having met all four conditions. Mr. Sloan received as e-mail from Ms. Howell telling him he needed to meet another unpublished criterion, that being approval from 5 Libertarian National Committee members. Suspecting Ms. Howell just made up the additional condition to keep him off the website, Mr. Sloan demanded she release the names of those LNC members who voted for the listed candidates. In response, the website was updated on January 24, 2012 to add the following criterion:
•Obtained the approval of five members of the Libertarian National Committee. Until February 3, 2012, exception is granted to candidates who met prior approval requirements and were posted at this web site. After this date, all listed candidates must have obtained the approval of five LNC members.
Sam Sloan reported:
I met prior approval requirements and my name was listed at lp.org as a Libertarian Presidential Candidate. Then after my support for the decriminalization of polygamy was published, my name was taken down. I demand my name be re-listed pursuant to the new published rules that say "an exception is granted to candidates who met prior approval requirements and were posted at this web site". Refusal to immediately restore my name to the list will only further expose the fact that the LP Leadership is not neutral as it should be but is in the business of giving certain "approved" candidates with "insider" support an advantage over others seeking the nomination.
The lp.org website also now announces two additional qualifications that will take effect as follows:
•As reported at the web site of the Federal Elections Commission, candidates must have raised and reported donations of a minimum of $2,500 raised through February 29, 2012. Donations may not include those made by candidate or his/her immediately family members.
•As reported at the web site of the Federal Elections Commission, candidates must have raised and reported donations of a minimum of $5,000 raised through March 31, 2012. Donations may not include those made by candidate or his/her immediately family members.
Sam Sloan, an announced Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate, said:
I think it is outrageous that in order to be listed as a Libertarian Presidential Candidate at lp.org, candidates will not only have to be "approved" by "insiders" in the leadership but will also need to spend their time soliciting donations to be considered a serious candidate. I recognize how difficult it is to solicit donations. That is why it has been my intention to finance my own candidacy until I win the Libertarian Party Presidential Nomination. At that point, I expect I will be able to raise the funds I need to run a vibrant and active campaign for the Presidency.
I want to spend all my time attending State Affiliate Conventions, participating in debates and seeking the support of potential delegates. If my message resonates with the delegates and I get the Presidential Nomination, raising money will be a lot easier than it would be now. In addition, by financing my own campaign at this point, LP members can be saved from expending funds they may not have. I'd rather they donate that money to whomever is the eventual nominee. That would be a better use of those campaign contributions.
To deny Libertarian Party members the opportunity to see my name on the national LP website and to visit my website and read my platform takes away vital information the membership and delegates need to make up their own minds about who to support. Shortcutting that process by establishing these new barriers to being listed helps those candidates who have the support of those in the leadership. In this case, I suspect that person is Gary Johnson. I'd like to believe that a pure, ideological libertarian like myself has a chance to snatch the nomination away from yet another former Republican Party elected official and, in this case, a bitter Johnson-come-lately who only came to the Libertarian Party because he himself was frozen out of the Republican Presidential Debates due to another list of criteria he could not meet. I do not want to be frozen out.
I am not ashamed to proudly proclaim my Libertarian Philosophy. Dr. Tom Stevens, former LPUS Judicial Committee Member 2006-2010, has often told me, "We must never compromise our Libertarian Principles for short-term popularity. We must never be embarrassed about promoting Libertarian Perspectives on Public Policy Issues. We must never water down our message or people won't know what we stand for". I am in complete agreement with him.
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