Coat and Tie Required in the MO LP.
Though it's not the point of the Post-Dispatch article, Jo Mannies points out a certain snobbery, worthy of New England liberals, within the ranks of the good-ol-boy system of the Missouri Libertarian Party.
That lack of clout has prompted the dust-up within Libertarian ranks. Because it had automatic ballot access, anyone could file for Libertarian office this year. So the party ended up with contested primaries on Aug. 3 for several posts, including governor.
State Libertarian Party Chairman Bob Sullentrup said party regulars backed Randall Langkraehr. But he lost in the primary to John Swenson, who Sullentrup calls "an unmitigated embarrassment to the party."
Sullentrup said that Swenson showed up ill-prepared, ill-groomed and "wearing a Hawaiian shirt" at a recent forum with the other governor candidates. Swenson apparently also has no phone, so neither the party nor the press can reach him.
I guess the Hawaiian-shirt crowd isn't welcome to this particular little clique. I own more than five Hawaiian shirts. I despise ties. I already have given orders that nobody is allowed to wear a tie at my funeral, lest I haunt them for all eternity.
Does wearing a Hawaiian shirt disqualify you from office? Hell, no. And it's sure as hell NOT VERY LIBERTARIAN to imply that it does!
posted by The Last American at 8:59:00 AM
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2 Comments:
The MO LP has always been hit a little with the hypocrisy stick. There are a lot of well meaning people in it, but there are also a lot of people more interested in running a fringe party than in doing anything to really expand liberty. On the other hand, there have also always been plenty of Libertarians who thought showing up in a Hawaiian shirt (or needing a bath or whatever) was a good way to woo voters.
Good points, guys. It's not just the MO LP. The National LP is the same way, as evidenced in the LP News and on CSPAN during convention coverage/etc. I'm sick of all these little pissing contests within the party to determine who is more Libertarian. Who cares if Neal Boortz is a hawk? So am I. You don't try to prevent a wildly sucessful radio talk show host from speaking at our convention. We need all the access to the masses we can get. We can't afford to run some of these people out of the party because they agreed with Bush on the war... We're all basically pro-freedom, pro-capitalism, and pro-individual rights. Let's get on with the business of promoting freedom and building the party. If we can't make that transition, we will never get anywhere politically.
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