The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Third Quarter 2022 Report to the Libertarian National Committee

 

The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Third Quarter 2022 Report to the Libertarian National Committee

By Tim Krenz

October 26, 2022

Copyright 2022 © Libertarian Party of Wisconsin

The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin (LPWI) in the months of July, August, and September 2022 moved “FORWARD,” like the State of Wisconsin’s official motto encourages everyone to do. As election day approaches on November 8^th, our state party chair, Jacob VandenPlas, steps tantalizingly closer to pulling over an epic upset victory to unseat an incumbent in the state’s Eighth US Congressional District. VandenPlas’ campaign stands the greatest chance since Ed Thompson’s Wisconsin governor’s race in 2002 for a Libertarian Party member anywhere to significantly impact politics for the cause of libertarianism. Apart from the LPWI’s other active and promising campaigns, both Neil Harmon’s race for Secretary of State to achieve ballot access (1% minimum of the vote) and Carl Hutton’s race for Assembly, all eyes and all efforts aim at achieving what has never happened in the United States, with the VandenPlas campaign: A Libertarian Party victory sending a Congressperson to Washington, D.C.

As all three active campaigns show, in the hard work by candidates, having the Libertarian Party message as the clarion’s call to peace and prosperity for all, and with the help of Party members and campaign volunteers and resources, success at the level of engagement possible with voters brings positive, measurable, and achievable results. No matter the results this coming election day, the LPWI can use the success of these campaigns to build around the four key elements of Libertarian victories that we always knew necessary for long-term success. These elements—party membership, local affiliates, fund raising, and more and more active campaigns—remain the four foundational cornerstones for the unofficial mission statement, to “implement the LPWI platform” in the state of Wisconsin. In 2022, the current campaigns will serve more than anything else can possibly do to strengthen those foundations for going FORWARD.

In terms of the Party’s hard work and the work by the individual members, the Convention Committee, under the able and hardworking Nathan Gall, has gone far into its planning season for another stellar, and professionally organized, annual membership convention in the spring of 2023, this time in the City of Milwaukee. Well-supported and well-staffed by Party volunteers, the Convention Committee has under consideration new wrinkles for the next convention, to make it even more useful and user-friendly for the Party membership to register, and for all participants to take away from the convention the tool sets and connections needed for individual participation in long-term Party activism.

Another active and well-staffed committee, the LPWI’s Communications Committee (COM-COM) under the sound leadership of Michael Schisel, meets monthly on-line, and has put together two event kits for use by affiliates and individual members, all filled with banners, pamphlets, swag, and other attractive LP memorabilia, in order to promote the LPWI and to attract more voters to our cause, or even turn prospective members into full members.

The Communications Committee also oversees the monthly emailed newsletter, the LPWIre, well-edited and well-done by Kevin Litten. Sent to our Party mailing list, an average of around 400 recipients open and engage in some way with the newsletter every issue. A quality product, describing the news and views of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, the steady and consistent newsletter does much to enhance and edify the Party members and other supporters.

The Press Media Sub-Committee of the COM-COM, continues to write media materials for the major media in Wisconsin. Either sending narratives, fact sheets, position statements, or opinion pieces, the Press Media portion of the LPWI’s efforts have received some notice, including posting on the popular news website Wispolitics.com . As an archive and party resource, the Press Media started posting on its Blog created last summer, at https://presslpwi.blogspot.com/ . Party members can view and comment with feedback on the LPWI media materials on the Blog site. Since August, the Press Media Sub-Committee has also actively helped the VandenPlas campaign, with the writing of releases and the preparation of other media materials.

For the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin affiliates, the LPDaneCounty hosted its annual Harvest Fest activities on the steps of the State Capitol this fall. Activists in the Madison area, notably Chris Nass, put great effort with genuine great results in this awareness activity that promotes, specifically, the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin. As always, not to give short notice to other affiliates, like with the LP Fox Valley’s campaign-support activism this season, the LPDaneCounty deserves special mention for their year-in and year-out efforts with the Harvest Fest program for the LPWI.

Finally, in the third quarter of 2022, LPWI Treasurer Anna Bughman continues to answer above and beyond the call of her position. Besides managing the party finances, Anna has done a significant amount of data cleanup on the approximately 190 members of the state Party, and verifying the contact data, involvement, and current status of the existing membership. Furthermore, she fields new members and coordinates with them, through a welcome message or phone call, the outreach needed to put them in contact with local affiliates or local members in their diverse areas of Wisconsin.

Much work remains for the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, after the November 8^th elections. In all, as in the heady and exciting days of Ed Thompson’s historic 2002 election results, in which the party gained admission to the then-Wisconsin Elections Board with his 10.5% of the popular vote, 2022 portends great progress for the Libertarian Party in Wisconsin—heading into 2023. Challenges remain to take the Party to the next level—among them finding and including more diverse membership among the libertarian sympathizers in the state; building a broader and more encompassing affiliate program; raising more revenue to support expanded activism; and planning and preparing more winning campaigns in 2023 and 2024 (non-partisan and partisan offices, in both spring and fall). Our future looks promising. Through diligent work by part-time volunteers, competent management by trusted servants, and inspiring leadership from everyone at every level in the Party, moving ahead can bring greater results. The secret ingredients, UNITY and hard work, will carry us toward where we belong in Wisconsin—FORWARD.

Respectfully submitted by:

Tim Krenz

LPWI Press Secretary

Libertarian VandenPlas Decries Ukraine War Escalations-- “People want Peace!”

 

Libertarian Party of Wisconsin

Press Secretary—Tim Krenz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 17, 2022

Libertarian VandenPlas Decries Ukraine War Escalations-- “People want Peace!”

Green Bay, WI—“Governments want war. Politicians want war. People want peace and prosperity,” Jacob VandenPlas, Libertarian candidate for US Congress, announced this week, concerning the dangerous rhetoric and threats of destructive escalations made recently about the Russo-Ukraine War by the involved international actors. VandenPlas runs for Wisconsin’s 8^th US Congress District, a seat currently held by the Republican incumbent, Michael Gallagher.

As the war in eastern Europe reaches late into the year, and as Russia mobilizes even more under counter-attack by Western-backed Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has even raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons if Russian territory, or Russian-controlled territory, comes under attack. With the stirrings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) possibly offering membership or security guarantees to Ukraine, which would make a nuclear assault against Ukraine an attack against all of NATO, including the United States, the situation has become fraught with dangers of a global cataclysm.

“In the introduction of Ukraine to NATO, another inflammatory step toward a global escalation of the war would be taken,” continued VandenPlas. “It would include the possibility of global nuclear war.”

As the Libertarian Party candidate, VandenPlas, like all other party members, signed a pledge to renounce the initiation of violence to solve political differences. As a two-tour veteran of the Wisconsin Army National Guard in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, VandenPlas believes that individuals have the absolute right to keep and bear arms and for defense of self and family. On the other hand, the world must find better, community-based ways of achieving peaceful cooperation.

What President Eisenhower described in 1960 as the Military-Industrial-Legislative Complex (MIL Complex) receives regular support in the speeches and votes of the incumbent, Congressman Michael Gallagher. The global MIL Complex, totally supported by the elite Establishment of the two-major party system, spends several trillion dollar equivalents world-wide every year, in pursuit of war or war-like policies, policies that would by deliberate act or accident lead to total destruction of the earth, something called Omnicide.

For more on the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin and its candidates, please visit www.lpwi.org .