You are reading an ARCHIVED ARTICLE. Wednesday 08th of September 2010 8:00:12 pm
Publication date: May 23 2008
Beyond Politics
Mike Ferguson – Opening Speech of the 2008 Libertarian National Convention
I understand the importance of events like this and the importance of what Michelle, Bette and the rest of the volunteer team have done for us – they deserve a round of applause for their dedication and efforts.
I love Libertarian conventions. It's exciting and all too rare to be surrounded by people who share the common beliefs in the principles of:
Individual rights
Economic freedom
Limited, Constitutional government and,
Most importantly, the hope for America that things can get better and in the belief that we can be a part of making things better.
Having said that, let's go ahead and address what's on the mind of many of us as we head into this convention. It's no secret that this convention will be full of energetic debate and some disagreement over direction, strategy and some political issues.
Let's put this in context.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that. In fact, a robust exchange of ideas should be welcome in the political party that embraces the diversity of thought that comes with freedom of thought and speech.
As we work through the issues and hear from the candidates I think it's important to remember that, in the end, we all want a better society and a stronger country that can only be realized with less government and more freedom.
I hope we make it a point to keep disagreements civil and maintain respect for each other as people and as libertarians.
Disagreements over long-term strategy are growing pains and, fortunately, you only have growing pains when you are…growing.
It is crucial that we work through the differences of opinion and avoid party factions as much as we can because freedom cannot wait and we need to be focused on reclaiming it.
We are in a position to have a real impact on American politics this year in a way that we have never been able to before. We owe it to ourselves to remember how far we've come.
Never have we seen multiple Libertarian Presidential candidates get the media coverage we've witnessed in this race. That means several Libertarian candidates have hit the radio airwaves, television airwaves, online media and traditional newspapers – reaching millions of people – with the libertarian perspective!
It's exciting.
Disagreements over issues, candidates and strategy have happened in the past.
Disagreements are taking place now and, guess what?
Disagreements are going to happen in the Libertarian Party next year, and the year after that and the year after that. That means we have people who feel passionately about freedom and have different ideas on how we should approach the effort to reclaim it.
Every large organization has disagreements that come from having people with a variety of points of view involved. I know I don't want to be part of a party that is intellectually homogenous – we are a party of individuals with individual talents, strengths and views.
Let's make it a point to harness the energy of our discourse and, once again, grow larger and stronger…because there are literally hundreds of thousands of people in America who are ready to consider the Libertarian Party as the two larger parties continue to alienate people of all ages, races, incomes and viewpoints.
No one person, or candidate, will pass everyone's individual litmus test, but almost everyone has something to offer the cause of freedom…and that's why we are here in Denver this weekend.
I'll talk about that in more depth shortly. Right now, though, I need to take care of something else.
When I was asked to provide the convention's opening speech, I started working on the address that I hope will be worthy of an event like this.
So, I have been carefully studying the campaign and other political speeches of the Democrats and Republicans in order to pick up some pointers.
It turns out that there are some key phrases that I need to use in order to make this a successful political speech. They must be necessary, because I've heard them over and over again.
I've learned these from the Democrats and the Republicans and, with your indulgence, I'd like to go ahead and get them out of the way right now.
(Blue) It's for the future of America…the children.
(Red) It's time to protect the family and restore our values
(Blue) Working families are depending on us!
(Red) We can't surrender to the enemy!
(Blue) Yes we can!
That you for your patience – I hope you're inspired already.
As Bob just mentioned, I've been fortunate enough to be both elected and appointed to local office in Missouri.
Since first getting involved with the Libertarian Party 13 years ago, I've worked on many campaigns. As many – if not most – of you know, campaigns are fun, exciting, exhausting but well worth the effort in one way or another.
I learned something from each and every campaign and from every issue I worked with others on.
In 2007, all those learning experiences, tiring efforts and occasional frustrating moments were overshadowed when the results popped up on the computer screen and confirmed that I had been elected to local public office in Jackson County.
I was in a two-way race and I received 72 percent of the vote.
Several of my Libertarian friends, including Kansas LP Chair Rob Hodgkinson and Cass County, Missouri LP Chair Mike Hurley, were there. We finally got to celebrate a win on election night…instead of just feeling content that we'd done all we could and made our point.
David White, a long-time LP member and award-winning activist from Cass County commented to me that he had been to a number of election night watch gatherings, but had not been to a Libertarian one where we won.
With so much attention lately being placed on our current internal debates, we may be losing sight on some very exciting things that are happening in our party right now – Libertarians are getting elected to local office more and more.
In fact, in Missouri in 2007 – we ran five candidates for local offices in the April elections. Three of them won! I don't know about you, but I think our potential as a party is limitless when we win 60 percent of our races at one point.
More members of our party are getting to feel the excitement of seeing their name on the vote total chart…alongside the biggest number of votes.
My friends, that's an experience that too many qualified Libertarians are still missing out on and I think it's about time we change that!
We need to change that not just because we want to win, but because our communities and our nation deserve public servants and leaders who are dedicated to reducing the expense and intrusion of government at all levels.
We need activists and candidates who are prepared to make positive changes happen at all levels of office.
It's easy to focus only on the hot-button, emotional and partisan issues of the day…and those certainly impact us all and deserve our attention.
World affairs and national issues are worthy causes – of course – but so is your back yard, so to speak.
The less-debated but still important aspects of government, like local taxes and spending, infrastructure and planning must also be impacted by libertarian principles.
These issues, while not as dramatic as the debates on Capitol Hill, also deal with the fiscal responsibility of government and the rights of people and businesses.
Right now, I serve in two appointed positions: Grandview's Transportation Committee, of which I'm chair, and our Planning Commission. The elected position I'm in is on the board of directors of the local water district's.
In these roles, I don't deal with the issues in the headlines, although I track them carefully and am ready to do what I can to hold government accountable on them.
These offices require that I spend a lot of time reading about water lines, flood plains, fire codes, accident rates, emergency response times and a host of other issues like these.
I know what you're thinking: Mike must not date much.
…and, you're right, but that's another story.
No, I'm not going to change people's minds on the War in Iraq or on taxes or on health care in these roles, but I am now in a position to vote on matters that directly affect – in other ways – the lives and pocketbooks of those in my community…just like the many other elected and appointed Libertarians who are serving in office.
What we do may mot make the headlines, but it does have an impact.
My hope is that even more of us get involved in local government. The fact is that local campaigns and offices are the best opportunity we have to put our principles into practice and prove that freedom-based solutions work!
These are our best opportunities because this is where we can move beyond talking about what should be done and work to get it done.
For those of you who have, or are now running for local office, I say "thank you!"
For the rest of us, I ask "why not?"
In 2004, I was the Libertarian Party's nominee for Missouri Lieutenant Governor and I was lucky to have our then newly-picked Presidential nominee, Michael Badnarik at my campaign kick-off event.
During his speech he said something that stuck with me when he pointed out that:
Everyone wants our economy to improve and for our communities and nation to be a better place.
Most people want to reclaim our economic and personal freedoms.
It's just that…so many people look to those around them and ask "hey, when are you going to do that for me?"
Michael's right about that. The good news is that the fact the you are here today shows that you are ready to answer that question by saying "Right now!"
We are ready to tell others that we are ready to work for their freedom, even if they aren't.
Running for winnable local office is a great place to take up our cause and spread the message of liberty.
If you are ready to run for office, ask yourself this very important question: why are you running?
Are you running to protest big government or some specific infringement of our rights?
Are you running to educate the public about the libertarian viewpoint?
Are you running to build a resume as a credible candidate for higher office later?
Are you running to build the Libertarian Party?
I hope not.
At least I hope these aren't your primary reasons.
Obviously, each one of these is a wonderful objective and I hope you accomplish some or even all of them during your campaign.
Run for office for one more basic reason: because you care about the people in your community and your nation.
Run for office because you care about the lives of your family, your friends and your neighbors.
Run for office because personal and economic freedom is the solution to the problems that directly impact you and those you care about.
Run for office because we know that reducing regulations on businesses and lowering taxes on businesses helps create jobs and that makes people's lives better.
Run for office because complete freedom of choice in education improves the quality of education and strengthens the workforce through the free market and that makes people's lives better.
Run for office because lowering income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes and other taxes allows families to better provide for themselves, allows them to better support local businesses and allows communities to prosper through freedom, and that makes people's lives better.
Run for local office because private charity and our churches and synagogues help those in need faster and far better than any government bureaucracy will ever be able to.
We know that privatizing assistance programs takes a burden off taxpayers and frees local charities and churches to reach out to those in need and allows those in need to benefit from the full support of others instead of having that help watered-down and delayed by governmental restrictions.
Run for office because we know that government does not create jobs and prosperity…freedom does and people's lives are better when the principles we hold dear are put into real, tangible practice.
Of course…when running for office – run to win!
The point of being a candidate for office is to hopefully put another freedom-oriented person in the position to make a difference.
Talking about freedom on the campaign trail is important, but it's more important to be in the position to vote for freedom in public office.
Running to educate and make a point isn't enough. Running a credible campaign to win means you might find yourself in a position to:
Represent the best interests of your community by fighting tax increases and actually voting against them, instead of trying to convince others to vote against them.
You could also find yourself in a position to stop onerous regulations before they are enacted.
Property rights, for example, can only be consistently and effectively preserved when we have libertarians in office.
Our communities need Libertarians in local office.
Don't misunderstand me: we need good, presentable, credible candidates at the statewide and federal level, too.
These are the people who are charged with representing the Libertarian Party to the public – a public that is hungry for new ideas right now – and to the media on a large scale.
Statewide and federal candidates are also often the people who usually obtain, or retain, ballot access for us – which impacts both down-ticket, local candidates and our Presidential ticket.
These candidates deserve our support. I can tell you from experience that running for statewide office is not easy. These are the messengers of liberty and they are the ones who often convince independents, disgruntled Republicans and frustrated Democrats to give us a chance.
Many Americans aren't just open to finding a new political home, they are actively looking for one…with good reason!
More Americans are fed up enough with the direction those in office are taking us to get involved in the political process for the first time.
As we all know, over the past year and a half, we've seen a new wave of people stepping up and taking action to support our Constitution and the ideals of limited government, lower taxes and a foreign policy that stops trying to police the world.
To those, inside the Libertarian Party and out, in the Ron Paul Revolution, well done!
No, Congressman Paul will not be a nominee for President but make no mistake about it: he, his campaign and you had an impact.
Now it's time to look forward and continue the effort that is already underway…the effort you joined and worked for. The effort the Libertarian Party is dedicated to: better government through less government and a better nation through personal and economic freedom!
My friends, you have a home right here in the LP, the only party that actually had the courage to nominate Dr. Paul for President.
You may ask why it's so important for you to stay involved and do so in the Libertarian Party.
It's because we have the solutions to the challenges that America faces today.
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