Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an ailment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency.
James Madison, Federalist 10
4th president of US (1751 - 1836)
I love this quote. It is simple and to the point and is part and party to my proposal. As most of you are aware that have read my column, I am a big fan of the life's work and astounding collection of written and living political philosophy that Is Dr. Ron Paul.
I have been reading a lot of articles on where the Ron Paul movement should go from here. Many of them are kind of fatalistic others are just one person's perspective but instructional to read just to know how many people are thinking on this subject.
What is obvious to me at least is this was not just a Libertarian or Conservative Republican movement. While both of these groups have strong Liberty Factions they do not have a corner on the market so to speak. I think what must happen is that the various Liberty Factions that came together in this effort around the election to President of Congressman Ron Paul should remain engaged.
They all have more common ground than they have differences. If there is no strong majority represented by the third parties as is evident from the voter turnout then the various party Liberty Factions must engage and coordinate our efforts with no regard for party affiliation.
We have a strong central source for our ideas already present and it is not Dr. Paul but in fact it is the US Constitution and our Bill of Rights. I must admit that an education in the Federalist Papers is important to understand the signer's intent to further guide our discussion and actions but everyone that is reading from the same page in the American Revolution should all be solidly behind each other no matter the party they belong to.
I propose that this effort be carefully and consciously reformed into an Alliance of Liberty Factions, or an "Alliance of Liberty Factions Political Action Committee" or ALFPAC. The Alliance of Liberty Factions charter should read something like this "Refer to the US Constitution and Bill of Rights for a copy of our Charter". Or some such plainly clear message of origin of this Revolutionary thinking.
Thumbs up to second this proposal. (edited on 6.30.08)
©2008 Michael McDonnough, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Last modified: Monday, June 30, 2008
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Will Pitts
Date: 2008-06-25 13:35:43
We are off to the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida www.rlcfl.org
About the Republican Liberty Caucus
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) of Florida is a grassroots, Republican caucus affiliated with the national RLC, founded in 1990. The RLC of Florida is governed by an elected board with members representing all regions of the state. We promote libertarian principles and policy ideas to and through the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF).
We believe that every individual is endowed with inherent rights to life, liberty and property that are properly secured by law. We support the protection of individual rights, a limited Constitutional government and free enterprise.
We encourage active member participation in the local Republican Party clubs and Republican Executive Committees. We offer educational speakers and literature to these and other civic groups in order to promote these ideals.
The RLC network has regular meetings in most areas of the state, coordinated online through Meetup.com and member communications. We provide news and support through the RLCFL.org website, our statewide online discussion group and local meetings. In addition to activism and education, RLC members actively work to assist Republican candidates at both THE state and local level. www.RLCFL.org
Posted By: Ed. Chevalier
Date: 2008-06-26 10:54:13Message for Michael McDonnough. Michael, Your recent article regards Liberty Factions United Political Action Committee is fabulous. However I believe a change in word set up is in order. How about LUFPAC in the place of LFUPAC as you title now stands. Great article and I agree with you !00%.
Posted By: rico
Date: 2008-06-26 16:43:23"united we stand"are just words! If we unite, the revolution will become a force!
Posted By: Michael McDonnough
Date: 2008-06-26 17:16:51Dear Ed, I am glad you liked the article but I do not see how Liberty United Factions would work. The words Liberty and Faction I think should run together. Certainly LUFPAC sounds better but it does not read right to me at least. Thanks for the input it is appreciated.
Posted By: Servando Gonzalez
Date: 2008-06-28 18:59:34I like the idea, but not the name. As the Madison quote clearly expresses, liberty implies different opinons and ideas, that is, factions. So, using the two words in the name is redundant.
But the idea is so good that it deserves a more appealing name. Let's think!
Servando
Posted By: Michael McDonnough
Date: 2008-06-30 10:41:37I would be happy to read a better name than this one. I am not in love with the name but I am enamored of the concept. If you have a suggestion that is as clear and to the point please post it here and share it.
Liberty oriented factions are within every political party. What is lacking is a cohesive force like a political action comittee that can direct and channel resources to all of them and cooridinate action among the various Liberty Factions within the various political parties. Alliance is a word that is common among very different groups unified under a central cause and in this case it is liberty. I do not see what 3 other words in the English language will serve better in this case than "Liberty Factions Alliance". The other one though "Liberty Factions United" I really do not like as much as it sounds too much like union which has some historical baggage to say the least.
For me I think "Alliance of Liberty Factions Political Action Committee", or ALFPAC. is a good one ALFPAC,. I like it. :-)
Posted By: Michael McDonnough
Date: 2008-06-30 10:53:21So as not to confuse everyone I am posting this comment to let new readers know that I edited this article on 6.30.08 to highlight my favorite name for the orginization that I am proposing. ALFPAC.
Posted By: Larry
Date: 2008-08-14 14:07:29OK fine. All of us factions agree that we need to stick together and keep in touch. Maybe even do something about becoming a force for something good, like restoring constitutional government. I just registered a web address with this very idea in mind. Anyone interested in helping with the details - Mission statement, execution strategy, fundraising, communications, etc, etc, etc. Get in touch with me here:
[link edited for length]
As you know, the liberty tree was a place where colonists met in the 1760's to publicly discuss their strategies for dealing with the tyrannical British, their version of our present-day government. Each town had one. Mine is meant to unite the entire country.