The new LNC chairman to be elected this later this month should not also be a candidate for president. by Steve Kubby
(libertarian)
Sunday, May 9, 2010
When questioned about a potential candidacy for the presidency of the United States, General William Tecumseh Sherman replied in a manner quoted (and misquoted -- there are several versions) to this day. My favorite distillation of his reply:
"If nominated, I will not accept; if drafted, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve."
Sherman had good reasons for replying that way. He didn't trust politicians, even though his own brother was a US Senator. He blamed politicians for starting the war which had made him famous, and for causing that war to drag out for four years at the cost of more than 600,000 lives. He had a job, he was happy with that job, and he didn't want a different job.
Later this month, the Libertarian Party's national convention delegates will convene just down the street from Sherman's grave in St. Louis. At that convention, they'll elect a new Libertarian National Committee.
Those delegates deserve a pre-emptive pledge, very similar to Sherman's, from candidates for election as the next chair of that LNC.
At least two of those candidates sought the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination in 2008.
At least one of those two candidates subsequently wrote and published a book that looked an awful lot like a 2012 campaign book, and held himself out in the media as a 2012 presidential candidate, before deciding to run for chair instead.
Both of those candidates have been asked about 2012. One has unequivocally disclaimed his intent to run. The other has been less adamant, and has promised to take a "leave of absence" from the chairmanship if he runs for president.
This is an issue on which no room should be left for doubt.
The LP's members need to know that their chair is focused on being a good chair, not on garnering the 2012 presidential nomination.
The LP's activists need to have confidence that their national committee and staff is there to support their work, not to enhance the chair's presidential nomination prospects.
This shouldn't be a big deal. And it doesn't have to be. The candidates for chair can take it off the table in a hot minute by signing on to the following pledge: "I will not seek the Libertarian Party's 2012 presidential nomination. If nominated, I will not accept; if drafted, I will not run; if elected I will not serve."
If every candidate for the position of chair publicly states that position, it becomes a non-issue.
If a candidate for the position of chair refuses to so state, the reasons why should be fairly obvious.
And if a candidate takes the pledge and breaks it, that will constitute a big character and honesty issue in his presidential nomination campaign.
I ask each of the candidates for chair to publicly make this unequivocal statement, and I urge the delegates to the national convention to support only candidates who have done so.
Yours in liberty, Steve Kubby
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Posted By: George Phillies
Date: May 9, 2010 12:42:45 PM
I am not running for President in 2012. Period. Full Stop.
My fellow Libertarians can ask me to run, they can draft me to run, but I will not accept the nomination.
More important, this time find a candidate who is a long time Libertarian, who declares well in advance, and who has a technically competent nominating campaign that actually has a good amount of money and that does things. Among our declared candidates, assume that what you saw leading up to the convention is what you will get afterward. If you are lucky.
Posted By: Mark WA Hinkle
Date: May 10, 2010 10:57:44 PM
I fully support this statement and you may publish it as you see fit.
It's a huge conflict of interest for anyone in the LP Chair's position to seek either the Presidential or Vice-Presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. It would put any paid LP HQ staff in a very awkward position. And it could have a detrimental impact on even some of our vendors.
The job of LP Chair and the job of the LP Presidential candidate are two very different jobs and require very different skill sets.
Even though I've run for office 8 times, I know my strengths are strongest in an Executive role. I've been a manager in the hi-tech world at two companies, I'm currently the owner of my own business, and have served as LP Chair of California for 6 years.
Frankly, giving essentially the same speech for months on end while seeking a presidential nomination and the sub-sequential presidential race would bore me to tears. And if I were gone that long on the campaign trail, my wife would probably divorce me as well. No thanks.
Yours in liberty..................Mark Hinkle,
Candidate for LP Chair
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