Free the Vote North Carolina http://ow.ly/7gKPd
Free the Vote North Carolina is a non-partisan political action committee dedicated to protecting freedom of speech, association and the right to vote of every North Carolinian through education, research, outreach and legislative advocacy. It is our goal to ensure that North Carolina gives the people an equal and fair chance to be represented at the polls by promoting electoral reforms that will provide equal access to the election ballot to all political parties and unaffiliated candidates in order to end voter discrimination based on political affiliation in North Carolina.
From the Lee Wrights…
US Constitution Day Resolution – 2011
“Every word of a constitution is the difference between power and freedom.”- James Madison
by R. Lee Wrights
BURNET, Texas (Aug. 29) – Taking a break from the campaign, let me offer an idea for consideration by local Libertarian Party affiliates. I offer this not as a Wrights 2012 campaign initiative, but simply as something that has been successfully used by Libertarian Party groups for promoting libertarian ideals. Not all Libertarian Party activism needs to be political actions or campaign activities. Often we can more easily and more effectively promote the libertarian message of individual liberty and personal responsibility by simply being good citizens and participating in civic action.
Case in point: About a decade ago I had the great honor of penning a resolution in honor of U.S. Constitution Day for the Libertarian Party of Forsyth County (N.C.), which we worked to get adopted by our local government bodies. While the resolution was presented by the Forsyth LP, it was not part of any candidate’s campaign, or intended to make any political point. We simply offered it as a group of concerned citizens called the Forsyth Libertarian Party. Local governing bodies pass resolutions proposed by all sorts of groups in honor of all sorts of things all the time.
To our delight, the resolution was passed and adopted by the town council. Building on our success, we decided to encourage other Libertarian affiliates in the state, and across the nation, to sponsor a similar resolution in their local towns and counties. What began as a local action quickly grew into a national movement and I am proud to report that the U.S. Constitution Resolution was eventually adopted by local governments in nearly half the states in the union, and that the project has been repeated year after year.
One of the best reasons for this project is that it is an excellent opportunity for libertarian organizations at the grassroots level to do something positive. All too often libertarians are perceived as being “against” one thing or the other; even worse, we are sometimes accused of being against “everything.” This resolution gives us the opportunity to bring something before governmental officials that we favor. It gives us the chance to show communities all across American that libertarians are actually “for” something.
Another reason for undertaking this effort is that is far easier than you think get this resolution accepted by local governing boards. After all, what self-respecting politician would vote against recognizing the U.S. Constitution in an open meeting? Not one, to my knowledge, has ever voted against it once it was under consideration by the board to which they belonged. If you can get one board member to offer the resolution for consideration, you are virtually guaranteed passage.
While it is a shame that we should even have to propose a resolution such as this, it is encouraging to see the idea so widely embraced. We need to continue to educate our fellow citizens about our beloved Constitution and highlight the many and sundry ways it is being tread upon every day by those in whom they have placed so much trust. U.S. Constitution Day or Week should need no proclamation. It should automatically be a national holiday and be every bit as celebrated as most of the other holidays combined. Only education will save the republic that our Constitution preserves, and gain the respect for the document that it so richly deserves.
We urge all Libertarian affiliates to ask their local government bodies to adopt it for the 224th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, Sept. 17, 2011. Below is the text of the resolution. Please feel free to copy, edit, rewrite or adapt the resolution to fit your local situation. Check with your local school district to find out when they will be marking Constitution Week and fill in the dates to match. The official dates are usually set in a Presidential proclamation, but that may not be issued until a few days before Sept. 17. Then, let’s us know what kind of luck you have getting it adopted. This can also be an outstanding outreach opportunity to distribute copies of the Cato Institute’s Pocket Constitution (buy copies in bulk for $1 here) at any meetings where the resolution is considered. Be sure to stamp your local Libertarian Party affiliate information on the inside cover, and personally hand copies to each member of the governing body, during the meeting if possible. Never be afraid to let people know that Libertarians support the U.S. Constitution!
Resolution Recognizing U.S. Constitution Day and U.S. Constitution Week
WHEREAS, as the result of a revolutionary war that was fought to free the citizens of the United States of America from a tyrannical and oppressive government; and, the attempt of these citizens to form a new government that respected the people as the sole source of all governmental power, the need for a written document to limit the strength of government and secure, to the people, the right to govern themselves was recognized, and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Constitution was adopted in a Constitutional Convention on the 17th of September, 1787, and thus became the supreme law of the United States of America in order to secure and guarantee the rights of all free citizens of the United States of America, and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Constitution stands today as the oldest written document, of its kind, in the history of all mankind, as a result of the efforts of, and at great cost to, the patriots that founded our great nation, the United States of America, and
WHEREAS, September 17th is designated as U.S. Constitution Day, and that September ___ through September __ is designated as U.S. Constitution Week throughout the United States of America.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the __________________ of _________________ hereby declare the official observance of September 17, 2011 as U.S. Constitution Day, and September __, through September __, 2011 as U.S. Constitution Week in _____________, in humble respect for the patriots from our past that gave their all so that their fellow citizens, and those yet unborn in our nation, should remain free in perpetuity to enjoy the rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
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R. Lee Wrights, 53, a libertarian writer and political activist, is seeking the presidential nomination because he believes the Libertarian message in 2012 must be a loud, clear and unequivocal call to stop all war. To that end he has pledged that 10 percent of all donations to his campaign will be spent for ballot access so that the stop all war message can be heard in all 50 states. Wrights is a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and co-founder and editor of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All. Born in Winston-Salem, N.C., he now lives and works in Texas.
BURNET, Texas (Feb. 23) – Since I signed on as the campaign manager of the Lee Wrights for President Exploratory Committee I’ve taken some heat from some of my radical and anarchist friends in the libertarian movement, people I love and respect, for getting involved in electoral politics. Some of them have even called me a statist, which is very hurtful.
Now I understand libertarians may have disagreements about tactics, and I understand that some in the movement refuse to participate in electoral politics because it’s based on force and violence. I understand and I agree with many of these views. But a true libertarian attitude is to respect each other’s choices, not condemn them.
I’ve chosen to become involved in the electoral process because I’m driven to do it. I’m driven to do it first because I love and respect R. Lee Wrights and what he stands for, and second because it’s a way to use the networking infrastructure of electoral politics to educate the mainstream about radical libertarianism, the heart and soul of libertarianism.
That’s why I think it’s the right thing to do and I’ll continue to do it. I have no problem with disagreements and arguments over tactics. But disagreement is no reason for good people in the movement to be mean to one another. As Lee has said, libertarianism is a way of life. I’m a libertarian because of what I do, not what I say. If we in the libertarian movement can’t respect the right of each of us to make our own decisions, what kind of message does that send to people outside the movement? What ammunition does that give to our real opponents?
All of us in the libertarian movement are on different parts of the journey. I came from a conservative, classical liberal background and I evolved. We all evolve over time. Some will take a little longer to get to that point where we are not afraid to think about a society without the state. We are all afraid because we have been conditioned to be afraid by the state, by government schools, by our society.
From the classical liberal to the anarchist, no matter where you are on that journey towards freedom I’ll work with you because you are my friend, you are a friend of liberty. I’ll never call you a statist because you participate in electoral politics. I’ll work with anyone wanting to maximize freedom and minimize coercion.
Lee Wrights has earned a well-deserved reputation as a radical, passionate warrior for freedom and liberty. He’s devoted his life to working within the Libertarian Party, one small part of the libertarian movement, in order to secure a freer tomorrow.
Lee chose to participate in electoral politics and the Libertarian Party because he believes Americans can’t vote for liberty and freedom unless there are Libertarian candidates on the ballot. That’s also why he’s made sure ballot access drives were a key component of Libertarian Party activities, including running successful ballot access drives in his home state of North Carolina.
He believes, as I do, that the Libertarian Party should promote a message that represents the views of all libertarians — radicals, reformers, minarchists, anarchists – whatever label you want to apply to yourself. We are all on the same team, we just play different positions. This campaign is focused on representing and celebrating libertarianism in the Libertarian Party.
The message of this campaign is a message all libertarians can and should embrace – stop all war. But before we make peace with the world, we must stop all war within ourselves, and within the libertarian movement.
All of us in the Wrights 2012 campaign agree with Lee that Stop All War is the message the Libertarian Party must champion in 2012. If we don’t, nobody else will. To spread that message across the country, we will need the help of anyone who desires to be free and who opposes tyranny in any form.
All libertarians should join us to stop all war.
Thomas Hill is chair of the Lee Wrights for President Exploratory Committee. He is also executive director of Stop All War and regional coordinator for the Campaign for Liberty. In 2008, he served as aide de camp for the Dr. Mary Ruwart for President campaign. Hill is a past chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina and a charter member of the Cabarrus County LP, where he has served as chair, treasurer and membership secretary. He was a candidate for Cabarrus County Commission in 2002 and 2004, the Cabarrus County Board of Education in 2006 and 2008, the N.C. Senate in 2008 and the U.S. House 2010. The North Carolina native now lives in Illinois.
With the help of Ed Vallejo and Barry Hess, Ernest Hancock gave a short presentation on WalletVoting.com at the Arizona LP Convention yesterday. Watch the whole video to find out about this excellent outreach strategy…
The R[evol]ution continues…
The Fr33 Radical 