In Denver, a game of Chess…
By: Austin Petersen
In one of the defining moments in my career as your Volunteer Coordinator, I attended the Libertarian National Convention in Denver Colorado last week. It was a remarkable experience that few people who care about politics get to experience. But, they should.
As a member of your staff, I am required to remain impartial. Thus I was told that I should either attend Stewart Floods party, attend no ones party, or attend everyone’s parties, so as to be certain of my neutrality. Well, I’ve never been the type to sit around while everyone else is having fun, so I decided to do it all.
The talented rascals from Tierra Eclipse who engineered the Ron Paul money bombs joined me in my adventures in the evenings. I was extremely impressed with their ability to skillfully turn out professional video clips in a short amount of time for the Barr campaign for the convention, and still have the energy to stay up late to visit everyone’s evening events. Their work was instrumental in giving the Barr campaign an extra coat of polish that it needed to win.
George Phillies, and The Outright Libertarians had an amusing get together where we read out loud a flier from a local religious group who protested our convention. The leaflet read that the Libertarian Party was “Officially Immoral”, and stated that, “If Ron Paul lived in Berlin in 1944 and had said, “While killing Jews is invalid, a federal law banning the holocaust across all Germany’s 16 states would be equally invalid.” Everyone got a good laugh from the silliness of that argument.
Steve Kubby was gracious enough to share an amazing story of the time that he got to ride in a Jet plane for a media tour. It was fascinating listening to him eloquently recount breaking the sound barrier and taking the joystick to fly the plane on his own. It really put into perspective for me how much I could learn from all our wonderful candidates.
In the morning before the voting began I was working out in the gym when one Wayne Root came in and started cycling. We chatted lightly about the events, and he gave me some very helpful advice on how to start my own business. I’m looking forward to reading his books and hope that he would have some time in the future to teach me to become a “Millionaire Libertarian.”
Setting up the board…
As the voting process began I made quick friends with Idaho Chair, the extraordinary Rob Oates, who patiently answered my questions about the voting processes and proceedings. It was exciting to watch the debates and hear why certain groups supported one candidate over another. As I watched the voting unfold, I was reminded of a strategic game of chess, where the pieces maneuver for placement on the board.
Pawns fall to Knights
After a hard fought battle for the Presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, Michael Jingozian and Christine Smith were toppled by Kubby and Phillies.
Christine exited with bitter words for her opponent. The abandonment of principle, in her estimation, was the death knell of the party.
Jingozian graciously accepted defeat and in a surprising turn endorsed Senator Mike Gravel. Later he would accept the position of Vice Chair in a contest between himself and Chuck Moulton in a surprise upset. Although Chuck’s service to the party has been thoroughly professional, delegates spoke of how they were interested to see how Michael could use his marketing skills to grow the party. Many people were visibly upset by the decision to remove Chuck, and it was not an easy decision to watch being made from the sidelines.
The remaining pieces re-aligned for another match as the Pawns exited the game.
Knights fall to Bishops
Newly minted Libertarian Mike Gravel, and longtime Libertarian George Phillies, fell under the advance of Ruwart, Root, and Barr.
Many people in the auditorium were supporters of the stalwart advocate of the American self-governance, former Senator Mike Gravel. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was genuinely sad to see his exit of the arena with the declaration that his career in politics was over.
The man who bravely released the Pentagon Papers to the American public and filibustered the draft bravely ended his career with a thumbing of the nose to the establishment that sought to quiet his voice. It is a mark of pride that the Libertarian party so graciously welcomed him despite economic differences of opinion. The game continued…
Bishop defeated, moves to defense of King
When it became clear that Wayne Allyn Root would not win the nomination, he conceded defeat graciously and expressed his support for the candidacy of Bob Barr. This all but assured a Barr victory after many back and forth exchanges with Ruwart, who would be unable to pull a majority out of the Radical bloc of voters. It appeared likely that the Root supporters would rally to Barr after loud declarations of BARR-ROOT were chanted by a majority of delegates.
As Roots delegates and supporters began their politicking with Barr’s people, the Ruwart supporters waved their heart signs and braced themselves for the final portion of the match.
King takes Queen
After 6 rounds of voting, Bob Barr defeated Mary Ruwart to win the nomination. Steve Kubby issued a statement of solidarity subsequent to the events which had the effect of galvanizing many of the Radicals base. We have seen many people take George Phillies at his word that the enemy is out there, not amongst us.
Although some are leery of Barr’s candidacy, membership has been growing, the volunteer trickle has become a steady flow, and media requests for interviews are piling up. No matter what happens in this election cycle, one thing we know is for sure. This will be an unforgettably historic year for the Libertarian Party. I am excited, and honored to be a part of it.
