Report By Lawrence Samuels
For months, antiwar Libertarian Party leaders in California have attempted to get LP County organizations to pass peace resolutions. Many LP members were upset that the Libertarian Party had put the Iraq War on the backburner. They wanted the LP to become more active in opposing the war.
As more LP county organizations started to pass the Samuels and Hacker antiwar resolutions, (over 14 currently) a new group was formed — the LPC Peace Caucus. Their first major mission was to get the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of California to endorse an antiwar resolution at their Aug. 20 meeting in Los Angeles.
Immediately, the Aug. 20 LPC meeting turned into a battlefield. There was an attempt to stop any anti-war resolution by Parliamentary procedures. It was argued that resolutions could only be presented at the annual LPC state conventions. Since the LPC had issued recent resolutions on other subjects, the LPC chair, Aaron Starr, reluctantly ruled to allow a vote.
Several antiwar resolutions were presented and defeated; the main one – the Samuels resolution failed by one vote (8 needed). One thinly veiled pro-war resolution was submitted by Dan Wiener, but received only a few votes. The resolutions appeared dead at this point and the committee continued with other business. However, with 5 minutes remaining in the session, Paul Ireland brought up the Hacker resolution which had been overlooked. A motion was made by Mark Selzer to suspend the rules to consider the new peace resolution. This time, the resolution passed – 8-4-2 (8 yes, 4 abstained and 2 against).
The vote: For: Lawrence Samuels, Mark Selzer, Ted Brown, Bruce Dovner, Allen Hacker, Paul Ireland, Rick Nichol and Richard Newell. Against: Dan Wiener and Bruce Cohen. Abstained: Aaron Starr, Willard Michlin, M. Carling, Kevin Takenaga, and Mark Johnson.
A Resolution
Affirming the National Libertarian Party Principles and Platform Concerning Foreign Intervention and the Invasion of Iraq
Whereas, the National Libertarian Party Platform’s Preamble states in part, “As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives, and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others”;
Whereas, the National Libertarian Party Platform’s Statement of Principles states in part, “…we support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others….”;
Whereas, the National Libertarian Party Platform at Part IV.D.2. (Foreign Affairs / International Relations / Foreign Intervention), states in part, “The United States should not inject itself into the internal matters of other nations, unless they have declared war upon or attacked the United States, or the U.S. is already in a constitutionally declared war with them,” and, “End the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid, guarantees, and diplomatic meddling”;
Whereas the admittedly (by the President and Vice-president) pre-emptive (“before the fact”) invasion of the sovereign nation of Iraq by the United States was accomplished in blatant disregard for American constitutional requirements and international law under treaties to which the United States is a signatory, and upon an apparently false basis of manipulated information and manufactured allegations;
Whereas the continuing military occupation of Iraq is precipitating a deplorable loss of civilian and American lives, is exacerbating American deficit spending, and appears to be aggravating the terrorist threat worldwide;
Now, therefore,
Be it Resolved, that the Libertarian Party of California Executive Committee hereby affirms the National Libertarian Party’s Preamble, Statement of Principles and Platform, in particular for this case those portions cited herein; and
Be it Further Resolved, that the Libertarian Party of California Executive Committee finds, upon no tangible proof having been shown of Iraqi participation in the World Trade Center, etc. (9/11) attack, that the invasion of Iraq appears unwarranted; and
Be it Further Resolved, that the Libertarian Party of California Executive Committee finds that the continuing occupation of Iraq is inimical to the interests of the citizens of the United States as well as to the interests of the citizens of Iraq; and
Be it Further Resolved, that the United States government’s declared purpose of “bringing democracy to Iraq” is an offensive imposition of the values of some of our citizens over a foreign sovereign people; and
Be it Further Resolved, that the Libertarian Party of California Executive Committee formally petitions that the National Libertarian Party remain constant and adamant in demanding that the United States government cease and desist in the most safely expedient manner possible from all foreign economic and military interventions, Iraq in particular, and correct its international policies so that it may at last begin to facilitate world peace through the naturally benevolent function of the Free Market.
I woke this morning to terrible news: Jude Wanniski is dead of a heart attack. He was 69.