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The LP WIre- News and Views of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin -January 2025
From the Chair The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin closed a very challenging, but also a very productive, year in 2024. I look back at it as one of the most difficult and testing years of the past three decades. The hard work of the Party leadership and regular members has, however, given us some substantial successes. This coming April, the term of current Executive Committee (Excom) will expire and the Party members will elect new servants for the following two years. From now until then, we have the opportunity to solidify the many positive accomplishments and leave the Party ready for more growth and success. In the past year, we had to make some things happen. As a small Party, we did not have the base for extensive campaigns. We tried, but our limited numbers hurt us. Our solution? We did what we needed to do to rebuild platforms for expansion, and develop better systems, communications, and processes to grow. These fundamentally had to happen, first. In these areas, many did hard and faithful work. The work committees, groups and teams did the following, to name just a few. We established the new data management system under our own exclusive control. This system, Nation Builder, as we learned, and still learn, to utilize the functionality will benefit the Party GREATLY. In all things modern, data provides us with our gold. Let’s use it! Secondly, we have a professionally designed, updated, integrated, and evolving website that will serve our needs best for more extensive outreach and membership growth. Best of all, we did it under budget. Thirdly, we have a functioning, and increasingly successful, communications and outreach system and process. We also have great people doing it! Including all manners of social media apps and an excellent, growing, and successful professional press office, we have gained a growing engagement, with both individuals and outside organizations. On this note, the Communications Committee Work Group, as true with all the other work groups and teams and committees, will finalize in January the strategic plan for communications in 2025. This will further grow our audience in outreach engagement and membership recruitment. It has become a matter of numbers, and we stand to gain. Working in the spirit of teams and fellowship, the Party has the elements for future success, short and long-term. We do have challenges, even some disagreements, inside our Party. Yet, as an optimist, I know we can find the libertarian solutions, if we have the willingness. Yet, the hard work mentioned will allow us in 2025 to go farther toward our goal: To set Wisconsin free! Let’s do it! Sincerely, Tim Krenz - Acting Chair, LPWI New Year, New Updates from the Treasurer
Greetings and a happy new year to all! This holiday season and new year remind us of the new beginnings and new opportunities before us. And that also includes new changes taking effect as of January 1, 2025 regarding contributions to the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin and Membership. The Executive Committee, which sets membership dues as outlined in our bylaws, has adopted a few changes that take effect at the beginning of 2025. Members can contribute monthly at least $5/month, or at least $60/annually, and must have contributed at least $60 in the past 12 months as of convention to have voting rights. This allows anyone who shows up on the day of convention to fulfill their dues and fully participate, while also discouraging nefarious actors from showing up at convention to influence our party and then disappear after voting. If members set up recurring contributions through the website, their membership automatically continues. If it has expired they would need to sign up again. Also, after January 1, I will begin working to cancel recurring PayPal contributions, and those individuals will need to contribute through NationBuilder to continue their membership. My ability to access the old CiviCRM system to do so is currently limited but I am working with our great IT support to hopefully resolve that soon. I am not able to cancel the contributions directly through Paypal. If you have existing recurring contributions set up through Paypal, please find the most recent confirmation email you received for that and look for a link in the email to cancel future recurring contributions, and then set up your new recurring contributions (monthly or annual) through our website at LPWI.org. You can also log in to our website (or recover your password if you have forgotten it, and then log in) and check the status of your membership and recurring contributions. Please email any questions you have about your contributions to me at [email protected], or if you have questions about your membership please email [email protected] and those will be routed to our Membership Director. In pursuit of liberty,
Platform Committee News From the Press Box The past couple of months have seen solid activity in the party’s press releases. Aside from WisPolitics and Urban Milwaukee publishing all of our releases in their respective press release sections, several others have been published by a wide variety of news outlets such as WisBusiness, Newsbreak, and The Monroe Times. In addition, a press release I sent out last month about the coming state budget surplus was picked up by WISN radio’s news director, Ben Yount, published on the Center Square website that he routinely writes on, and picked up by multiple national news outlets from there, as well as being mentioned on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom Show which can be heard on many radio stations, including 92.1 FM out of Eau Claire. If there is a Libertarian issue that you are passionate about and would like to see the party address in the form of a press release, sent out twice a week on Tuesday and Friday, feel free to drop me a line at the press office email address: [email protected] Liberty is more than just less oppression. Together, we can make a real difference. Tim Johnson – LPWI Press Secretary
Tim Johnson lives in Greenfield. Johnson has played a role in multiple political campaigns at the local, state, and federal level including two runs as a candidate for a seat on the Milwaukee County Board. He is also a self-published author with many books available on Amazon. Our Chair, Tim Krenz, was so impressed with his history and credentials that he offered Johnson his position as Press Secretary. If interested, you may contact Tim directly at [email protected] The Ed Thompson Liberty Award The Ed Thompson Liberty Award is given to someone or some group who bucks the status quo, and by doing so promotes libertarian ideas to the people of Wisconsin. This award has been given to a farmer who sold raw milk, to 3 women who sold cookies out of their home kitchen, and to a group working to expunge the records of non-violent felons. Who do you know worthy of receiving this award? The ExCom will decide who the winner will be at their February meeting. As of now, no names have been put forward. Wouldn’t you like your nominee to be the one? What have you seen in the news or heard about from friends? Send your thoughts to [email protected]
The LP has Competition - Liberal Party USA
If you were at the national LP convention in Washington D. C. last May who probably meet several people recruiting for The Liberal Party USA. Not even a year old the Liberal Party now boasts 12 member states. Their aim is to replace the Libertarian Party. They believe our party has failed. They want us dead. They believe our demise will be self inflected. The political goals of the Liberal Party are very similar to the Libertarian Party. The Liberal Party’s bylaws are significantly different than our own, something we may wish to look at as we contemplate updating or changing ours. At times like these it is best to remember Dale Carnegie's quote about competition, “The way to get things done, is to stimulate competition. I do not mean in a sordid, money-getting way, but in the desire to excel.” The Libertarian Party is not as monolithic philosophically as it used to be; if it ever was. Currently several caucus groups can be thought of as attempting to steer the party. The Mises Caucus supposedly runs the Libertarian Party. What plans they have for countering the rise of the Liberal Party is anybody’s guess. There are many who believe the Mises Caucus has poisoned the well, and perhaps as many who believe they have been the best thing for it. Two other national caucus groups have a presence in this state. The Classical Liberal Caucus hopes to return our party to its roots in classical liberalism Classical Liberal Caucus Chase Oliver is a member of the CLC. The Radical Caucus believes our best future lies in returning to our radical roots. Perhaps the most famous member of the RC is Jacob Hornberger. The Radical Caucus has confirmed that they will have a presence at our state convention in April. Will 2026 be the end of the Libertarian Party? One other quote bears remembering: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Party politics can be thought of as the least useful endeavor in politics. Yet voters look at how a party is run and ask, “Do I want these people to run my country?” In that aspect it is important. Opinion Piece I personally believe that increasing LP membership, especially in Dane County, means going after disaffected Democrats. I speak from experience, I was one. The DNC has let down millennials for the last time. Chase Oliver stood as a beacon of hope for culturally liberal 30-somethings who are sick of being played by the Democrats and he intends to stay politically active during the next 4 years. We need to get our own house in order for this strategy to work. Voters need to know that the LP isn’t just Trump lite. There are some shenanigans that have got to go. LPNH referring to the murder of Harris being 'heroic' comes to mind. Anything like that needs to be strongly opposed regardless of where it comes from; LPWI said nothing and I took a seat on that. There is virtually no hope of turning Democrats if we don't call this kind of rhetoric out. We need to provide an alternative for folks who believe in organic and natural diversity, without Progressive DEI mandates, and also value their economic freedom. I can guarantee you that most Moderate Democrats fall under this category, they're just held hostage by a virtue-signaling Progressive minority. That controlling minority has been fatally wounded, now is the time to strike.
On the other side of the UniParty coin, Trump sought to MAGA-ify the LP and effectively absorb it; some of our national leadership seemed to be complicit. Our only choice is to seek the Moderate Democrats and Republicans still out there. No matter which way you slice this pie it doesn't get sliced if we don't try to absorb the disaffected voters of other parties.
– Austin Bond Short Notes “I will always be on the side of those who have nothing and who are not even allowed to enjoy the nothing they have in peace.” ― Federico García Lorca This year Americans will wager nearly $150 billion on sports, up from $7 billion in 2018. Whether you feel that is good or bad news is important only to you. Freedom is not only measured by speech and political liberty, but also by the ability to spend your money as you wish. You betcha’
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