Dear Libertarian,
You'll have to excuse my tone in this message, but I'm not in a good mood at all at the moment. As a matter of fact, I'm damned angry.
This past weekend, the U.S. Senate, led by Republican politician Bill Frist, slipped last-minute legislation into a port security bill that essentially bans Internet gambling.
I'm not much a gambler myself and am only brave enough to hit the slots when in Vegas or Atlantic City. I've never gambled on the Internet NOT because I find it morally objectionable, but because I'm smart enough to know that I'll probably lose my shirt.
So if this doesn't affect my life, why am I so upset?
. . . Because Congress is, without question, restricting my freedom by telling me that I cannot spend my money a certain way or engage in a simple hobby within the privacy of my own home!
I am sick of Republicans and Democrats trying to set MY moral compass based upon THEIR interests.
Allow me to elaborate.
I am sick of corrupt politicians . . .
who take bribes from corrupt lobbyists for votes on Indian casinos;
who have a colleague behind bars for getting rich off of defense contractors;
who have another colleague who liberally sends sexually explicit messages to young boys who are, sadly, working to observe proper leadership;
who share leaders that actively cover up the activities of a sexual predator roaming the halls of Congress;
who vote to send our young men to fight and kill other young men over non-existent weapons of mass destruction;
who continue to place our young men in harm's way without even having defined what it would take to succeed in Iraq;
who spend our tax dollars at an alarming rate while, at the same time, take away our freedoms in bunches with Orwellian named programs such as the PATRIOT Act, Real ID Act, and (here's a new one) the Public Expression of Religion Act.
To publicize our stance on this new gambling law, we just put out a press release and here are a few key points:
Supporters of the legislation accuse online gaming companies of being involved in money laundering operations and, according to the Washington Post, even fronts for terrorist groups.
"This goes beyond the absurd," exclaimed Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian National Committee. "Using the supposed War on Terror in defense of this legislation designed to legislate morality is sickening. Using this same reasoning, Congress should close Vegas as 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta made a least two trips to the 'Sin City' before setting out to murder thousands of Americans."
In addition to citing money laundering and terrorism as excuses for the new Internet restrictions championed by Republican politicians, proponents also state that online gambling targets children and gambling addicts.
"Once again, we see politicians in Washington attempting to protect us from what they see as wrong in this world. I have news for them: Americans are smart people who can take care of themselves AND their children," continued Cory. "In restricting Internet activities, I think it would make much more sense to ban instant messaging within Congressional offices rather than ban the online hobbies of millions of tax-paying citizens."
Since I can be more candid with you, I didn't "exclaim" the quote above. It was more like a hands-shaking, red-faced, no-children-within-earshot, verbal rant.
As a Libertarian, I am furious and you should be as well.
But being furious without resolution will not help any of us. In the press release above, we closed with this:
The Libertarian Party is working to stop poor legislation such as the ban on Internet gambling by electing principled and reasoned Libertarian leaders to public office at the local, state and federal levels of government.
Electing Libertarian leaders is our job. We don't do any good screaming into the darkness, and we must work our hearts out for every vote that our candidates gain.
So what should we do?
We could call up Frist's office and yell at his staffers but that won't do any good (I did that this morning myself and, instead of satisfaction, I just feel guilty for berating the poor guy who took the call).
We could call the White House general number and demand that the president not sign the bill, but we all know that won't change a thing. Bush would sign someone else's TPS Report if it were placed in front of him.
Here's what we can do and, as members of the nation's third largest political party, what we should do:
. First, if you want us to succeed, take a queue from our candidate for U.S. Senate in Washington, Bruce Guthrie. Bruce recently loaned his own campaign $1.2 million! I'm not asking you to mortgage your home as Bruce did but I am going to ask you to dig deep. . . and I'm willing to set the example.
This morning I contributed nearly half of my own paycheck, $1,000, to the LP.
If you can match my donation, your contribution will be greatly appreciated (and if you're not already a life member, you will become one).
If you can match up to 10% of my donation, $100, your contribution will be greatly appreciated.
If you can't do that, please match at least 1% with a $10 donation.
Help us move forward with our mission of electing Libertarians by going to
https://www.lp.org/members/contribute1.shtml to donate.
Now, I know that there are at least 20 of you on this list capable of making the maximum annual donation of $26,700. If you're one of those donors, go to
https://www.lp.org/members/contribute1.shtml or call me directly at 1-800-Elect-Us.
With an extra influx of donations before Election Day, we will be able to hire additional temporary staff to assist with campaign support. I've also recently deployed our communications director, Stephen Gordon, to help with the top campaign in our Candidate Tracker. With your help, we can do more.
. I also want you to do something else. Our new GOTV (get-out-the-vote) tool is ready to take registrations. Go to
www.BallotBase.org today and register and then set aside time for our 100 Hour Push before Election Day. If you can schedule a few vacation days or plan ahead to make the time, we need your help. Click the link above for more information.
. Finally, your state Libertarian Party and Libertarian candidates around the nation need your help. Contact your state party and ask them how you can assist (I know of one specific need for Nevada residents). After that, hit the Candidate Tracker to learn about out great candidates who need your help.
I know that I am asking you for a great deal. I wish this was not the case but we are the underdogs and we have to fight twice as hard and give twice as much in order to see just a hint of progress.
I cannot even promise anything in exchange for your efforts. I can't guarantee a victory or a change for the better. I can't offer you any assurances. All that I can say is that your efforts provide all of us with hope. Hope that, within our lifetimes, we will see progress towards greater liberty.
I appreciate all that you do.
Best Regards,
Shane Cory
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee
P.S. Please don't forget to show your support with a contribution. To donate, go to
https://www.lp.org/members/contribute1.shtml.
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