An Attempt At A Live Blog Of the Libertarian Convention

True Drama!

One of the reasons I love the LP convention (and probably would love the Greens too but I admit I have not invited to attend their online convention and I do have significant disagreement with the many of their policies; now I respect the heck out of those who join and are involved with third parties) is it is not scripted. It is real politics. Granted some of the parliamentary procedure is not exciting (LP Chair Nicholas Sarwark’s effort has been called “the patience of Sarwark”.)

The first ballot is history and the top five candidates are (These are not votes but tokens and I admit I am not sure how this works):

Jacob Hornberger is first; Jo Jorgensen, Vermin Supreme close behind for second place, John Monds is fourth and Judge Jim Gray is fifth. Not even 100 votes. And some of the live chat is ominous for Gray comparing him to a (gasp!) Republican and criticizing Gray’s jury nullification position he bravely took.

Let’s speak to Jorgensen and Monds while we are here.

Jorgensen’s bio (very impressive):

Dr. Jo Jorgensen was the Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential Nominee with Harry Browne in 1996. 

     She campaigned in 38 states and appeared as a Libertarian spokesperson on over 300 radio shows all across America. She regularly lit up the call-in boards, helping listeners discover the Libertarian Party and generating inquiries and new LP members.

      In 1992, she was the Libertarian Party’s candidate for South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. After a statewide televised debate with her Democratic and Republican opponents, Dr Jorgensen’s debate performance was widely praised in the media, and the Greenville News referred to her as “a rose between two thorns”.

 Dr. Jo Jorgensen currently is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Clemson University. She holds a Ph.D in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Clemson 2002) and has taught full-time since 2006. She graduated in 1979 from Baylor University with a B.S. in Psychology and in 1980 from Southern Methodist University with an M.B.A.

     After earning her M.B.A., she put her education to work as a Marketing Representative for IBM. Relocating to Greenville, SC in 1983, she started her own software sales business.After taking a break to be a stay-at-home mom for her two children, she joined a software duplicating company as part owner, later taking over as president and full owner. She founded a business consulting company in 2002 and continues working with select clients.

Dr. Jo Jorgensen is a Life Member of the Libertarian Party. She supported Ed Clark for president in 1980 and has been voting Libertarian ever since. She officially joined the Libertarian Party in 1983 and has served as Greenville County chair, state vice-chair, and national marketing director for the Libertarian Party.

Here is Jorgensen’s education position:

“The Department of Education has failed. In the forty years since the Department of Education was created, government spending on education has skyrocketed, while the quality of education has declined. Students used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. As President, I will work to eliminate the Department of Education and return control of education to where it belongs – with parents,  teachers, and students.”

Preach it, sister!

Here is John Monds’ bio:

John Monds made history in 2008, when he became the first Libertarian candidate to receive over 1 million votes.

(Here is the link info: Monds did get 1,076,726 votes and over 33% for the Georgia Public Service Commissioner, First District. The incumbent GOP Commissioner received over two million votes.)

John made history again in 2010, becoming the first African-American candidate to appear on the ballot for Governor in Georgia.

***

Monds lives in Georgia with his wife of 21 years, Dr. Kathaleena Monds, and their four children. He holds a business administration degree from HBCU Morehouse College, and for the past 20 years, he has had his dream job: homeschooling his children.

Monds is active in his community with Habitat for Humanity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, and the NAACP. He enjoys classic Volkswagens, gardening, and genealogy.

I hope to meet Monds someday. Very impressive. We need more African-American voices for liberty. Please accept this is my apology for not more covering these serious candidates. Monds’ position on education is here:

Fifty years of federal control and failing schools is enough. We spend more per student every year, but government-run schools continue to fail the poor and communities of color. Politicians and public school teachers send their own kids to private schools while poor parents are literally jailed for sending their kids to a better school than their zip code allows.

Equal educational opportunity in America must include giving parents and teachers more control over how students learn.  I will use the Presidency to lift restrictions that trap parents and kids in failing schools. I will make per-student spending movable to the school that best serves each child, including lifting caps on public charters, allowing tax-free Education Savings Accounts, and promoting alternatives to government-run schools. Where secular private schools, homeschooling, or cyber-schooling works better for families, the federal government should not stand in the way.

Excellent position except education is never (other than civil rights laws) a federal question. Now if your intention is to in effect use the existing power in a way as to renounce the power, I can understand.

I’ll be back in a couple of hours!