What's next for the liberty movement?

[Theocrat]

Decentralized Thinking

I agree with everyone in this thread who has advocated our getting involved in local, county, and state politics/elections. That's where civil government is closest to the people, anyway. Here are a few ideas that come to mind:

• We need to get acquainted with our state constitutions and start holding our state legislatures accountable for their votes and laws, especially the ones where they allow the federal government to overstep their authority.
• At the county level is where we need to start building support for third parties so that one day, hopefully, they will be taken more seriously on the national stage.
• We need to attend city council and town hall meetings to learn about the issues which affect our lives daily, issues such as zoning laws, property taxes, and law enforcement initiatives.

 

[65fastback2+2]

Now that Rand is done, people should just do what they think is best. Trying to unite all the people on this forum is like herding cats.

Honestly at this point just look out for you and your own the best you can while waiting to see how events play out.

They managed to herd cats using lanterns back in the late 1700's...surely we can do better and make as big an impact.

 

[otherone]

PEOPLE DO NOT CARE ABOUT FREEDOM....

They don't care because they don't know what freedom is.
Frankly, if they did know they wouldn't want it, as it conflicts with their interests.

 

[MelissaCato]

Ron Paul 2016 !!!!

 

[osan]

With Rand's campaign now behind us there have been questions about the next steps of the site and the liberty movement in general. How can we build towards liberty? What is the best thing to do?

These are questions that I have given serious thought to and there is a lot that I'd like to see done and be a part of. Real progress however is going to take a team effort so I am seeking site members who are interested in collaborating.


If you are potentially interested in collaborating on an initiative please send me a PM and we'll go from there.


Thank you.


Bryan

What do you have in mind?

 

[Unknownuser]

I suggest repeating what has been most successful for our movement is a top priority.

That is, of course, Ron Paul presidential runs. We need to do that again, with different people, using Ron Paul's strategy. That strategy is something we deliberately did not use in 2016, and I hope we are learning that was a mistake.

Winning smaller political offices has minimal effect and should not be a top priority... it's more something that will happen spontaneously as we change minds across the country. If Ron retired in 2007 instead of running, he would have been a great Congressman but he would not have really helped the liberty movement that much. That only happened when he stepped up to the megaphone of a presidential campaign. We're not going to win by simply changing out the politicians one by one. You can't build a majority like that and not have the underlying support of liberty among the masses.



(Something else we need to prioritize is self-education. I have fallen way behind in book reading myself :/)

Actually I think you are wrong here. Winning small offices will have a "trickle up" effect.

 

[Unknownuser]

I agree with everyone in this thread who has advocated our getting involved in local, county, and state politics/elections. That's where civil government is closest to the people, anyway. Here are a few ideas that come to mind:

• We need to get acquainted with our state constitutions and start holding our state legislatures accountable for their votes and laws, especially the ones where they allow the federal government to overstep their authority.
• At the county level is where we need to start building support for third parties so that one day, hopefully, they will be taken more seriously on the national stage.
• We need to attend city council and town hall meetings to learn about the issues which affect our lives daily, issues such as zoning laws, property taxes, and law enforcement initiatives.

We need to build Liberty coalitions in each state.

 

[FrancisMarion]

I agree with the focus being on local and state government.

Repealing the 17th amendment SHOULD get more people involved with who represents them on the state level.

I would guess that a majority of people don't know their own representive in their local councils.

 

[FrancisMarion]

Does direct democracy through ballot initiatives not frighten you?

What is to keep the population from voting away your individual rights? It's clear that most do not care for freedom now.

 

[LittleLightShining]

I've given about all I could to "the movement." I think the number one most important thing anyone can do is consciously apply the non-aggression principle on a daily, hourly basis. Focus on being kindhearted toward the people around you. Take time to care for yourself. In this way we back out of the matrix.

For those that still have motivation to expand "the movement" I highly recommend becoming involved with Bernie Sanders' supporters. It's not about Bernie, it's about his supporters, who agree with libertarians much more than they realize. It's the reverse of what we did in Vermont, selling Ron Paul to the left, that must be done. The civil libertarians and freedom advocates that have been facing the right need to get past the GOP and build bridges based on peace with our counterparts on the left.

It's been talked about before but only really showed successful results in Vermont where we actually pursued the alliance. If you'll remember, RP got 25% here in the 2012 primaries.

http://www.rawstory.com/2011/01/progressive-libertarianism-the-exciting-political-dynamic-ralph-nader/

 

[satchelmcqueen]

i say we start promoting a 3rd party being allowed in the debates. there has to be a way to break the two party debate format. its unethical and downright shameful the amount of control they have on debates. as one saw this election cycle and last, its all to easy for them to just change the rules, or make up some requirement to get into a debate even if you have a serious campaign. we need a third voice.

 

[MelissaCato]

This is what I think. :/

We have accomplished on a grade scale most everything that has been mentioned in this thread. We have infiltrated local and state offices in the GOP, local and state government offices too. What we have accomplished for Ron Paul I honestly don't see happening again with a grassroots message on a national stage.

What has happened with Rand and his campaign now that he is suspended .. has chopped up whatever togetherness we did have for him. I've never seen nothing like it, on Facebook anyway. Within hours of his announcing suspension his people were literally endorsing other candidates.

That did not happen with Ron Paul ever. When s*** hit the fan with us we all regrouped without Ron to discuss strategy and tactics. With the Rand people they literally jump ship and skedaddled.

Now don't get me wrong, I donated to Rand Paul too. But for me it was all by default. I'm a die-hard Ron Paul supporter.

In a way I'm kind of hoping Rand suspended his campaign as a tactic to dictate delegates of other candidates. For him to use at a later time. But even then I don't see a delegate strategy working for Rand like I did for his father. Unfortunately.

What I do know is if Ron Paul would announce his presidency before CPAC. Our togetherness will be like nothing this country has ever seen before. The Ron Paul Revolution would be so powerful that there is no words to describe why Ron would not announce.

If you care to know what I think.

 

[presence]

Please take a look here for some inspiration:

Thread: Built to Last, Good to Great, How the Mighty Fall, and Great by Choice

 

[bunklocoempire]

Pop culture. When it's cool to vote against force, we'll see a liberty bully pulpit.

The Daily Show and it's ilk are pathetic, and I believe there is an opportunity for an edgy, in-your face, internet-based comedy type political program.

The more truth you can reveal, the better the art IMO. RPFs humor tells me this. RPF "truth humor" is the best I have come across.

 

[r3volution 3.0]

This is what I think. :/We have infiltrated local and state offices in the GOP, local and state government offices too.

...not nearly enough.

AFAIK, there are only a handful of libertarian/ish officials in local and state government. We can do much better.

What we have accomplished for Ron Paul I honestly don't see happening again with a grassroots message on a national stage.

Ron's a unique character; it takes 30+ years under just the right conditions to make a Ron. We won't have another for a long time, if ever. But there's no reason why a candidate like Rand (or Amash or Massie or someone yet unknown) couldn't do as well, or much better. What killed us this time, most of all, was the media focus on ISIS and immigration. To do well nationally, we need a cycle more like 2012/2008, where the focus was on economic issues and people were tired of the WOT. So, let's regroup, refocus on some winnable local, state, and congressional races, rebuild our momentum, and we'll see what happens in 2020/2024.

N.B. Foreign policy and immigration issues are much less important in state/local races, another reason to focus on those for the time being.

What I do know is if Ron Paul would announce his presidency before CPAC. Our togetherness will be like nothing this country has ever seen before. The Ron Paul Revolution would be so powerful that there is no words to describe why Ron would not announce.

If you care to know what I think.

Ron would not have done any better in this political environment.

By 2020, Ron will be 84. He's not going to run.

We need to move on.

 

[VIDEODROME]

I also think the 'Liberty Movement' seems a little vague.

In a Ron Paul group I was in, there was a lot of internal arguing or debating much like I see on this forum, but at least in the end the group would pass the hat and collect money to support Ron Paul with buying signs, bumper stickers, or sign waving. I'm concerned that without the Pauls, what you mostly will have left is the arguing and that this won't be a unified group, but rather many factions who have their own ideas about what Liberty means to them.

Whatever this group does now, it might need a clearly worded Mission Statement listing it's positions. Either this can be new rules drawn up and agreed to, or perhaps merely state this forum is a Libertarian Party group and officially adopt their platform.

http://www.lp.org/platform

Or officially adopt Ron Paul's positions.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Ron_Paul.htm

Or decide if you want to get behind the next Libertarian nominee and adopt their official position.

 

[MelissaCato]

Or let's just get back to the basics and get Ron Paul in the White House.

 

[K466]

Actually I think you are wrong here. Winning small offices will have a "trickle up" effect.

I never said they didn't: "Winning smaller political offices has minimal effect and should not be a top priority..."

Tell me if I'm wrong, but I think Ron Paul's Presidential runs did far more for the liberty movement than anything else we have tried. All I'm saying is that we need to make it a priority to do that again. We can still do other stuff too. Running for political office is picking up a megaphone, and I think bigger megaphones are better

 

[GunnyFreedom]

I suggest repeating what has been most successful for our movement is a top priority.

That is, of course, Ron Paul presidential runs. We need to do that again, with different people, using Ron Paul's strategy. That strategy is something we deliberately did not use in 2016, and I hope we are learning that was a mistake.

Winning smaller political offices has minimal effect and should not be a top priority... it's more something that will happen spontaneously as we change minds across the country. If Ron retired in 2007 instead of running, he would have been a great Congressman but he would not have really helped the liberty movement that much. That only happened when he stepped up to the megaphone of a presidential campaign. We're not going to win by simply changing out the politicians one by one. You can't build a majority like that and not have the underlying support of liberty among the masses.

(Something else we need to prioritize is self-education. I have fallen way behind in book reading myself :/)

You are definitely wrong. The problem is the people do not want liberty. The way to change that, and thus make a liberty President viable, is to change people's minds. The way to change people's minds is to win local offices and demonstrate the effectiveness of liberty. This eliminates the fear, creates desire, and will lead to a liberty victory in the White House.

Until and unless we start working from the bottom up, we can go 100 years and this will never happen. Period.

 

[Suzanimal]

You are definitely wrong. The problem is the people do not want liberty. The way to change that, and thus make a liberty President viable, is to change people's minds. The way to change people's minds is to win local offices and demonstrate the effectiveness of liberty. This eliminates the fear, creates desire, and will lead to a liberty victory in the White House.

Until and unless we start working from the bottom up, we can go 100 years and this will never happen. Period.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to GunnyFreedom again.