Debates divide, goals unite.
“I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”
-Frederick Douglass
Dear Friends,
One of my goals for this year is to share more and share more often. Some of that will still be on social media, but more of it will be direct conversations with those people who share my goals and values.
Last year took a lot of turns for the unexpected. After choosing not to seek an unprecedented fourth consecutive term as Chairman of the Libertarian National Committee and while laying the groundwork for advancing libertarian policy solutions to real world problems with the Libertarian Policy Institute, COVID-19 hit and everything changed.
We were able to pull off a successful Presidential nominating convention on time and under budget when our ability to meet in person was made impractical by the pandemic. Adapting to the situation and working to ensure that every Libertarian delegate was heard and that our Presidential ticket would not be prejudiced by a late nomination was not universally popular at the time, but in hindsight was critical to having our ticket on all 50 state ballots for the second election in a row. It was a fight against those who tried to sabotage an online convention to advance their own interests against those of the Libertarian Party.
We won that fight, but at a high cost. Feelings were hurt. Harsh words were exchanged. Friendships were ended. And at the end of it, the delegates chose to have a second convention in a physical location despite the costs and the risks.
Despite thinking an in-person convention was a bad decision, my job as Chair was to execute the decision the delegates made. We were able to pull off a second successful convention, but it was also a fight. Members of the committee switched sides from supporting my position to opposing my position with breakneck speed, begging me to cancel the hotel contract and trying to strip my power to cancel the contract in the span of the same week. I owe special thanks to BetteRose Ryan and Dan Fishman for staying positive and focused on the goal instead of the personalities.
When the convention ended, I put on a bathing suit and spent some time at the pool as a mere Libertarian Party member with no official position for the first time in over six years. Better for the experience, but glad to be able to work directly with candidates and organizations without the legal constraints that came with the position.
During the election season, my focus was on consulting directly through Wedge Squared Strategies with candidates, organizations, and individuals. It was an honor to work with candidates like Brad Barron, Ricky Harrington Jr., Rick Stewart, Thomas Quiter, Donald Rainwater, Richard Manzo, Joshua Flynn to achieve significant impact, including shattering some previous Libertarian Party records. While legal restrictions prevented me from coordinating directly with Jorgensen/Cohen campaign, I worked with Evan McMahon on independent efforts to support our national ticket in achieving the second-best result in Libertarian Party history, behind only the 2016 Johnson/Weld campaign.
We were very lucky in 2020 that our three oldest children won a lottery for seats at Polaris Charter School here in Manchester. The school has an excellent sense of community and mission, providing a project-based learning experience that is working really well for Ruth, Joel, and Ava. Chaperoning ski lessons and volunteering as Treasurer of the Polaris Educational Foundation has provided a different kind of fulfillment than politics ever could.
My goal with the Libertarian Policy Institute is to develop practical libertarian solutions to real world problems and to evangelize them to the world. Thanks to a few generous seed funders, we were ahead of the curve with our articles about Covid-19, criminal justice and police reform, immigration and higher education. We’ve already started looking ahead to what opportunities there are for Libertarian policy progress during the new Presidential administration. Right now we are working on an updated website with Ryan Waterbury of One Dog Solutions that should launch in March.
We learned a lot in 2020. We learned that central planning is deadly in the face of a pandemic and that people work together to help each other in a crisis. We learned that reflecting on what is essential is valuable and worth doing during peaceful times as well as during crisis. We learned that stress makes people mean to each other and that we could all use a little bit more grace. We learned that there is a fundamental difference between people who want to achieve a goal and those who want to be in charge. We learned that winning debates isn’t worth it, while working together to achieve goals is.
Debates divide, goals unite.
Yours truly,
Nick