You may be interested to know that the organizers of "Restore04" are not in fact advocating the literal restoration of the 40 planks deleted in Portland, but rather have proposed a massive rewrite (by Rob Power) of the 14,000-word 62-plank 2004 platform into a 10,000-word 31-plank platform with undisclosed amounts of novel language: http://libertarianmajority.net/power-platform.
I encourage you read what Restore04 doesn't want you to see: the PlatCom's proposed 2008 platform (http://libertarianmajority.net/pure-principles-platform), which you won't find mentioned or linked to anywhere on the Restore04 site. If you read it, I'd be curious to know:
- What in your opinion is the most important libertarian principle that a 2/3 majority of NatCon delegates would agree is missing from the Platform Committee's current draft?
- What in your opinion are the most important specific policy questions that a 2/3 majority of NatCon delegates would agree do not have any answer in the Platform Committee's current draft but should?
I also wonder in how many of the 12 cases in the table below you prefer the 2004 language over the proposed 2008 language. (If it doesn't get through to LPSM-discuss, you can see it via me cc'ing this email to http://more.libertarianintelligence.com/.)
Brian Holtz
Secretary, 2008 Platform Committee
| 2004/Power04 | Proposed 2008 Platform (Non-italicized language is shared with Rob's draft) |
| We support the right of individuals to renounce one's affiliation with any government, and to be exempt from the obligations imposed by those governments | We support the right of political entities to renounce their affiliation with any government, and to be exempt from the obligations imposed by that government |
| Government must be returned to its proper role as protector of rights, and must once again be made accountable for its actions to the individual citizen. | Government exists to protect the rights of every individual including life, liberty and property. |
| We support ending all taxation. Criminal and civil sanctions against tax evaders should stop. We support the right of any individual to challenge the payment of taxes | All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We call for the repeal of the income tax and the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service. |
| We call for the elimination of all government fiat money and all government minted coins | Individuals engaged in voluntary exchange should be free to use as money any mutually agreeable commodity or item. |
| We call for the end of all regulation of financial and capital markets. We call for repeal of all laws based on the concept of insider trading. | Government regulation of financial and capital markets should be limited to prohibition of fraud. |
| We call for the privatization of air traffic control systems, water works, public roads and the national highway system | We seek to divest government of all functions that can be provided by non-governmental organizations or private individuals. We oppose government subsidies to business |
| Strict liability, not government agencies and arbitrary government standards, should regulate pollution | Pollution of other people's property is a violation of individual rights. |
| Such parks and wilderness and recreation areas that already exist should be transferred to non-government ownership | Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners by the government or private action in violation of individual rights, we favor restitution to the rightful owners. |
| We oppose all government welfare, relief projects and "aid to the poor" programs. | The proper source of help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals. |
| Adhere rigidly to the principle that all U.S. citizens travel abroad at their own risk | American foreign policy should seek an America at peace with the world and its defense against attack from abroad. |
| We call for the withdrawal of all American military personnel stationed abroad | The United States should both abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world and avoid entangling alliances |
| We advocate a complete and unilateral withdrawal of the United States from all international trade agreements, | We support the removal of governmental impediments to free trade. |
