This Is About More Than Just a T-Shirt

http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2008/12/lnc-resolution-of-discipline-for-angela-keaton

Well, this goes quite a bit beyond the way Angela fills out a BTP t-shirt.

The parts about contacting major LP donors and threatening Flood are very disturbing, and of course would require solid evidence to overcome the presumption of innocence.  The LNC will have to judge for itself how seriously to take the sum of Angela's intramural performance-art antics; I guess that's why the threshold for removal is 2/3.  Such a majority would have to explain what they mean by "material support for a competing political party".  I think it's forgivable even for LNC members to support candidates in other parties if the candidates are not facing an opposing LP candidate, but people like Tom Knapp disagree on that point.

This set of charges clearly won't be resolved in 30 minutes.  Hopefully the question can be divided along some lines that will group charges of similar nature and evidential basis.

Chuck, I don't think the 188 delegates who voted for Angela necessarily intended to give her carte blanche to do the kinds of things alleged in Flood's motion.  Nor do I think the 220+ delegates involved in electing the rest of LNC intended to sentence them to two years of enduring such behavior whether they like it or not.  As unpaid volunteers in a largely thankless job, it's up to the LNC to figure out the standards that will allow them to tolerate working together, and how to ensure compliance with those standards.  They know they have to answer to the membership -- at least the ones who care about their future in the LP.  And that may be the fundamental problem here.

Petty and self-discrediting intramural flaming is one thing, but it's another altogether for a self-declared lame duck officer to advocate against joining or donating to the party, to make false statements against its duly nominated candidates, or to materially aid a candidate in a race against an LP opponent. _IF_ such behavior can be convincingly shown to have been committed, then the LNC should indeed demand an apology and a promise against recidivism.  This standard should be applied to anyone and everyone serving on LNC or seeking to (re)join it.  If the standard wasn't applied in the past, then that might be a good reason not to forgive an incumbent in the next LNC election, but it's a lousy reason to give carte blanche for continued violations of the standard.