Contact: Josiah Baker
Phone: 904-495-9011
Email: chair@lptn.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Op-Ed by Chairman Josiah Baker, 23 July 2024
Good evening,
As Libertarians, we often cite our principles as our North Star that cannot be removed from our internal compass that defines our philosophy and extrapolates out into our broader movement and Party. There are some that pay lip service to this notion and compromise, but there are many that will die upon this hill. I am of the latter, and you entrusted me as your Chair to be such.
As many know, the National Convention delivered a presidential ticket consisting of Chase Oliver and Mike Ter Maat. This ticket was delivered through countless hours of travail into the morning on the floor. It was evident we didn’t have consensus in the room, the push for NOTA was in play, and the motion could be made to suspend the rules to amend the bylaws so we could restart the process and have a principled unifier on the ticket; this process verified by Dr. Chuck Moulton, the best faith person you could ask for. I learned the immense value of NOTA from our very own Steve Trinward in a speech he gave at National years ago in the 2000’s and have leaned on his words in the speech often as guidance for navigating with principle as paramount. Post-NOTA vote, I had planned on nominating a “uniter” in the room that was on the floor that is beloved by all faction and non-faction members in hopes that we could leave the convention with all hearts and minds at ease.
Sadly, through mass-confusion, exhaustion, rumors, and half-truths circulating in the room, this was unable to transpire. The resulting ticket has many states’ backing, and even National touts it as the best way to ensure Joe Biden and the Democrats do not win re-election. They’re likely not wrong; especially with the recent news of Biden stepping down. If you’ve been around the Libertarian Party of Tennessee for any amount of time, you’ve picked up on the fact that we do not simply fall in line here by default, and always keep what’s best for our state party in the forefront of all that we do. The great Daniel Lewis comes to mind when every year he motions for our secession from the national party. We are the stewards of liberty in our great state and pushing forward with our growth as a state party is our singular mission.
Wondering what could be done to maintain the work we are accomplishing here, I had a trusted conversation with a universally-loved, former-LPTN executive committee member that inquired of the actual appetite for the Chase ticket amongst our ranks. Having noticed less people than I have fingers showing actionable interest outside of the ceremonial electors process that lives in alternate reality, I was honest with the information I had and it was as he suspected. We still have not been able to fill this roster of electors but concluded that we must have a Libertarian on the ticket in Tennessee. With our egregious ballot access laws here, there is nothing preventing 25 Libertarians on the ballot running for President under the Independent banner if supporters would do the work for the signatures required. This birthed an idea of how to continue to build upon our goals of influence in the state; but first I must in good faith explain why I cannot personally support the Oliver/Ter Maat campaign.
Chase has or does (all with receipts via his Twitter):
● publicly renounced Ron Paul-esque libertarians and the Libertarian Party in general. (Are many of our Tennessee Libertarians supposed to pretend they’ve not been disavowed and renounced with no reconciliation?)
● Virtually no 2A presence aside from a few awkward pictures at the range.
● promoted the importance of masks during Covid and obeyed duopoly-propoganda-driven mandates at nauseam online
● Supported restrictions on the 1A.
● Considers “gender-affirming care” for children not a violation of the NAP if the parents and schools agree. He defends puberty blockers and chemical castration for minors as well.
My understanding from multiple attendees at a June LPPA Q&A is that Mr. Oliver stated that, while studies show it’s ineffective, as long as the government isn’t involved, he’s not against electroshock therapy for minors whose parents would treat them with such a horrendous procedure in an effort to “un-gay them”. I am told from state Party members that the campaign has been pushing for footage release because internally they see this stance as a great sign of consistency in Mr. Oliver’s principles.
The only consistency that I personally see with this campaign is that it wreaks of supporting child abuse given the aforementioned stances. Children cannot consent, and these discussions live within the realm of “age of consent” and are waters that shouldn’t be muddied. As I’ve stated above, what I do is always for the continued growth and flourishing of LPTN and productive efforts to move towards tangible liberty for every corner of our home. For a plethora of reasons, this campaign is an albatross and has hindered multiple fronts of our work here in TN.
Our current regional chair and alternate are working closely with a liberty-minded GOP candidate who has a great chance to supplant an incumbent and vows to support legislation we at LPTN want to see pushed through. While I or the party do not personally endorse an explicit other-Party candidate, we can admire their willingness to engage on a case-by-case basis for gaining influence in the region and pushing for net-liberty. This rapport is instantly a non-starter once the voter base/campaign they’re working with does a surface-level google search of Oliver’s stances in the minor gender issue. Multiple candidates in the Knoxville region for high-level, local offices have also stated hesitancy in meetings on the very same issue.
Our efforts for the ballot access lawsuit have ground to a halt because we cannot get signatures since the LP is tied directly to this campaign and potential signees have stated numerous times that the minor/gender issue is a DOA for them.
I have said all the above to clearly establish the fact that I, in good faith, will not and cannot support this Oliver/Ter Maat ticket as the Chairman of LPTN. I cannot and will not support actively undermining our efforts to spread liberty through local, statewide, and cultural efforts. I must do what protects our productive work in our state and what assists our continued growth in both numbers and influence. This is why I personally will be supporting one of many possible alternate tickets to: Clint Russell and Josie “The Red Head Libertarian” Glabach. They have espoused well-grounded principles, guaranteed to work with and for LPTN’s multiple initiatives, and refuse to bow to the establishment on any scale.
For those who are against my reasoning or with, I encourage you to recruit into our great state party and get involved in the work we are doing. We must continue our growth trajectory, and I personally feel this is the best ticket to get this done. Ten members per a campaign cycle is simply not enough growth to carry the weight of what we are doing; much less member drop off tied to that campaign. That is the total LPGA netted during Mr. Oliver’s GA campaign; 4 of which were protest party joins in opposition to the campaign… and yes, I have the receipts of this.
I look forward to my re-election as your Chair of LPTN next convention and I will always do what must be done to protect and continue the work we have started. We have only just begun.
Your Chair,
Josiah Baker
