In case you haven't heard, the Michigan Libertarian Party state convention will be held in Grand Rapids for the first time in 13 years. This should be a fun time and a great way to reconnect with old acquaintances and make new ones. The great thing about the event this year is that it is free to guests and delegates - so a wonderful opportunity to introduce a friend or two to the up and coming party.
The event will be held May 5th at the friendly Grand Rapids Airport Hilton on the corner or 28th street and Patterson. A social mixer will be held at the Whitecaps baseball game on May 4th 6:35 (great for the whole family). The banquet on the evening of May 5th will not only feature dining by the Hilton staff but also Diane Katz from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
To find out more or to register, you can go to the local web page or the state web page.
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Dear Western MI LP,
I favor a strategy of outreach to Justin Amash, who is in a position to bring vastly more attention to the best means of opposing institutionalized tyranny: jury nullification of law.
When properly explained, jury nullification of law is popular with Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Liberals, and Libertarians. In fact, the jury is the Fourth Branch of Government, superior in power and authority to the other three. The jury is a "one way 'easy-threshold' based limit" designed to make it difficult to enforce laws that have a significant amount of public opposition. Statistically, a law that has 95% support has only a 54% chance of returning a unanimous "guilty" verdict and thus being applied to the defendant. If 10% of the population disagrees with a law, that 54% chance of application drops to just 28% chance, in the absence of an unconstitutional implementation of "voir dire" (combined with other forms of judicial and prosecutorial tyranny).
In matters of public outreach, all that needs to be prioritized is a communication that fully addresses "voir dire." Enough of the population (8%? 10%?) strongly opposes the marijuana and gun laws to result in near universal nullification of those laws by "early adopters."
It seems to me that if Justin Amash is a friend of liberty, and this is properly explained to him, he will sieze upon it as his ability to make a true and long-lasting impact on the freedom movement that actually restores individual freedom. He could even go so far as to show up to victimless crime trials, to encourage and inform the Jury, the 4th branch, as a whole, via the mass media. Such an announcement by the Libertarian Party might go unheeded. But it would be impossibly to ignore such a pronouncement by a sitting congressman (especially one choosing to do something so controversial and unconventional).
The "controversy" in question will come solely from tyrants, so the support of libertarians and Libertarians is essential. Amash, for his sake, can point out that in Alaska, the AK GOP officially supports jury nullification of law (thanks to the efforts of AK LP activist Frank Turney to educate Sarah Palin). Further, "pro-liberty" Democrat leftists such as Paul Butler also support jury nuullification. The LP's Platform is the only national political party platform that supports jury nullification.
Mentioning all of the prior benefits all Libertarians, and disadvantages the tyrant subsets (sometimes a majority) of all other political movements and parties.
Strategically, this is one optimized pathway forward. I don't claim it to be the exclusive path forward, but it is one aspect of an optimal libertarian strategy. Thank you.
You can contact me at 701-204-3215.
Sincerely,
Jake Witmer
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