The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania - Forum

I want to help the Libertarian party in PA, and am absolutely clueless where to start.  I have some basic ideas, but my knowledge of politics is somewhat limited at this point.  Can someone help me out?



    I do web development as my day job.  I noticed that most of the Libertarians listed as currently in office, as well as most of the candidates currently running, don't have links to personal web sites.  The one that I did click on had a single text page up.  My assumption is that none of them have web sites.  Would it benefit the party if I could write up a nice flashy template, with dynamically generated content for individual office holders?

    Any LP candidate/incumbent could log in with a username/password supplied to them.  Then they could enter their own information for the body of the site using a MS Word-like interface right in their browser.  They could then send people to their site at http://someLPdomain.com/home.cfm?u=NBostaph or something similar.  Perhaps we could even pre-populate the database with standard Libertarian information, so that users without much time could simply modify or 'tweak' the existing data to fit them.

    I run several dedicated servers for my web sites and would be happy to host this on one of those.  In the future we could expand the functionality to allow visitors to put their name on a emailing list the incumbent/candidate could use to send out news, requests for help, etc.- much like the way the Democrats utilized email communication to mobilize their supporters for this past election (the only reason I was even able to vote was because I had a phone number from a MoveOn.org email that I could call when denied at the polls).  What's everyone's reaction to this?



    I also do a fair amount of artwork using Photoshop, Bryce, Poser, and a little 3DS.  Are there areas where the LP could use help in any kind of media design, whether it be animations for TV or static images for flyers/pamphlets/web documents/etc?  Though most of my work is in static imagery (http://NightscapeCreations.com) I have worked with animation before.



    Also, does anyone know where I could get information on the process of running for office?  I'm looking more for basic all-encompassing information, hopefully outlining requirements for a candidate, what positions exist and what the requirements are for each, etc.



    I'd really like to be able to talk to an official in the LP about helping out.  Last time I tried emailing, though, I never got a response.  Does anyone know how I can get in touch with someone who coordinates volunteer efforts?  I listed some other skills I have below.  If anyone has some thoughts on how I can put them to good use, I'd definitely like to know.  Thanks! :)

• Cold Fusion dynamic database-driven web development
• Database administration for MS Access or MySQL
• Web design using HTML, JavaScript, Flash, and CSS
• Still or animated 3D rendering using Bryce, Poser, or 3DS Max
• Post-Processing in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Premiere
• Some media design experience (designing flyers, emails, pamphlets, etc)
• Relatively good at writing either concise technical documents or persuasive essays (lots of PR experience running my own sites). ;)

Organization and order are not the highest level around here.

I think the ideas that you're proposing are fantastic, and I wouldn't wait on the party to get behind you.  I mean have you seen one of our conventions?   :roll:

Contact one or two current office holders directly and send them the contents of your post.  I think they'd all be more than interested.  If you can get a template together, I think you'd see all of the office holders go for it, much like the pahouse.net site.

Then it's a matter of time for the candidates.

No, I haven't been to one of the conventions...and I have the feeling I'm missing a good inside joke in your post because of it. :P

Actually, my wife and I were thinking of attending the local LP get-together coming up on the 17th.  I was assuming we are just allowed to show up.  I'll probably try to bring this up there.  Perhaps I'll email one or two of the office holders my thoughts, along with a link to this post, like you suggested as well.

You said that organization isn't setup very well in the LP.  Is there anywhere I can get an introduction to how things are run, and how volunteers are supposed to get things done (any standard procedure)?  After I get a handle on all of this, I'd like to write up an introductory/FAQ type site for LP newbies.  I have a feeling that a lot of people are probably turned off by the apparent complexity of it all...as I was for two years.

Thanks for the reply, by the way. :)

Yeah - LP conventions tend to be unorganized chaos.  It's quite a delight to watch on CSPAN.



I'd email from this list, as they are offices of some amount of stature:

George Barnett    Oswayo Valley School District Board
Michael Decker    Halifax Township Supervisor
Roy Gothie    Valley-Hi Mayor
Rolland Krause    Brady Twp. Supervisor Chairman
Scott R. Reeser    Centerport Borough Council
Michael Robertson    Licking Township Supervisor
Bob Schindo    York Township Commissioner
Mark E Spatz    Centerport Borough Council
Mark A. Wicks    Upper Tulpehocken Township Supervisor




That's true both at a state and national level.  There really isn't a sense of direction or unity of process.  I think it's to be expected actually.  The party has been around for 30 years and is really in it's infancy in many areas.  A large portion of the party is made of 'idea men', which is fantastic for the platform and such, but idea men tend not to be strong organizers and leaders.




I've been a registered for 12 years and all I've really done is donate money to the party and some candidates.  I'm actually changing that this year because I'm ticked at the national party a little bit (I'll start a seperate thread on that).  As far as I know the only info on volunteering is on the national site:   http://www.lp.org/services/libvolunteer.html



No problem.  I know it's dead around here, maybe some discussion of priorities will stir things up.

Yeah, I know how you feel; I've never done anything but donate money either, though I've only been a member for a little over 2 years.  Like you I'm enraged (yeah, I'm that upset) over the way things have been going.  Bush's win on Wednesday morning really depressed me, but it also spurred a desire in me to make a difference.  I want to get involved and offer something more than just a few bucks to a party I believe can help make utopia a reality.  Eventually, I'd like to run for office myself, but I've much to learn before that point.

I looked over the resources on the LP national site that you linked to.  Like much I've found online it all seems to assume that you understand the basics of politics.  I was hoping for something that explained how many different levels there are and what they are (national, state, county, etc).  Then I was hoping for a list of all the positions at each level, along with information on what that position is responsible for.  Then I would be in good shape to really start researching and learning.  Know of any resources like that?

I'll drop the names you listed an email in another day or two.  My server is down right now (moving to a new datacenter) and I'd like to wait until it's back up.  After all, I hate to offer web development help if every site I say I've built ends up at a 404 error. :P

Please do start that other topic.  We need to get some discussion started in here.
:)

The whole campaign depressed me.  South Park was right on with the way that they characterized the campaign.  Either way I would have been depressed.



Different levels?  Within the party?

You're overestimating my political knowledge. ;)


I mean in the US government.  As in, we have the president, and then the house of representatives and the senate.  From there I'm blurry.  We have state governers, right?  Then there are other offices at the county level if I'm not mistaken.  Doesn't it break down even more than that, like into precincts?  Like I said, I need a real intro crash course.  The last time I talked to someone who knew any of this stuff was in 8th grade social studies.

President

Vice President

United States Senate

United States House of Representatives

Governor

Lieutenant Governor

Attorney General

Treasurer

Auditor General

Senator in the General Assembly

Representative in the General Assembly

County Commissioner

Sheriff

Borough/Township/Corporation Supervisor

Mayor

City Council


I'm leaving out the elected portion of the judiciary.

Thank you, that does help a little.  The reason I asked about an external resource is because I need further information.  For instance, an Attorney General does what?  Lead the army of attorneys (yes, horrible pun I know :P)?  What is a governer's responsibilities and what is he able to do?  How does he interact with the other officials.  Who has power to overturn what and where?  What positions are full time and which are part time, and what is the compensation for each?

These are extremely basic questions, but ones I need to find the answers to if I want to build a foundation for learning my way through politics.  Perhaps I'm too used to my own field.  If I want to build a cool animated web site, I type "flash tutorial" into google and, after 2 weeks and 120+ hours of learning, I can build a professional Flash website.  If I want to make a rendered movie, I search for Bryce tutorials and learn my way through that.  Simple straightforward factual knowledge presented in a logical arrangement is available to anyone who wants to take the time to learn it.  Government isn't setup like that.  I spent over 2 hours with probably 20+ different search terms yesterday just looking for answers to any one of my questions above...I came up with nothing.

I really think the LP party should have a politics 101 course on their site that addresses some of these basic issues.  I could be wrong, but I think that most of our potential members are those with about as much knowledge as myself.  If we can reach and educate these people, optimistic dreamers with a belief that there still may be good out there in the world of politics, we could dramatically increase the size and strength of the party.  If I can find the answers to my questions, I definitely intend to build my own site and try.

Hmm...well, I was just getting ready to try sending a few emails out.  Then I realized that the huge list of current office holders linked to on the state LP site has absolutely no contact information.  Happen to know an easy way to get a list of email addresses, or should I resign myself to an hour or two of Googling?

Nicholas and Thomas what Counties do you live in?

Probably the best way to get connected with the activists in your area is to use the lppa.org website to find the contact person in your county.

I'm the Cumberland County contact and can be reached at rocket1g@earthlink.net or 717-243-5708.

Help of any kind is very much appreciated.

Thanks - Ron Goodman

A couple weeks of intensive study will give you the technical knowlege of how to use the tools. As you know however, it takes more than that to be able to build a "good" website. It's not really so different with politics.


Whether this kind of basic education is properly the role of a political party is debatable. That a site such as you are proposing might be of  independant value - and that a more educated base would be a positive thing - is pretty clear though.

A few places you might find answers to your questions:
United States Constitution (http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html)
US Government Manual (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/browse-gm-04.html)
Pennsylvania Constitution (http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Constitution.html)
PA Government Guide (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/VC/visitor_info/creating/creating.htm)
Since your profile here says you're from Pittsburgh:
Allegheny County Home Rule Charter (http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/charter21/)
Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter (http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/main/html/city_documents.html)

Chris Collins
A fellow web developer (http://www.crcdesign.net)

And now that I've registered, I'll add:
I agree this is a good idea. If you're interested in someone to work with you on the project let me know. Most of my experience is with ASP/VBscript and PHP, but I have a fair idea how coldfusion works.

Right. Registered and logged in might help.

Hi Nicholas,

I'm running for state rep in 2006. I would love some help with a simple website. If we can build something easily replicated for other candidates, that would be even better.

Here is my lame place-holder: www.JamesBabb.com (http://www.JamesBabb.com) .

Please email if interested.

Thanks,

Jim Babb

The link you listed for www.jamesbabb.com has an error in it.  Looks like there is an l added at the end of .com.  Click on it and you will see.  Did Nicholas Bostaph ever set up a website explaining the party's organization (or disorganization) better?  I think there are many people myself included that would like to see what local offices there are to run for, and how to go about running for them.

Thanks David. Here is an email I pulled out from Ken Krawchuk that may answer your question. You should be able to use the following link to dial up any local office. Feel free to post more specific questions. There will also be a workshop for potential candidates at the upcomming LPPa convention on 4/29.

I think you mean 2006.

My apologies David, I did not.  Without going into too much detail, my wife left me late last year.  I had neither the enthusiasm, nor capability, of doing much that was productive for the better half of 2005.  I had totally forgotten that I even came up with this and posted here.  However, I wouldn't mind revisiting some of these ideas now that I'm getting back on my feet.  Please don't wait for me on this one though; it may be a long ways off.

Jim, I'd love to help you out if it's not too late.  We'll want to get you on a faster dedicated server to start.  Please contact me via email at Nicholas_Bostaph@hotmail.com.  I would still like to go ahead with my earlier idea of creating a dynamic template managed by individual candidates.  I could use your help figuring out what sections will be appropriate and what functionality should be included.  Then you can beta test it for me and let me know how it runs.  Maybe I'll even learn a little something about politics in the process. :)

I'll post back here with a link once I have something up.

In addition to a candidate template I would like to see a County Committee level template as well.

It would be a nice service for each county committee to be able to get a website up and running without recreating the wheel.  It would also help us have a consistent look.

Thanks for getting involved again with the Libertarians.  This is exactly what we need....volunteers willing to pitch in and help with things they are good at doing and enjoy.

Ron Goodman
Chairman - Cumberland County LP

Nicholas.

First, I would like to commend you on your desire to become involved.  I will not be the one to deny a certain amount of "disorganization," but remember, none of us are paid staff and we are all holding down full-time day jobs and then doing as much as we can to support the party as well as maintaining a connection with the people in our lives that matter.  Jim and Chuck are running for the most conspicuous offices, but a lot of us are running for local offices as well as trying to maintain the administration of the Party.  Party involvement can become entirely absorbing, if you aren't careful.

We are currently planning the next convention, you are by all means welcome to attend.  As time goes on, there will be more postings about the convention.  At this point, it looks like it will happen in State College the weekend of 3/3 - 3/5, although that may change.

Your technical skills are fantastic and I'm sure a lot of candidates will be able to make use of them.  We are in need of volunteers for a LOT of projects. . .some are on-going and others are one-time only and still others are once a year or once a quarter.  There are SO many volunteer opportunities.  I saw that Ron Goodman previously responded;  Ron is my county Chair and from what I observe he is one of the better ones.  I don't want to alienate anybody or make anybody feel bad because I am sure they are doing the best they can with what resources available to them and with the time they have;  however, Ron really goes the extra mile.  If you don't perceive you are getting enough volunteer opportunities in your own county, please consider getting involved in either other counties or at the Board level.  Everybody is welcome to attend the Board meetings and although you may not have voting rights, you will be able to participate in the discussions and you will be able to volunteer on a state-wide basis.  I am CERTAIN that there are activities that are being done by people who are already doing too much that you would be able to take over and execute from the comfort of your own computer room.  The next Board meeting is in December although a contingent group of us is going to Baltimore for one of the National training sessions/National LP meetings on 11/12, which will cover federal election laws and the related paperwork that must be completed with respect to campaign financing.  Since you are not already involved, it may not make sense for you to jump in at this particular training session, but if you perceive you would like to be involved in Treasury duties, either for the Party or for a campaign, your own or someone else's, you might want to consider attending.

David Jahn is the Chair of the LPPA;  he has risen to a challenge of taking a disparate group of people, most of whom have a tendency to argue and who naturally think outside the proverbial box, and formulate a team working towards tangent, important goals.  While I think he is amazing and has done a fabulous job in reducing the disorganization, we still have a long way to go.  The number one thing that would help remove the remaining points of chaos would be to have more people actively involved.

So, again, thanks for the interest, lets make sure that you can find a good fit to help out;  if the first area doesn't suit you, there are other opportunities, you can contact me here or at p2sirius@yahoo.com if you want to talk further on this matter.

On a slight tangent, there are often groups that are VERY organized, but they rarely have free thought.  Our organization exists because over a loose frame work of identifying with the ideals of Liberty, Individuality and Personal Responsibility, we each, as individuals, can and do think for ourselves;  this amount of independence naturally means there will be a lack of homogeneity that is found in less diverse-thinking groups.  I'd rather be who I am, which happens to be a Libertarian, and think my own thoughts than be part of a well-oiled machine and lose my individuality, even if that means I don't come to a perfect understanding with one or more of my peers, all of whom I respect, even while we disagree, on any given topic.  I'd also rather be in a room with everybody disagreeing and arguing their points, knowing that everybody was being who they really were than be with a bunch of mousy, PC people who always towed the so-called party line.  So, while I would like to see less disorganization, administratively, I truly hope we are never so perfectly together as to lose our diversity and range of opinions.

Thanks,
Karen L. Simons
LPPA Treasurer