2012 Libertarian Party of Wisconsin & LP Minnesota
Registration is now open for our 2012 convention! It will be the libertarian event of the year for our region, so you do not want to miss it! It’s an unprecedented opportunity for Wisconsin libertarians to meet a knockout lineup of Libertarian speakers, including Governor Gary Johnson, other major Libertarian presidential candidates, and keynote speakers Walter Block and Sharon Harris.This Joint Wisconsin-Minnesota Libertarian Party State Convention will be held Saturday, April 14, 2012. Scheduled speakers, the location, accomodations, and convention package options are detailed below. The public is welcome to come see for themselves why the libertarian movement is the alternative we need today, and why the Libertarian Party is the party of a free people, based on principled reason.
This will be an “open media day”. All who attend will be free to record the proceedings and speakers, and post them online as they wish. (An exception will be the morning business sessions, which will be at the presiding state Chair’s discretion.)
Updates will be made to this page as the convention draws near, so please remember to check back again for new developments.
Schedule and Speakers:
PART 1 - BUSINESS SESSIONS
11 am - 1 pm
LP-Wisconsin Business Session- Those who are delegates (state party members) will be able to vote in LPWI party business matters. On the table are proposed platform changes and bylaws changes (if any), and the selection of delegates to the Libertarian National Convention.
1 pm - 1:50 pm
Lunch Break- Attendees may get lunch at their leisure, available at the hotel’s restaurant, or check-in if staying overnight.
PART 2 - AFTERNOON ISSUE-BASED SPEAKERS
Note: These issue-based speakers may still be subject to change. Please check back soon for any updates.
1:50 pm - 2 pm
Introduction- Welcome by LPMN and LPWI Chairs.
2 pm - 2:15 pm
Ken Van Doren- Mr. Van Doren, from Wisconsin, has been active with Ron Paul’s Campaign For Liberty organization. He will discuss monetary policy, including the value of the dollar, the Federal Reserve, the path to the 2008 crisis, the rising credibility of gold, and where we go from here.
2:15 pm - 2:30 pm
Tom Revnew- Mr. Revnew, from Minnesota, is a partner at Seaton, Peters, & Revnew law firm. He will speak about his firm’s efforts on behalf of daycare workers to fight Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s executive order forcing privately-owned child-care businesses to hold unionization votes, which is occurring even as Wisconsin is also seeking ways to burden child-care businesses with new mandates.
2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Richard Carlbom- Mr. Carlbom, from Minnesota, is the Campaign Manager for Minnesotans United for All Families, an organization working to defend the liberty of all individuals to be married without government restriction. He will speak about personal freedom and discuss how his organization is building momentum to defeat the proposed gay marriage ban in Minnesota.
2:45 pm - 3 pm
Max Kane- Mr. Kane, from Wisconsin, is a farm freedom activist. He will speak about the farm freedom movement, resistance to new state legislation encroaching upon farmers, and his efforts to allow individuals to buy directly from farmers without government interference.
3 pm - 3:15 pm
George Meyer- Mr. Meyer is the LPWI’s new “Campaign Czar”. He will present an overview of his plan to recruit more Libertarian candidates and bolster their campaigns.
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Break
PART 3 - PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
3:30 pm - 4 pm
R.J. Harris- Mr. Harris is a candidate for the 2012 Libertarian presidential nomination. He is a Constitutional scholar and graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, as well as an actively serving member of the National Guard. (Note: As Mr. Harris may have obligations in regard to his National Guard duties, he is tentative for this convention. Please check back soon for an update.)
4 pm - 4:30 pm
Julie Fox speaking for
Lee Wrights- Mr. Wrights is a candidate for the 2012 Libertarian presidential nomination. He is a longtime Libertarian activist, has held both state and national posts within the Libertarian Party, and is active as a libertarian-oriented journalist. As Mr. Wrights has a prior commitment, he is unable to attend our convention. Julie Fox, former LNC representative for the Midwest states, will speak on behalf of the Wrights campaign.
4:30 pm - 5 pm
Gary Johnson- Mr. Johnson is a candidate for the 2012 Libertarian presidential nomination. He garnered nationwide media coverage from his recent decision to join the Libertarian Party. As a two-term Governor of New Mexico, he is known for vetoing more freedom-infringing bills than all other 49 governors combined. He cut taxes 14 times while never raising them, and by the time he left office, New Mexico was one of only four states with a balanced budget.
5 pm - 5:35 pm
Break and Dinner Buffet
PART 4 - KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
5:35 pm - 5:45 pm
Keynote Kickoff- Introduction to the keynotes by LPMN Vice Chair.
5:45 pm - 6:30 pm
Walter Block- Mr. Block is a Senior Scholar with the Mises Institute,a leading organization advocating personal liberty and a genuinely free marketplace, which is focused on developing libertarian theory and implementing it into practice. He is an Austrian school economist and a Professor at Loyola University in New Orleans. Since 1976, he has authored numerous books and papers on advancing the libertarian movement, including “Defending the Undefendable”, “The Privatization of Roads and Highways”, and many others.
6:30 pm - 7:15 pm
Sharon Harris- Ms. Harris is President of the Advocates for Self-Government, an organization dedicated to libertarian communication and outreach, including promotion of the “World’s Smallest Political Quiz” to educate the public on how libertarians fit into the true political spectrum. She was a founding member of the Libertarian Party of Georgia in 1972. Her focus is on improving ways to communicate the libertarian message with the public.
7:15 pm - 7:20 pm
Conclusion - Closing comments by LPMN and LPWI Chairs.
PART 5 - SOCIAL EVENING
7:30 pm - Close
Social Evening- After the convention, all who attend are welcome to gather for a social evening at the Ramada Convention Center’s lounge and bar. Those who’ve previously attended Libertarian state conventions know that the company of like-minded people and a few brews or some fine wine make for a very enjoyable evening. Former LPWI Chair Ben Olson will provide a bit of entertainment, performing with his classic rock band “The Usual Suspects”.
Location and Accommodations:
The convention will be held at the Ramada Convention Center in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Midway between the population centers of eastern Minnesota and southeastern Wisconsin, this location was chosen so that the most people can attend from both states, ensuring a large event.
For those who wish to stay the night of Saturday April 14, and perhaps Friday April 13 as well, a bloc of rooms with a discounted special rate has been arranged for both dates. To reserve a hotel room, contact the Ramada at 715-835-6121 and be sure to ask for the “Libertarian convention” rate of $72/night + tax. This facility has a swimming pool, fitness center, and other amenities, so some may choose to use this convention as a weekend mini-vacation.
The Hotel & Convention Center’s address is:
Ramada Convention Center
205 South Barstow Street
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Convention Package Fees:
Attendees may register online or by mail. Multiple options are available: adult rates, and discounted student rates for high school and undergraduate students, with both including a dinner option. For adults, the early-registration fees are $15/$37. For students, early-registration fees are $5/$27. These prices are listed “without/with the dinner buffet.”
The dinner buffet will include a choice of baked chicken, pork loin medallions with a maple glaze, baby red potatoes, sweet corn, house salad, and Caesar salad. It also includes dinner rolls, coffee, and premium teas. The buffet is all-you-can-eat. It will be served at approximately 5 pm.
Convention fee options:
$15 Adult full convention access.
$37 Adult full convention access with dinner buffet.
$5 Student full convention access.
$27Student full convention access with dinner buffet.
Priority Dinner Seating Options with Presidential Candidates and Main Speakers
We offer an optional extra feature. For an additional amount, to be sold on highest bids on Ebay, you will be guaranteed a seat at the presidential candidate’s or keynote speaker’s table of your choice. You’ll also be seated at the front of the event, while helping us to offset the significant costs of this convention. For those interested, you must act. ! There are only 3 seats per table allotted to each state party, so we expect them to be claimed quickly. Sorry, we wish the tables were larger! The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin's priority seating for this event will begin Saturday, March 24th at noon and run until Saturday, Saturday, March 31st, noon (or concurrent time following). The base requirement for delivery of the priority seating is a minimum purchase of Adult or Student full convention access and dinner buffet package, and a $25 minimum starting bid on the Ebay auction for each of the separate priority seats. AS STATED, the LPWI has only 3 seats per table with the priority seats. Highest bid at close of the several auctions wins the seats. Those who do not meet the minimum requirement of adult or student full convention access with buffet dinner paid and have paid for the priority seating winning auction bid by starting time of the convention proper forfeit and the LPWI reserves the right to dispose of the forfeited seats. The auction sites on Ebay can be accessed directly through either Ebay or on the LPWI home page using the auction icon, at www.lpwi.org .
Guaranteed seating options:
$25 (minimum auction bid)R.J. Harris table seating (subject to refund if he cannot attend).
$25 (minimum auction bid)Julie Fox table seating.
$25 (minimum auction bid) Gary Johnson table seating.
$25 (minimum auction bid)Walter Block table seating.
$25 (minimum auction bid) Sharon Harris table seating.
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People are welcome to register the day of the convention, but we encourage all who intend to come to register early! By registering on or before March 31:
- You will be assured a seat in the convention hall.
- You will obtain the early-registration convention fees shown above (these increase by 12-30% afterward, depending on the option).
- You will help us plan for this event, allowing us to determine how many tables are needed and ensure that enough food is prepared for everyone.
- If staying overnight, you will be able to reserve a room at the special “Libertarian convention” rate. As other events are happening in the area, the Ramada can no longer hold our bloc of rooms after this date, although they’ll still offer the special $72 rate to convention attendees so long as rooms remain available.
You may also register mail. Please send a check or money order for the convention package you would like (above) to the address below. Note: As we expect the guaranteed seating spots be taken very quickly, we cannot offer that option to those who register by mail.
Joint State Convention
Mail any registrations to:
Libertarian Party of Wisconsin
P.O. Box 20815
Greenfield, WI 53220-20815
This year’s convention will be an exciting and memorable event, where we discuss ways to move the libertarian movement forward and make the Libertarian Party into the public’s alternative of choice. Hope to see you there! More Info Here
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