Sean Dempsey's letter resigning the New Hampshire Mises Caucus organizing role
Sean has informed them that he cannot accept the organizer role because he feels there is no path forward for the Mises Caucus in New Hampshire.
Sean Dempsey is a former member of the LPNH Executive Committee, was a member of the Mises Caucus since very early on, was an elected delegate in Reno, and was one of the two “hardcore micaucs” that Jeff Douglas told me had agreed to be Mises Caucus organizers, covered in the other pieces in this series.
Sean has informed them that he cannot accept the organizer role because he feels there is no path forward for the party in New Hampshire.
A little birdie sent me this resignation letter that was sent to Michael and Jeff this weekend.
Dear Michael and Jeff,
I have great admiration and respect for everything the Mises Caucus has done for New Hampshire and for liberty all around the United States.
The fact Michael Heise’s vision was executed so well and so seamlessly is truly inspiring. We accomplished so much and achieved what many thought wasn’t possible: making the Libertarian party libertarian again! Not just in New Hampshire and a few satellite areas—but the entire national party. Truly amazing. Epic even. I continue to be awestruck by the vision, the strategic and tactical brilliance, the coordination, and the leadership of all involved.
Thank you a million times over for everything the MC has done for NH and the entire movement.
Jeff and Michael - sincerely, thank you. You do not get enough credit nor appreciation. Especially recently as things have…gone sour. You deserve to be praised for your contributions to helping us save NH from the prags and giving us some tools for saving the party (and its brand image) from banality and tepid messaging. In short, you lived up to your promise of restoring the Ron Paul revolution!!
That all said, it is with a heavy heart I must decline your request for me to be a LPMC ambassador/recruiter.
My reasons for this are multiple; and I’ll spare you platitudes and be blunt and brief:
1) Any hope to restore the LPMC was destroyed when Jeff purged the signal group from all its members. Whatever the reasons for doing so, I feel it was very poorly executed, lacked empathy, lacked strategy, lacked interpersonal skills, and took a shotgun out when a scalpel was needed. I don’t blame anyone, but I feel the situation couldn’t have been handled any poorer. In short, any hope of resuscitating the caucus backfired and died in that “purge”
2) I frankly don’t see the need for the caucus anymore. We won. We took over the party from the milquetoast libertarians/prag folks. What, then, is the further point of the caucus? I haven’t seen specific Mises / “take human action” goals from the caucus that aren’t emblematic of the larger/holistic LP. In other words, what’s the point? The cons greatly outweigh the pros for an uphill battle with fellow NH libertarians, many of whom ARE interested in a real political party despite the allegations to the contrary. Every tie to the national LP can be maintained without maintaining a direct tie to the national MC
3) The caucus is now toxic. I called literally 19 different persons since last Thursday. Each are wonderful NH libertarians (with varying levels of involvement and knowledge of the current drama/situation). However, there was one thing in common for everyone. Each and every one had a very similar emotions: feelings of abandonment, hurt, frustration and resentment for what Jeff did by removing them from the caucus chat room and by the behavior exhibited in said room. Each and every one of them was angry (to be mild) that they gave up their time, efforts, and money (many of them having donated a LOT of money) for a caucus that appeared ready to now turn its back on them. 1 or 2 persons is a fluke. But 19 persons saying pretty much the same thing is a pattern and a consensus! And that consensus painted a very clear picture: one that made it clear the Mises caucus would have no more future in NH after the way the recent situation was handled.
Lastly, I will say this. I met with Benjamin Richards [former NHMC recruiter] this afternoon for lunch. I trust Ben and his wisdom. He is probably one of the most well-respected, genuine, and all-around terrific persons and libertarians I know. I trust you would agree after having worked with him as well…
I asked him bluntly if he felt I was missing any piece of the picture. “Was there any way the caucus could survive the recent events and/or add value to NH?”
He and I came to the same sad conclusion: it couldn’t.
As such, I am very sorry to say I will not be pursuing management/coordination for Mises in NH.
I hope the reasons stated above speak for themselves. And if it’s any consolation, I will personally be advocating that ALL caucuses in NH be ignored/disbanded and effectively will be a waste of time and effort.
The business of running the LPNH party and affecting its political efforts can just as easily (and in fact more easily) be conducted without the veil of caucus affiliation. I believe it will only lead to additional in-fighting and squabbling at a time we desperately require cohesion and unity.
With much respect and all due appreciation for EVERYTHING Mises has done for me personally and the LPNH,
Yours sincerely in liberty,
Sean Dempsey
PS please read: https://the-opposition.com/2023/03/turning-libertarian-autism-outward-vs-inward/