While we await the national committee's appointments of the program committee members, let's get some preliminary discussion going. What should be our top issues of 2012?

Here are a couple ideas I have:

1. Monetary policy reform: Repeal legal tender law, allow for free competition of currency, and prohibit federal and state taxes on precious metal coins and bullion.

2. Real budgetary reform: Make significant cuts to subsidies, entitlements, and military spending. We should add specifics to this.

The Lysander Spooner Institute is our policy think tank. We are trying to use the institute to back our candidates with research to support platform positions that strictly call for a reduction of the size and scope of government without increasing it.

http://spoonerinstitute.blogspot.com/

I believe the Boston Tea Party is the most radical libertarian political party in the United States, even more than the Big-L Libertarian Party.

However, I am a little shocked with the other candidates running for the nomination of the BTP for the presidency. Just look at my opponent Robert Milnes, who stated on his website, "I, personally, identify more with the Greens. Therefore I seek a woman Libertarian candidate for Vice-President to form a "hybrid" ticket. This ticket should combine the Green and Libertarian votes into one "Progressive Alliance" vote."

I propose that I and the only other present woman vp candidate -Kimberly Johnson-form a m/f fusion ticket & begin campaigning immediately.
Here is what we will need to get started. Once started we should RAPIDLY get A LOT of support because voters will see that we could possibly win.

Some questions for the new candidate Jason Gatties and for others that may be interested:

Qualifications:

What is your D.O.B.?

Are you a natural born citizen of the United States?

Have you lived in the United States for at least the past 14 years?

Election history:

Have you run for office previously?

Why did you change your mind about running for the VP nomination of the Boston Tea Party?

Who did you vote for in the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 presidential elections?

Personal:

What are your some of your personal achievements?

What are your goals in life?

Let me pose this question what factories are we training them to create for? The only new factories are oversea there are none hear. Since Clinton our factories have slowly disappeared the Midwest has been destroyed by what the government has allowed to be done on behalf of so called free trade. I know this probably started back in Nixon’s time but doubt it . This speech was an insult to the intelligents of the American people.

If you have been watching the problems over in Egypt you will notice that most of the people that are protesting are not crazed Muslims. They seem to be young and old Normal citizen looking for a new way of living. Their freedom for years has been stifled by their government.

This whole process by which the nominations are taking place is detrimental to the BTP.

Imagine a bottle neck, where there's an ocean of water trying to go through a small straw.

That's pretty much what's been created here.

But the various "leaders" of the BTW say "...my hands are tied...we can't change anything until December...maybe 2012 or 2016?"

People, do you want one person running for president and vice president of the BTP, or do you want 135 to 165 names nominated by the end of March?

Hi, I'm initiating a ballot access initiative, to build a team to help ballot access for the Boston Tea Party, all parties and independents.

Thank you for your interest. If you would like to join the committee, please give me a call at 415-686-1996 or email me at joogle@gonott.com.

You don't have to reside in Central California to be on the committee.

--James

My experience in politics goes back to 1988 when I first ran for city council of Carmel, CA with the Environmentalist Party, in the wake of Clint Eastwood's campaign for Mayor of Carmel in 1986, when Clint defeated the Environmentalist Party's Tim Grady, one of four candidates for mayor.