Originally Published on 7/16/25 to TheTorch.media.
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They would do anything for love, including that.
And of course, Trump had “Obama is not a US citizen.” Oop. Rest in peace, Tea Party.
“The Great Marketer” had to steal MAGA from Reagan.
But it was The Great Communicator – the POTUS I looked up to when I was a child – who uttered a couplefew pearls of wisdom that still serve me well forty years later.
The first is, “trust, but verify.” He was dealing with the Soviets, so one might see this one as a no-brainer, but people in our everyday lives will let a lot of their doubts slide in the name of “social cohesion.” I mean, not me if I can help it, but most people.
The second, and the more salient to the Libertarian Party is:
It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.
Of course, he cribbed the line, but he performed it with what, if he were still an actor, would have been a 4th-wall-breaking level of self-awareness and a knowing wink.
Here’s another example of his pitch-perfect delivery. Note the boss move of allowing the crowd to finish laughing. The man was a master and they loved him for it.
Despite his jovial flippancy in spouting a truism humorous enough to be a stand-up joke, Reagan knew that, like in prostitution, connecting with others in politics without letting them take control of the narrative requires a quick wit and a ton of charisma, the proof all over Mondale’s face here.
And this, of course, brings me to the latest episode of…
As The LNC Turns and Burns
This tweet concludes:
It’s also become overtly clear to me that the LNC has become incestuous. It’s held together by the duct tape of the “friendships” of its members that are better described as relationships of convenience among unfed sharks in captivity who, ironically, are deathly afraid of being seen as unlikeable. That’s to say nothing of the dirt Malagon has on his colleagues. Ultimately, the fraying remnants of Mises have become the unicaucus of the party of principle: one big happy corrupt “family” intent on dividing-and-conquering anybody who tries to hold them accountable, including each other.
Of course, they don’t mind being unlikeable to the people they don’t respect. For Malagon, the top of that list is women, which is convenient and previously without consequence due to our historical underrepresentation in the LNC. Luckily, his reign of terror through vulgar, extreme, and very personal carrot and stick politics (intermittent reinforcement) and other narcissistic psychological manipulation officially ended Sunday.
Even heavy pressure and Nice Guys™️ Chair Steven Nekhaila and Vice-Chair Paul Darr couldn’t save him.
All this while the LNC is shuffling the deck chairs on the Twittanic. Despite how offensive they can be to everyone but each other (and Hoppeans), speculation from an inside source is that Lipscomb is a member of the LP’s Super Secret Superhero Social Media Society, along with fellow provocateur Ben Weir, LNC Region 6 alternate and presumptive nominee for one of two now-open at-large seats after the surprise resignations of Kathy Yeniscavich and Adrian Malagon following Malagon’s failed bid for Secretary, a seat won by Evan McMahon.
And you can see the clear differences in their resignation letters, Malagon platforming an anonymous third party to blame-shift to disgraced former-Chair and current Mises Caucus Chair Angela McArdle, and claiming betrayal by his former friends and colleagues who had had just about enough of the LNC’s biggest bully this side of Region 1-2 Representative Andrew Chadderdon. Chadderdon is now positioned for a shot at exploiting the resulting power vacuum.
I was one of five factionless Board members, tirelessly working to plug up leaks on a sinking ship.
OK? But help me out in the comments, friends. Doesn’t he run the California Mises Caucus? Or at least its Twitter account? Or am I mistaken? Remember, I’m just coming back to this freak show after ten years. An outsider perspective is a double-edged sword.
I know I called out the account for being snarky and him likely being the culprit, only to get more snark in denial. And I know what that says to me.
So yes — Adrian is sharp-tongued.
But if that bothers you, ask the harder question:
What kind of environment made that tone necessary?
This isn’t just a personality clash.
It’s the natural result of a broken system.
Oh no, honey. I’m sharp-tongued. Adrian is something else entirely. His tone made the environment necessary. He helped break the system. And it’s intentionally unwelcoming.
Because anyone who isn’t part of the in-group is worthless to him and needs to be gatekept. Again, in the vein of Andrew Chadderdon, who will undoubtedly attempt to restack the deck for Mises.
The demands of a normal and fruitful life require me to redirect my energy toward something far more productive with individuals worthy of my talents. This seems to me far more appealing than wasting any more of my time, effort, energy, or money within a deeply unserious organization made up primarily of equally deeply unserious people.
So special. So salty.
“You can’t sit with us.”
There are myriad intersections of demographic and psychographic traits that contribute to the LNC’s sophomoric in-group/out-group dynamics; however, the through-line is that in politics, nobody ever really knows who their allies are; politics is about both people and power.
That’s why it attracts so many narcissists who are, in turn, so often opposed by those of us who are survivors of narcissists. We can smell their insincerity, and we don’t appreciate their self-superiority. But that’s also why political friendships, even when they’re not allyships, tend to be so disarming to people who, because they’re socially awkward, care more about their princely pals than principles. And that’s doubly so in a small body representing a small party with little wiggle room.
And so with MalaGONE, an additional open at-large seat, a new Secretary, and a question mark hanging over Malagon’s partner, Region 4 Representative Meredith Hays, the makeup of the LNC already looks drastically different since as recently as last week’s resignation of former Secretary Caryn Ann Harlos.
The Mises voting bloc notwithstanding, the oft-criticized “social club” of the Libertarian Party is preparing for all-new high school cafeteria seating arrangements for an LNC that operates on power and anti-competition instead of the cooperation necessary for liberty.
If we play our cards right, evolved interpersonal dynamics based on respect, teamwork, compromise, solidarity, and principle could lead to changes in both bylaws and policy that could attract a more diverse field of new Libertarians, so if you’re disappointed to see diminished female or Latino representation on the LNC, be sure to vote for replacements that will welcome every libertarian to a Libertarian Party on the verge of becoming the leader of a global movement.
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