After Hours at the Libertarian Convention

I took the 16th Street Mall shuttle this evening to the Sheraton Denver Hotel (formerly the Adams Mark) to check in with the National Libertarian Convention. The big hall was empty except for a guy working at his laptop on the front stage. He turned out to be the National Secretary, Bob Sullentrup, who was kind enough to pause in his toil of writing the minutes to speak with me about the day’s events. Bob Barr was nominated for president on the sixth ballot this afternoon, finally besting Mary Ruwart, who was nominated vice president.

On the way out of the hotel I spoke with two delegates and a party member. My Twitter friend Rick Wolff, a Libertarian delegate from New York in 1992, was following along via the live Qik feed, providing a running chat commentary that I could see on the screen of the Nokia N95.

As an early and strong supporter of Barack Obama, I am pretty far from the Libertarian outlook. But I admired the clarity and passion of the Libertarians I spoke with tonight. It’s refreshing to step away from the Clinton-Obama horse race into a world where ideas matter more than winning.

I plan to return to the Convention tomorrow morning for some audio interviews for Wednesday’s Audio Pod Chronicles.

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One Response to After Hours at the Libertarian Convention

  1. UJ says:

    Great stuff! The first time I watched this last night, I stopped it right as you got on the bus. I really liked that part, like we the viewers got one whole complete thought. A tour of the convention grounds, insightful discussions, and now we’re on the bus heading home.

    But when I watched it again this morning, I let it keep playing after you got on the bus. Rather than leaving me with a good feeling, hearing the obnoxious disorder screeching from the back and seeing the suspicious urchins who instinctively scurried away from your camera instead left my head ringing with Sullentrup’s words. “You give me the freedom and responsibility, we’ll take care of the rest.”

    Really, Bob?

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