Eric Sundwall

Former and current State Chairman of the LPNY, Bill McMillen & Jeff Russell are featured on a new public policy program called Capital Outsider. Here's some clips from our pilot program. Bill ran for Senate in 1998 and Jeff last year against Hillary.

We hope to refine our skills, presentation and line up new and exciting guests in the months to come. Thanks to Schenectady Public Access for allowing us to start this exciting project.

All my life it's always been the Republicans blaming the downstate Democrats and vice versa. The naive expectation that somehow Eliot Spitzer could walk into Albany and transform politics as usual makes me happy that the 5200 signatures we collected last summer for the LPNY effort was not as futile as the current regimes are making it. Even after plundering the taxpayers of 120+ billion dollars, they're still bickering about stuff.

Didn't everybody get what they wanted ? Who got left behind ? Helicopters, police details and all types of chicanery are the talk of the town. Nobody that I come across cares or is even paying attention. I'm always embarrassed to be from NY wherever I go. Between Hillary & Chuck and any other typical pol, people in Texas & California are amazed at us and happy they're not here.

There's a lot of chatter about libertarian GOP candidate Ron Paul. The upcoming prospect that he may have raised 2.4 million doesn't put him in the Obama netroots category, but the average GOP folks don't have as much experience as the other side. Whatever online support, YouTube viewers or whatever metric one wants to attribute or take away from the campaign, he is getting MSM coverage. That's something no declared Libertarian candidate can ever really claim.

While there are prominent naysayers in the LP camp over Dr. Paul, the spirit of the Ron Paul supporters is something to be carefully watched. The creative videos and quasi-commercials on the Net may never reach the encrusted GOP'ers in paneling graced family rooms with land lines who get most of those random poll calls, but those willing to go out and reach out is increasing. This seems more so than any other 'second-tier' candidate as some in the elite core of the MSM like to call them. The question for us hardcore LP'ers is not whether we can compete with the Paul campaign, but is whether this enthusiastic rabble in arms not in the clutches of corporatism and special interests will have any interest beyond the brief glimpse and hope that Paul offers in terms of message.

Tuesday morning I caught a stint on WAMC about Patriotism and Dr. Cahrtock was a guest. While people called in with their conception and definitions of Patriotism, an otherwise innocuous show on July 3rd, Chartock and some callers took the opportunity to bash non-voters. The idea being that unless you have indeed voted, any thought or protest in regard to government was illegitimate. Thus blaming any aspect of government and democracy for our ills requires one to vote.

While it's obvious that this doctor of communications and politics is not familiar with the concept of consent withdrawn and its electoral relationship to voters, the underlying theme for Alan on frequent occasions is that even voting third party is wrong when someone as evil and wrong as Bush can assume power and drag us into conflicts like Iraq. In many ways I opted out of voting for Harry Browne a second time for Ralph Nader precisely because of this elitist tripe that is peddled at every opportunity by charlatans like Chartock.

As I listened to Fred Dicker ( advertised as; State politics with an unbiased voice. Fred gives a thorough and unbiased look into the world of New York politics each weekday morning) gush about FDR on WROW, I'm glad historians like Ralph Raico have put some pen to paper about some of the qualities of history and FDR that Fred ignores. Apparently 'ol FDR is being invoked by the broadcasters hall of fame in order to shore up some of the funds necessary to complete their tax payer funded multi-million dollar HQ.

Despite having grandparents who lived in the Depression, we never had the resounding statist lessons of FDR or JFK foisted into our impressionable little heads. In fact my one grandfather always called JFK's dad a rum runner and my grandmother always cackled that my generation would never see a dime of Social Security. I'm hoping to send my checks back if I ever reach that age ( 67 now?). Of particular note is FDR's role in Latin America and his role in the Newport RI naval investigations.