"Neal Boortz has done more for the Libertarian Party"

I've received a lot of email since the effort to remove Neal Boortz from the national convention speaker roster kicked off. A lot of it -- perhaps 50% of the mail opposing our efforts, which in turn constitutes about 50% of the mail relating to the issue -- includes a claim to the effect that "Neal Boortz has done more for the Libertarian Party than anyone [insert 'I know of,' or 'in the nation,' or 'on earth' here]."

Now, that kind of claim is admittedly a subjective matter of opinion. There are lots of ways to "do things for the Libertarian Party" that are difficult to quantify. I could make a case that George W. Bush has done a lot for the LP by making it clear that his own party is, and always has been, the party of big government. Or that the Democrats are doing a lot for the LP by waffling and infighting on the war issue, leaving the anti-war vote to us if we have the stones to step forward and take it.

So, I'm willing to acknowledge that there might be ways in which Neal Boortz has contributed to the LP's current or future success that aren't easily calculated. I say "might," because, to be honest, my own subjective opinion is that any perceived association the LP has with the guy tars us as quasi-Republicanoid morons; so I don't necessarily agree that Mr. Boortz calling himself a libertarian is a "contribution." The mileage of others, naturally, varies.

However, there is one simple criterion by which support for a political party CAN be quantified, and that criterion is ... money. Thanks to the nanny state and its concern for keeping the public informed, finding out who has given how much to what organizations is a simple matter of pointing one's browser at:

http://www.fec.gov/finance_reports.html

... selecting "individual search," and typing in a name. In this case, let's use the name "Boortz."

This search returns five entries. One of them is obviously not our man, as the contribution originates in California and seems to be to an industry or union PAC.

The other four, however, are instructive. Two of them refer to a Neal Boortz of Atlanta, and one of those two specifies as this Neal Boortz's employer "WSB Radio." Sounds like our guy, doesn't it? The remaining two refer to a Donna Boortz, also of Atlanta ... and a quick Google reveals that this Donna Boortz is, indeed, Neal Boortz's better half.

So, four contributions to the Libertarian Party. Wow!

But wait a moment. Actually, only one of those four contributions is to the Libertarian Party, in the amount of $250 from Neal Boortz. Now, $250 is a good deal of money, and I expect that the LP should be grateful.

But what about those other three?

The other contribution from Neal Boortz was ... $1000. To a Republican candidate. To a Republican candidate for US Senate (Saxy Chambliss) running against a Libertarian opponent (Sandy Thomas).

What about Mrs. Boortz's contributions, presumably made with the knowledge and consent of her significant other (Georgia is not a community property state, but generally recognizes property acquired in marriage as marital property, which would mean that that money came, more or less, from both of them)?

One of them was to ... The Georgia Republican Party. $1000 again.

The other was, you guessed it, to a Republican candidate (John Linder), running in a race where the LP was attempting to highlight its own candidate (Carole Ann Rand) and the medical marijuana issue (remember that ad campaign? This was the GOP primary in which Linder unseated Bob Barr after redistricting). Another $1000.

So, in summary, the Neal Boortz family, of Atlanta, GA, has, to the extent that FEC reports tell the story, given $250 to the Libertarian Party ... and four times as much to the Republican Party ... and EIGHT times as much to Republican candidates running against Libertarian candidates.

Of course, as I admitted above, there are other ways of contributing. Mr. Boortz's way of contributing to the LP seems to be to appear at the party's events and improve our image by helping us appear to be a bunch of people who support drug warriors like John Linder and chickenhawks like Saxy Chambliss.

With friends like these ...