Let us consider first the case of an LNC member who, while on the LNC, violated our conflict of interest rules on a large scale.  He raised money for and actively supported incumbent candidates of other parties, and failed to disclose his acts.

I refer to Bob Barr.

Is there a serious violation here?  On one hand, the Party has as a purpose building a party that elects Libertarians to office (Bylaws, Article 3).  Furthermore, the National Committee is charged with implementing those purposes. Finally, the current LNC Policy Manual (a collection of motions the LNC passed) requires LNC members to reveal to the LNC whenever their duties to others conflict with the Party's interests. (Appendix A, this memo.)

While a sitting member of the LNC, Bob Barr -- through his Bob Barr Leadership fund -- raised over a million dollars to support conservatives for their 2008 election campaigns.  When you raise money from others, for a particular purpose, you have a duty to those others to spend their money on that purpose.  

Barr's duty to support electing conservative Republicans conflicted with the Libertarian Party's interest in seeing every Republican defeated. Instead, Barr's PAC actually supported Republicans.

Barr failed to disclose that he was actively disloyal to the party, namely he was trying to defeat our prospective candidates by supporting Republicans.

Furthermore, Barr's PAC paid his son to carry out duties for the PAC.  Barr thus had an economic interest that was contrary to the Party's interests, namely, his family would thrive financially when the PAC did well by causing Libertarian Party candidates to lose, and, conversely, his family would do less well financially when his PAC's candidates were defeated by Libertarian Party candidates.

Barr failed to disclose this financial conflict of interest.

However, the LNC did not take action in Barr's case.  It would therefore be unjust for the LNC to take action in Keaton's case.

It cannot be claimed that the LNC was unaware of these issues, because the issues were repeatedly discussed on the pages of LastFreeVoice.com and many other web pages in May, 2008, prior to the last meeting of that LNC cycle.

However, Barr was not disciplined by the LNC.  He was not disciplined for his disloyalty to our party.  He was not disciplined for failing to disclose his disloyalty.  He was not disciplined for failing to disclose a financial interest of his family.  Indeed, he was not disciplined at all.

For a far less serious offense, Keaton is under threat of expulsion.

The LNC did not take action in Barr's case, so therefore it would be unjust for the LNC to take action in Keaton's far less serious case.

APPENDIX : The LNC Conflict of Interest Rules