Press for the LSS

Gerry Nicholls, an Associate with the Institute for Liberal Studies, writes about the Liberty Summer Seminar (and the "f" word... that's "freedom," not the other one) in an Edmonton Sun column today.

The Liberty Summer Seminar is less than a week away. You can still register, if you'd like, but you should do it sooner, rather than later. Gerry is scheduled to give a talk, as is M.P. Scott Reid, Marc "Prince of Pot" Emery, Karen Selick, Avril Allen, Ben Perrin, Dr. Jan Narveson (O.C.), Jason Talley, and Dr. Grant Brown. NQ Arbuckle and Lindy will be singing the night away during the concert portion of the Seminar.

The Hill Times, meanwhile, mentions the Seminar as well. No link is available, but Gerry was nice enough to send me the text, so I'm including it here:

Tory MP Reid and Nicholls to speak at Liberty Summer Seminar

Fighting for freedom, guerilla style, will be the topic of discussion at the Institute for Liberal Studies’ annual summer seminar.

Former vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition Gerry Nicholls will give his speech, "Pigs, Power and Politics: Fighting for Freedom Che Guevara-style,” on Saturday, Aug. 18, in Orono, Ont.

Mr. Nichols said conservatives and libertarians need to start using guerrilla warfare tactics to get their message across. “The mainstream media often tilts to the left, making it difficult to get the message out,” Mr. Nicholls told The Hill Times in an email. “Typically conservative organizations lack the funding of their counter-parts on the left, who receive grants or subsidies from governments or union bosses. So in effect, that means we have to be smarter in using our resources. We have to get a bigger bang for our scarce bucks. In other words, you have to be like a guerrilla operation.”

This includes selecting a vulnerable target, hitting it hard and then “vanishing back into the woods, waiting for another target to appear,” Mr. Nicholls said. He outlined that conservatives and libertarians should “forget everything you learned in poli-sci class” because, “in real life, policies and substance in and of themselves won’t get you noticed.”

Instead, these groups should use “a little razzle-dazzle,” he said. In addition, “emotion is important” which means not targeting the intellect, but rather invoking emotions such as fear. “Get a bad guy. Just as Star Wars needed Darth Vader, you need a bad guy to get people riled up against,” he said. At the same time, however, humour works, Mr. Nicholls said, so as not to “come across as mean-spirited.”

Other tips from Mr. Nicholls’ own Guerilla Warfare include being able to “define the debate before others define it,” not being afraid to use the media to get the message out and finally, “Don’t trust politicians.”

Conservative MP Scott Reid, meanwhile, will be discussing “How Ottawa is killing the family farm.”

— Bea Vongdouangchan