Dianne Thorne is not a name many have heard on the political scene. However, she has been working for years as an insider in both New York and Miami. An energetic woman, Thorne has become a friend and confidant to political guru Roger Stone over the years. She is now taking over executive power, as she was elected, unopposed, as the first chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of Miami-Dade County back in October.
With a pledge to focus on tackling local issues, she agreed to answer my questions in this interview.
Talk a little about yourself. What is your personal background?
Born in Australia, moving to Miami in the early 1990s, I started my career in the modeling industry, moving to the film and TV industry, before settling in politics where I have witnessed inside operations, good and bad, at the side of political consultant Roger Stone for close to fifteen years.
What led to the recreation of the party in Miami-Dade? What is your chapter's relationship with the State Party?
Toward the end of 2011, I had the fortunate opportunity to work alongside then-GOP presidential candidate Governor Gary Johnson. Having traveled extensively with Governor Johnson for many months throughout his Florida and New York campaign stops and spending a lot of time talking with Governor Johnson and voters while crisscrossing the states, I quickly realized that his platform was unique and not that of a GOP hardliner.
It was during that time I considered leaving the GOP to join the Libertarian Party and did so when Governor Johnson decided to seek the Libertarian nomination.
Then, while attending Florida’s Libertarian Party State Convention in 2012 as a Delegate, and being nominated as Region 10 [representing South Florida] chairwoman, I realized that this was the time to step up and take action; hence the Miami-Dade County affiliate was reborn.
Being chairwoman of Region 10, which consists of Broward, Monroe and Miami-Dade, I am directly involved with the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Florida. In the recent years, both the LP and the LPF memberships have grown exponentially. We are still a young party attracting new members daily.
What will be the party's electoral strategy for the upcoming cycle and what are your expectations?
In a perfect world, I’d like to see a Libertarian candidate run for every available government seat.
Miami-Dade being one of the most politically corrupted counties in the U.S. is getting old. It’s time for Miami-Dade to clean up its political act and weed out special interests that have bought our elected officials.
During the next four years, the Miami-Dade Libertarian Party affiliate will be identifying open seats and seek viable candidates to fill those seats. In fact, for our next meeting on February 12th, longtime political guru Roger Stone will be our guest speaker to discuss politics in today's world.
What chances does the LPMDC have to survive in such a corrupted county as Miami-Dade?
Strong.
It is interesting to note that in the 2012 presidential elections, Miami-Dade had approximately 820 registered Libertarian voters, yet some 2,131 voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. It is my opinion that there are more liberty-minded people residing in Miami-Dade, but they are either unaware of the party’s existence or are unfamiliar with our platform.
I also believe that the party as a whole is attracting those who have become disenfranchised with the Republican and Democratic Parties, and our next generation, who are not going to tolerate its liberties being controlled by the government.
Will the LPMDC be a stage to focus on national politics or will it tackle local issues more often, such as zoning, property taxes, local government transparency, etc.?
All of the above, but you can’t build a pyramid from the top. It all starts at the local level. As a county affiliate of the Florida Libertarian Party, our goal is to tackle issues at the local level. The state party will focus more on statewide and national issues.
Finally, as a bonus question. Do you support making South Florida a separate state as some activists do?
I question what the overall benefits would be, besides having another Governor and potentially the same issues. Therefore, I am inclined to say no.
However, if you are asking whether South Florida becomes a separate state in order to eventually secede from the Union, my opinion is that if we see, in today's world, that the federal government has not led our citizens justly and with honor, then we should stand up and correct it. I don’t believe it needs to be done by secession, but by standing up for correction of the broken system.
After all, the GOP barely existed prior to Lincoln becoming President. More than 150 years ago the Whig Party, once considered integral to the two-party system, was dissipated because the "people" rebelled against the expansion of slavery into the territories. Thus, the GOP was born.
We are at a point in political history where if united-we-stand, history just may repeat itself. To many, the Libertarian Party is the wave of the future.
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