Whatever happened to libertarian Nevada? - Opinion

Whatever happened to libertarian Nevada? - Opinion - ReviewJournal.com - Steve Sebelius::

November 30, 2012 - "And you thought Nevada was a pioneer state.

"We made our bones as the country's only home to legal gambling, but now casinos are everywhere and gambling is legal in nearly every single state.... We started the whole quickie divorce thing, with a six-week residency requirement to get un-hitched. Now divorce is simple in most states....

"Nevada has lost its mojo. We're no longer on the cutting edge of libertarian social trends. Now we're watching other states pull ahead."

Read more:
http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/whatever-happened-to-libertarian-nevada-181513341.html
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Appeals court: U.S. military can’t be sued for torturing civilians

New ruling: Donald Rumsfeld can’t be sued for torture. - Slate Magazine:

"Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may not be sued by two U.S. citizens who were tortured by members of the military. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ... judges said that no member of our military—presumably even one who personally inflicts torture—can be sued for his related conduct in office....

"Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel were Americans working for a private security firm in Iraq. When Vance became suspicious that his employer was selling weapons to groups hostile to the United States, he went to the FBI. Vance and Ertel were then fingered as arms dealers. Military personnel arrested them in 2006 and held them for several weeks.

"According to the complaint, Vance and Ertel were held in solitary confinement and subjected to violence, sleep deprivation, extremes of temperature and sound, denial of food, water, and medical care, and other abuses."

Read more: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2012/11/new_ruling_donald_rumsfeld_can_t_be_sued_for_torture.html
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Rand Paul warns of GOP becoming dinosaur – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

Rand Paul warns of GOP becoming dinosaur, cites robotic squirrels – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs: - Ashley Killough:

November 27, 2012 - "(CNN)  Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who's known for his libertarian leanings, cautioned Tuesday that the Republican Party could meet the same fate as animals that went extinct millions of years ago.

"'I think my party, the Republican Party, is shrinking. We're in danger of becoming a dinosaur,' he said on CNN's Newsroom. 'We're not competitive on the West Coast, we're not competitive in New England.'"

"'We need a new type of Republican (Party), I think, one that involves some of the ideas of libertarian leaning Republicans and people who agree in a less aggressive foreign policy,' Paul told CNN's Brooke Baldwin.

"The senator, whose father Ron Paul ran for president for the third time this cycle, said last week he was considering a White House bid of his own in 2016."

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/27/rand-paul-warns-of-gop-becoming-dinosaur-cites-robotic-squirrels/comment-page-1/
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Did Libertarian Party cost GOP 9 races? - Conservative News - Human Events

Did Libertarian Party cost GOP 9 races? - Conservative News - John Gizzi, Human Events::

November 26, 2012 - "According to a chart prepared by the left-of-center news outlet Daily Kos, there were no fewer than nine contests in which the Libertarian nominee received more votes than the difference between the winning Democrat and losing Republican....

"In Indiana’s nationally-watched Senate race, for example, Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly won by a margin of 131,575 votes over State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who made headlines earlier in the year by defeating veteran Republican Sen. Richard Lugar for renomination. Libertarian nominee Andrew Horning — who was included in televised debates with the two major party nominees — captured 146,453 votes (5.8 percent)....

"In Montana’s Senate race, incumbent Democrat Jon Tester edged Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg by 18,764 votes. But Libertarian Dan Cox drew 31,287 votes....

"Republicans in virtually every state appear to do their utmost to discourage a Libertarian from entering contests. But it is difficult—if not impossible—to find Democrats who wish the Libertarian candidate were not on the ballot or included in debates."

Read more: http://www.humanevents.com/2012/11/26/did-libertarian-party-cost-gop-9-races/
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Retiring Ron Paul to make his case for liberty on college campuses next year - The Hill

Retiring Ron Paul to make his case for liberty on college campuses next year - The Hill - Molly K. Hooper:

November 18, 2012 - "Retiring Rep. Ron Paul plans to deliver speeches on college campuses next year and beyond, continuing his message of liberty and reducing the size of the federal government....

"The 77-year-old physician-politician said, 'I'm excited about spending more time on college campuses, not less. College campuses will still be on my agenda. That's where the action is.'
He added, 'The young people don't like the debt they are inheriting, the violation of their civil liberties. They don't like the war and it's a fertile field. The people up here sort of ignore them.'

During the 2012 GOP presidential primary campaign, Paul said that he visited at least 36 college campuses. He was surprised that the best turnout occurred at the historically liberal bastion, U.C. Berkeley, where 8,500 students attended his event."

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/268591-retiring-ron-paul-plans-to-make-case-for-liberty-on-college-campuses-next-year
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Cato Institute To Host 'The Law And Politics Of Marijuana Legalization' Forum | The Weed Blog

Cato Institute To Host 'The Law And Politics Of Marijuana Legalization' Forum | The Weed Blog - Johnny Green:

November 21, 2012 - "In another sign that marijuana is invading all levels of American politics, the Cato Institute is scheduled to host a policy forum dedicated to marijuana reform. Below is the information from the Cato Institute website....

"POLICY FORUM
 Wednesday, December 12, 2012
 4:00 PM (Reception To Follow)

"Featuring Asa Hutchinson, Former Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration; and Robert A. Mikos, Professor of Law and Government, Vanderbilt University Law School; moderated by Timothy Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute....

"If you can’t make it to the Cato Institute, watch this event live online at www.cato.org/live and join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #CatoEvents. Also follow @CatoEvents on Twitter to get future event updates, live streams, and videos from the Cato Institute."

Read more: http://www.theweedblog.com/cato-institute-to-host-the-law-and-politics-of-marijuana-legalization-forum/
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Libertarian classic 'I, Pencil' now available as video

Libertarian classic 'I, Pencil' gets modern makeover - Garry Reed:

November 16, 2012 - "The Competitive Enterprise Institute has remade Leonard E. Read's I, Pencil as an animated film, released on their website Thursday....

"I, Pencil was first published as an essay that appeared in the December 1958 issue of The Freeman, generally regarded as one of the oldest and most respected libertarian journals in the US, a publication of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) which was founded by Leonard E. Read in 1946.

The essay, under its full title, I, Pencil: My Family Tree as Told to Leonard E. Read, had a simple goal: 'to show that economics cannot be "planned" since no one, no matter how smart, can create something as incredibly ordinary as a pencil.' Instead, its creation requires a highly complex global industrial network organized not by a master planner but by the spontaneous supply-and-demand workings of the 'invisible hand' in the peaceful, voluntary, libertarian, laissez-faire free market.

"The goal of the project, CEI announced in a news release, 'was to translate Leonard Read’s story into an exciting and accessible film for the Internet age.'"

Read more: http://www.examiner.com/article/libertarian-classic-i-pencil-gets-modern-makeover
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Echoes of 1937, big government and a new market collapse?

Echoes of 1937, big government and a new market collapse? | StarTribune.com - Amity Shlaes, Bloomberg News::

November 22, 2012 - "Will 2013 be 1937? This is the question many analysts posed as the stock market dropped after the election. On Nov. 16, they noted that industrial production, a crucial figure, dropped as well.

"In this case, '1937' means a market drop similar to the one after the re-election of another Democratic president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1936. The drop wasn't immediate in that case; it came in the first full year after the election. Industrial production plummeted by 34.5 percent. The Dow Jones average dropped by half by 1938.

"It's hard to imagine stock indexes dropping by half today, or unemployment rising past 15 percent, as they did in the 'depression within the Depression.' But the parallels are visible enough to be worth tracing. "

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/180436241.html?refer=y
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The GOP’s growing Libertarian problem

The GOP’s growing Libertarian problem - Aaron Blake and Shaun Sullivan, The Fix, Washington Post:

November 20, 2012 - "It was a historic election for the Libertarian Party.... Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson took about 1 percent of the vote, winning more raw votes than any Libertarian candidate ever has (about 1.2 million)....

"On the Senate front, Libertarian candidates pulled around 6 percent of the vote in two key contests in Montana and Indiana — the party’s best showings in three-way Senate races in at least the last decade ... in those two races and seven others, the Libertarian candidate’s share of the vote was actually bigger than the victorious Democrat’s margin of victory.

"The suggestion some make, of course, is that these Libertarian candidates can — and in some cases might have already — cost Republicans winnable seats by siphoning off GOP votes....

"The question from here is whether the Libertarian Party continues to be an occasional nuisance, or whether it continues to build on its nascent progress and becomes a real headache for the Republican Party.

"Given the GOP’s ongoing problems with its brand, it’s not hard to see voters continuing to desert that brand and pick an increasingly valid third-party option."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/20/the-gops-growing-libertarian-problem/
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Congress will miss Paul's principled libertarianism | News-JournalOnline.com

Congress will miss Paul's principled libertarianism | News-JournalOnline.com (Daytona Beach):

November 20, 2012 - "The GOP cannot fully embrace Paul's minimalist approach to government. Americans are still a freedom-loving people, but the federal government has become a major presence in American life. Most voters aren't ready to accept a very limited government. But Paul's calls for lower taxes, less federal spending, and an end to foreign interventionism have resonated with many voters.

"If the Republican Party is to expand its base, especially among young people and Hispanic voters, it needs to incorporate into its agenda more of Paul's love for individual freedom.

"Paul's views are really no more radical than those of America's third president, said to be one of the founders of the Democratic Party. In 1801, Jefferson told the nation in his inaugural address that 'a wise and frugal government .. shall leave (people) otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.'"

Read more: http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20121120/OPINION/311199978/1027?p=2&tc=pg
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Without You Meddling Libertarian Voters, Romney Could Have Lost By Only 2.7 Million Votes!

Without You Meddling Libertarian Voters, Romney Could Have Lost By Only 2.7 Million Votes! - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

November 19, 2012 - "Over at National Review, Jim Geraghty takes to task those 1.22 million of us who voted for Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson....

"Even if a vote for Gary Johnson was 100% transferable to any Republican (which it is not), let alone to the hands-off-my-Medicare-and-military-spending Mitt Romney (which it definitely is not); and even if applying that bogus math would have changed the outcome in even one state (which it did not), it does not automatically follow that causing the lesser of two evils to lose is a bad strategy."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2012/11/19/without-you-meddling-libertarian-voters
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Ron Paul's Last Speech to Congress

Ron Paul's Last Speech to Congress: 30+ Strangely Ordered Questions - Conor Friedersdorf - The Atlantic;:

"The longtime legislator, doctor and three-time presidential candidate is retiring at year's end."

November 15, 2012 - "On Wednesday, Ron Paul stood on the floor of the House of Representatives, where he has spent 23 years, to deliver his last speech to the body prior to his impending retirement at year's end.

"His sprawling, poorly organized, deeply principled remarks lasted nearly 48 minutes. The video is [below]. A transcript is here. "He wrote this speech out and read it, not his usual style," Brian Doherty explained at the libertarian magazine Reason. "For my taste, the extemporizing Ron Paul of the campaign trail is a little more appealing, but this was still a good and important talk." It is basically impossible to summarize it, but reading through the successive questions Rep. Paul posed during one particularly engaging stretch is a pretty good way to get a flavor of his full remarks."

Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/11/ron-pauls-last-speech-to-congress-30-strangely-ordered-questions/265263/
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Libertarians optimistic for next round of NC elections

The Daily Tar Heel : Libertarians remain optimistic for next round of NC elections - Jeff Kagan:

November 18, 2012 - "The state’s Libertarian Party came away from the 2012 election without any huge gains on paper — but politicians from the two dominant parties say libertarians nonetheless won an opportunity to influence policy....

"Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Barbara Howe received slightly more than 2 percent of the vote, barely crossing the threshold of necessary votes to allow the party to remain on the ballot for the next four years....

"Two Libertarians in N.C. state legislative races received about 20 percent of the vote, which is promising, Howe said."

Read more: http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2012/11/libertarians-remain-optimistic
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Libertarian 'Spoiler' Alert!

Libertarian 'Spoiler' Alert! Seven Democratic Victories in Which the LP Candidate Received More Than the Margin of Defeat - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

November 12 - "On Friday, Garrett Quinn pointed out two congressional races in which a Libertarian Party candidate received considerably more votes than the margin separating a winning Democrat from a losing Republican: Massachusetts' 6th District (48.3%-47.3%-4.5%** for Rep. John Tierney over Richard Tisei and Daniel Fishman), and Utah's 4th District (49.3%-48.1%-2.6%** for Rep. Jim Matheson over Mia Love and Jim Vein).

"Last Wednesday, Brian Doherty also flagged Montana's race for U.S. Senate, where incumbent Sen. John Tester defeated the Ron Paul-endorsed Denny Rehberg 48.7% to 44.8%, while LP nominee Dan Cox received 6.5% of the vote. All three losing Republicans had significantly more libertarian credibility than maybe 90% of elected GOPers on the national level.

"So are there any other 'spoiler' accusations out there? At least four, probably more"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2012/11/12/libertarian-spoiler-alert-seven-democrat
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Sen. Paul filibusters defense bill - The Hill's Floor Action

Sen. Paul filibusters defense bill - The Hill's Floor Action - Ramsey Cox:

November 15, 2012 - "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is holding up a vote on the Defense Authorization Act until he gets a vote on his amendment affirming the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution.... Paul is seeking an agreement in principle to get a vote on his amendment when the Senate takes up the defense authorization bill that funds and sets the agenda for the U.S. military.

Paul’s amendment would give American citizens being held by the military rights to a fair trial with a jury of peers and the right to confront the witnesses against him or her.

Read moee: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/268369-sen-paul-filibusters-defense-bill-until-his-amendment-is-included-in-votes
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Welcome to the Rand Paul evolution - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com

Welcome to the Rand Paul evolution - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com:

November 13, 2012 - "Call it the Rand Paul Evolution.... the Kentucky Republican plans to mix his hard-line tea party conservatism with more moderate policies that could woo younger voters and minorities largely absent from the GOP coalition....

"He wants to work with liberal Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and Republicans to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for pot possession. He wants to carve a compromise immigration plan with an “eventual path” to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a proposal he believes could be palatable to conservatives. And he believes his ideas — along with pushing for less U.S. military intervention in conflicts overseas — could help the GOP broaden its tent and appeal to crucial voting blocs that handed Democrats big wins in the West Coast, the Northeast and along the Great Lakes."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83737.html#ixzz2CDvUuiyx
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Jillette on Obama, Johnson, Hitchens, & peace

Penn Jillette on Obama, Gary Johnson, Hitchens, and peace | Washington Times Communities - Kevin Kelly:

November 13, 2012 - "Given the recent election and Jillette’s self-proclaimed libertarianism, I asked what he would like to see come from a second-term Obama administration. 'Being a libertarian, I am very happy there will be a sense of social freedom,' said Jillette. 'I wish that Obama would embrace that more, and be more respectful to people who want to smoke marijuana. I wish he would be more respectful to the state, and state’s rights like Colorado, and the other states that voted for that and not go after marijuana, but Obama giggles about dope smoking and doing cocaine, but still seems thrilled to send people to prison for that.

"'I hasten to add that I have never had a sip of alcohol in my life,' he added, 'and never a puff of marijuana, but I do believe that freedom matters and that should be everyone’s right. I wish he were more open and more accepting of people who are different like gays and so on. I wish he was not using the Patriot Act and having kill lists and detaining people without trials'....

"One libertarian victory was the accumulation of more than one million votes by party presidential candidate Gary Johnson during the recent election cycle. When I pointed out Johnson’s returns to Jillette he offered, 'One of those one million was mine, by the way.' "Given Jillette’s intense political interest, I wondered aloud whether Americans might see Jillette 2016 bumper stickers in the next election cycle. 'I don’t think so', he chuckled, 'I have a job. I love my job, and I have no desire to do anything else. I also wouldn’t have a chance. I don’t think I’m made of the right stuff to be a politician. I think I’m made to be a loose cannon.'" Read more: https://web.archive.org/web/20130122094855/http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/remnant/2012/nov/12/penn-jillette-obama-gary-johnson-hitchens-and-peac/
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White House website deluged with secession petitions from 20 states

White House website deluged with secession petitions from 20 states - David Martosko, Daily Caller:

November 11, 2012 - "On Nov. 7, the day after President Barack Obama was re-elected, the White House’s website received a petition asking the administration to allow Louisiana to secede.

"If 25,000 people sign the petition by Dec. 7, it will 'require a response' from the Obama administration, according to published rules of the White House’s online 'We the People' program.'

"The Louisiana petition has collected more than 12,300 signatures in four days. A separate effort from Texas has 15,400 supporters.

"Similar petitions from 18 other states began arriving Nov. 9, bringing the total - for the moment - to 20.... "Other than Louisiana and Texas, states with secession-related petitions pending on the White House website now include Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee."

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/11/white-house-website-deluged-with-secession-petitions-from-19-states/#ixzz2C2Xhp2QJ

Islam and libertarianism are a good fit

Islam and Libertarianism are a Good Fit - MuslimMatters.org - Dean Ahmad:

November 5, 2012 - "The most fundamental ethical principle with political implications in the Qurʾān is the mandate, 'Let there be no coercion in religion' (2:225). This oft-quoted dictum is sometimes oversimplified as meaning only that no one should be forced to convert to Islam. That is certainly one corollary of the basic principle. However, when one realizes that the word here translated as religion (dîn) actually refers to the Islamic way of life, one understands that it has much broader implications, forbidding aggression in any aspect of Muslim life.

"In this respect, the Qurʾānic verse is an endorsement of the fundamental principle of libertarianism, the Nonaggression Principle..... 'No person or group has the right to initiate force or fraud against any other person or group to seek to attain their values.' This common sense principle is accepted by everyone in their daily lives, except for murderers, thieves, and con artists. The problem is that too many people are willing to make an exception to this rule when it comes to the state. The divine law, or (for some) natural law, applies to the state, not just individuals.... In other words a war of aggression is murder (on a massive scale, no less) even though it is conducted by a state; unjust taxes are theft even though collected by the state; and the Federal Reserve Board is engaged in fraud when it prints currency backed by no commodity of value, even though it was chartered by the state to perpetrate the counterfeiting."

Read more: http://muslimmatters.org/2012/11/05/islam-and-libertarianism-are-a-good-fit/
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Gary Johnson contemplates bowing out of politics

Gary Johnson contemplates bowing out of politics - Rob Nikolewski, New Mexico Watchdog:

November 10, 2012 - "In an exclusive interview with Capitol Report New Mexico on Friday morning, the Libertarian Party candidate for president said, 'If there’s no path to winning I’m really not' interested in pursuing another run for the presidency. 'I’m not interested in duplicating what I’ve just done,' Johnson said via telephone from his home in Taos.

"On Election Night, Johnson became the first Libertarian Party presidential candidate to receive more than 1 million votes in a presidential election — something that the national Libertarian Party leadership said it was 'thrilled about' — but the former two-term governor of New Mexico said, 'I was kind of disappointed' in the showing. 'I thought the numbers would have been higher,' Johnson said.

Read more: http://newmexico.watchdog.org/16490/exclusive-gary-johnson-contemplates-bowing-out-of-politics/

Libertarian Party regains ballot status in W.Va.

Libertarian Party regains ballot status in W.Va. - Huntington Herald-Dispatch

"November 9, 2012 - "Charleston, W.Va. (AP) — Libertarian candidates will again appear on the West Virginia ballot after an absence of more than a decade.... The party’s nominee for governor attracted enough votes for Libertarians to regain ballot status.

"David Moran received more than 8,700 votes or 1.3 percent of the total.... State law recognizes parties for ballot access when at least 1 percent of the gubernatorial vote goes to its candidate.

"The Libertarian Party had cleared that threshold in 1996. But it then lost ballot status in the following election for governor, in 2000, when its candidate missed the mark."

Read more: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1340518140/Libertarian-Party-regains-ballot-status-in-W-Va

Gary Johnson’s 1.2M vote total set party record; Greens focus on 2014 - UPI.com

Gary Johnson’s 1.2M vote total set party record; Greens focus on 2014 - UPI.com:

Novembr 8, 2012 - "Cravings for less Washington gave the Libertarian presidential entrant a record vote count while a tight Obama-Romney race hurt the Green Party, officials said.

"The nearly 1.2 million votes won by Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, a former two-term Republican New Mexico governor, supported public-opinion polls showing "consistently that a majority of Americans want less government than we have today," party Executive Director Carla Howell told United Press International.

"His nationwide vote count -- the highest count of the minor-party candidates -- represents about 1.2 percent of the total popular presidential vote in the 48 states in which Johnson ran, a UPI analysis of Tuesday's results indicated. Johnson was denied ballot positions in Michigan and Oklahoma.

"His vote count also beat the previous Libertarian Party record, set in 1980 by lawyer-politician Ed Clark, of 921,128 votes, or 1 percent of the nationwide total."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/11/08/Libertarian-Party-buoyant-Greens-hopeful/UPI-46151352363400/#ixzz2BfjgX3tT
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D.C.’s Newest Major Party: Libertarians

D.C.’s Newest Major Party: Libertarians - Loose Lips - Mike Madden, Washington CityPaper:

November 6, 2012 - "The Libertarian Party became the fourth political organization to hold major party status in D.C. tonight, with Bruce Majors winning enough votes in his losing challenge to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton to get the party officially recognized as such by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics. He needed 7,500, which he cleared easily with 83 percent of the vote counted: By 10:56 p.m., Majors had won 11,213 votes.

"Major party status means the District will conduct a primary for Libertarian candidates in 2014, and that the party won't have to seek ballot access for the general election."

Read more: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2012/11/06/d-c-s-newest-major-party-libertarians/
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Recreational marijuana, gay marriage backed in historic U.S. votes

Recreational marijuana, gay marriage backed in historic U.S. votes - World - CBC News:

November 7, 2012 - "Maine and Maryland became the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, while Washington state and Colorado set up a showdown with federal authorities by legalizing recreational use of marijuana....

"The results in Maine and Maryland broke a 32-state streak, dating back to 1998, in which gay marriage had been rebuffed by every state that held a vote on it. They will become the seventh and eighth states to allow same-sex couples to marry....

"The marijuana measures in Colorado and Washington will likely pose a headache for the U.S. Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, which consider pot an illegal drug. The Department of Justice has declined to say how it would respond if the measures were approved."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/11/06/us-election-ballot-initiatives-sidebar.html?cmp=rss
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Liberty Daily | Setting Expectations: Will Gary Johnson Join The Million-Vote Club?.

Liberty Daily | Setting Expectations: Will Gary Johnson Join The Million-Vote Club? - Austin F. Cassidy:

October 21, 2012 - "I always hate when I encounter the post-election disappointment coming from people who are brand new to minor party politics. It’s not their fault really, as for many people this might be the very first presidential election where they’re truly engaged. They often have wildly, ridiculously grand expectations. This is the first time they’ve ever been excited about anything political and when the returns start rolling in they feel crushed — even if their candidate did significantly better than expected.

"For myself, I’ve set my expectations at what I think are a pretty reasonable level. No Libertarian candidate for president has ever captured more than 1 million votes and I will consider the Johnson campaign a thoroughly successful effort if he breaks through that barrier....

"Another thing to look for is Johnson’s individual showings in each of the 48 states he’ll be on the ballot in. How many states can Johnson poll more than 1%, 2%, or even 3% in? Outside of the Ed Clark campaign in 1980, a Libertarian candidate for president has only attracted more than 1% of the vote in a state on 12 instances. And it’s only happened 3 times in the last 20 years!"

http://www.libertydaily.com/2012/10/setting-expectations-will-gary-johnson-join-the-million-vote-club/
'via Blog this'

November 7 - As of 10 a.m. today, Google is showing Johnson at 1,139,000 votes. He is polling at 2% or better in: New Mexico (3.5%), Montana (2.9%), Alaska (2.5%), Wyoming (2.2%), and Maine (2.0%). - GD

Ron Paul Republicans win House races

Ron Paul Republicans win House races | The Daily Caller - W. James Antle III:

November 7, 2012 -  "Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul will retire from Congress next year after serving for 12 terms, but several Republicans influenced by the iconic libertarian-leaning lawmaker will be arriving to take his place.

"Thomas Massie won the race to replace retiring Kentucky Republican Rep. Geoff Davis, beating Democrat Bill Adkins by 20 percentage points. Massie, an ally of Paul’s son, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, raised nearly 10 times as much money as Adkins, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

"Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash, who was already vying to be the House’s next 'Dr. No' in his first term, was re-elected with 58 percent of the vote....

"In a neighboring Michigan district, Ron Paul Republican Kerry Bentivolio was elected to the House seat formerly held by GOP Rep. Thaddeus McCotter....

"Many other candidates endorsed by Ron and Rand Paul, as well as Paul-influenced organizations like Campaign for Liberty, were on the ballot Tuesday, including Texas Sen.-elect Ted Cruz. But these three Republicans most self-consciously identified with the Pauls’ calls for deep spending cuts, auditing the Federal Reserve, and a more restrained foreign policy.

"They all raised money from Paul’s vast national network of donors, which helped them remain competitive in their primaries and the general election."

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/07/ron-paul-republicans-win-house-races/
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Johnson satisfied with presidential run, mum on future bid for elected office | Fox News

Johnson satisfied with presidential run, mum on future bid for elected office | Fox News - Joseph Weber:

November 6, 2012 - "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson spent Election Day wrangling last-minute votes and staying upbeat in the face of possible defeat.

The long-shot candidate, a former New Mexico governor, knew he had essentially no chance of becoming the next U.S. president, but he argued he had delivered his message to the public and still wanted to get 5 percent of the vote, which would give the Libertarian Party equal access to federal funding in 2016 and easier access to ballots in all 50 states.....

"'Regardless of the outcome today, ours is a mission accomplished,' Johnson told FoxNews.com. 'We put a true small-government, individual-freedom option on the ballot in virtually every state and have assembled an organization that will carry that message forward...'

"Johnson said he 'fully expects to remain a messenger for a liberty, small-government agenda.

"'But this election is not even in the books yet. It is too soon to be talking about 2016,' he added."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/06/johnson-satisfied-with-presidential-run-mum-on-future-bid-for-elected-office/#ixzz2BUbNoUph
'via Blog this'

Gary Johnson and libertarian Republicans (new Nolan Chart article)

Gary Johnson and libertarian Republicans

---

Why liberty-minded Republicans should vote for Gary Johnson for President
by George Dance
(libertarian)
Sunday, November 4, 2012

http://www.nolanchart.com/article9940-gary-johnson-and-libertarian-republicans.html

Gary Johnson in D.C.: Libertarian Candidate Seeks To Upset Mitt Romney

Gary Johnson in D.C.: Libertarian Candidate Seeks To Upset Mitt Romney - Michael Grass, Huffington Post:

November 5, 2012 - "While President Obama and Mitt Romney will be in Chicago and Boston, respectively, on Tuesday, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson will be in the nation's capital trying to woo voters heading to the polls....

"According to a media release, Johnson and Bruce Majors, the Libertarian candidate for D.C.'s non-voting congressional delegate, will be in the Dupont Circle neighborhood on Tuesday morning greeting voters at Precinct 15 at Foundry United Methodist Church, which 'boasts an electoral history as one of D.C.'s higher-performing Libertarian polling places.'"

"There's a good reason why Johnson is putting extra pressure on D.C. voters: The former New Mexico governor wants to place second in the nation's capital and upset Romney. A third-place finish for the Republican presidential nominee would be a huge symbolic victory for Libertarians."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/gary-johnson-dc-presidential-vote_n_2080388.html
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Gary Johnson best choice for president - Coldwater, MI - The Daily Reporter:

Our View: Write-in candidate Gary Johnson best choice for president - Coldwater, MI - The Daily Reporter:

Nov. 4, 2012 -- "Polls show most voters believe the country is on the wrong track. Both Democrats and Republicans are indebted to special interests that benefit from deficit spending and federal mandates.

"Just as we said four years ago that then-candidate Barack Obama’s pledges were unrealistic, today’s promises by Republican challenger Mitt Romney would also leave Americans disappointed four years from now.

"Moving America off its decades-long track toward a crash of unsustainable deficit spending requires leaders who are not part of the problem yet who also have experience in government management.

"The Daily Telegram editorial board believes on balance that former two-term New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, is not only better qualified than either Obama or Romney, but also represents the principles of limited government and personal freedom and responsibility that America today desperately needs."

Read more: http://www.thedailyreporter.com/article/20121104/OPINION/121109825#art-tit
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2008 Libertarian Party nominee is supporting Romney - Human Events

2008 Libertarian Party nominee warns of 'dire necessity' to defeat Obama - Conservative News - John Gizzi, Human Events

November 5, 2012 - "Clearly thinking of those planning to vote for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson — or not vote at all — the 2008 Libertarian nominee for president said last week he is supporting Mitt Romney this time because “it is an absolute dire necessity to defeat Barack Obama.”

"Four years after he carried the Libertarian presidential standard — and in all likelihood tipped North Carolina’s electoral votes from John McCain to Barack Obama — former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia told Human Events last week he is back in the Republican fold and strongly supporting Mitt Romney....

"Barr ... refused to utter anything but kind words about the Libertarian ticket of former New Mexico Gov. Johnson for President and California jurist James P. Gray for vice president. As he told us, 'they are a tremendous ticket and champions of liberty. But unfortunately we have a system that has a closed door to a third party. Building a third party is certainly a noble goal and it should be pursued. But given the possibility that a strong showing by (the Libertarian Party) might lead to a second term for Barack Obama, this isn’t the time or place for it.'"

Read more: http://www.humanevents.com/2012/11/05/2008-libertarian-party-nominee-warns-of-dire-necessity-to-defeat-obama/
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Conservatives, be careful what you wish for with Mitt Romney | Fox News

Conservatives, be careful what you wish for with Mitt Romney | Fox News - Juan Williams::

November 2, 2012 - "An open letter to my conservative readers.

"In the last month Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, has been busy taking back nearly every promise he made to you in the GOP primaries. Why the conservative silence?

"Remember that for the last two years, true conservatives expressed grave doubts – in public and in private – about Romney as a flip-flopper, a politician lacking an ideological core....

"In the final weeks of the campaign, Romney has been touting his record of bipartisanship when he was Governor of Massachusetts by saying he was able to work with a “legislature that was 87 percent Democrat.' He worked with them to passed 'RomneyCare' - the first state government takeover of the health care with an individual mandate....

"On energy, Romney was able to work with his Democratic legislature to raise his state’s gas tax by 400 percent.... Romney and his Democratic legislature raised taxes and fees for the average person in Massachusetts by $1,227. Romney and his Democratic legislature also passed a permanent assault weapons ban for Massachusetts and increased fees for hunting licenses and gun ownership....

"Conservatives must be careful not to abandon their principles out of blind hated for President Obama. In their zeal to make Obama a one-term president, they may just elect someone who ends up implementing policies that are to the left of George W. Bush and Barack Obama."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/11/02/conservatives-be-careful-what-wish-for-with-mitt-romney/?intcmp=obinsite#ixzz2BL9A0gxN
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Libertarian completes 5K runs for NC governor

Libertarian completes 5K runs for NC governor | www.wsoctv.com - The Associated Press

November 4, 2012 - "RALEIGH, N.C. - Libertarian Barbara Howe is wrapping up her run — her athletic run — for North Carolina governor....
.
"Howe has made a point of running 5 kilometers in every county since May as part of her campaign. She plans to run in her 100th and final county Sunday afternoon by taking off from the Legislative Building in Raleigh and ending in front of the Executive Mansion.

"Howe invited Democratic nominee Walter Dalton and Republican candidate Pat McCrory to Sunday's run and a news conference, but neither has responded....

"Howe is making her third bid for governor. Her party won't have to collect signatures to stay on the ballot if she gets 2 percent of the vote."

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/ap/north-carolina/libertarian-completes-5k-runs-for-nc-governor/nSw8y/
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Libertarian could spell trouble for Mourdock | The Journal Gazette

Libertarian could spell trouble for Mourdock | The Journal Gazette - Brian Francisco:

November 3, 2012 - "Libertarian Andrew Horning channeled John Lennon at an Oct. 23 debate among candidates for a U.S. Senate seat from Indiana. 'People say I’m a dreamer. You know, I’m not the only one,' Horning said....

"Horning is dreaming if he thinks he has a chance to win election Tuesday.... Horning’s election history shows he is good for 2 percent to 4 percent of the vote.... If the race between Donnelly and Mourdock is as close as some polls and many pundits have suggested, the ultraconservative Horning could be the spoiler.

"'I think he could take quite a few votes from Mourdock,' said Ray Scheele, a political scientist at Ball State University.

Scheele called Horning 'a pretty good landing spot' for die-hard supporters of six-term Sen. Richard Lugar who are still bitter over Lugar’s loss to Mourdock in the Republican primary election but who can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat."

Read more: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20121103/LOCAL08/311039978
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Gary Johnson's Closing Statement in Ohio:"Vote for the Person You Believe In"

Gary Johnson's Closing Statement in Ohio: "Vote for the Person You Believe In" - Hit &; Run : Reason.com - Garrett Quinn:

November 3, 2012 - STREETSBORO, Ohio - Gary Johnson would like to win on Tuesday but if he’s not on top when all the votes are counted he doesn’t care who is....

"“Whichever candidate I make lose that would be terrific because that would open a debate and a discussion over the two parties and what really is the difference between the two: It’s not much., it’s really not much at all,' he said in an interview with reporters before going on stage.

"'I just want to make it clear: [I am] more liberal than Obama when it comes to civil liberties and more conservative than Romney when it comes to dollars and cents. That said, I don’t care what happens, I really don’t,' he said.

"Johnson has been under relentless attacks from conservatives for his candidacy because they claim his presence in the race will cost Mitt Romney the election. Comparisons have been made to Johnson’s run and Ralph Nader’s 2000 Green Party candidacy. Johnson doesn’t see it that way, arguing he takes equally from both candidates and in different states."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2012/11/03/gary-johnsons-closing-statement-in-ohio
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Obama and Romney: Different or the same?

Obama and Romney: Different or the same?:

The case for voting for Obama or Romney rests on the belief that there are important differences between them. How valid is that belief?

by George Dance
(libertarian)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012"

Read more: http://www.nolanchart.com/article9931-obama-and-romney-different-or-the-same.html
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Obama faces stiff task to blunt Gary Johnson's challenge in Colorado

Obama faces stiff task to blunt Gary Johnson's challenge in Colorado | World news | guardian.co.uk - Rory Carroll::

November 1, 2012 - "Barack Obama is due to campaign in Boulder, Colorado on Thursday night to fire up this liberal bastion and try to snuff out a libertarian challenge.... The president hopes to shore up support in the swing state and neutralise Gary Johnson, who is running for president on the Libertarian party ticket, just days ... after the former New Mexico governor electrified students at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"The maverick Johnson remains barely known to most ordinary Americans but is expected to take votes from Obama – and Mitt Romney – in Colorado on the back of enthusiasm for a separate vote on November 6 over whether to legalise marijuana.

"Hundreds packed a university auditorium to hear him speak on Monday night. Dozens who did not fit inside lined the corridors, ears straining to catch the words. All cheered and whooped Johnson's calls for social tolerance and a radically downsized government."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/01/obama-challege-gary-johnson-colorado
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Libertarian Marc Victor Targeted in Arizona Senate Race by Wealthy Super PAC

Libertarian Marc Victor, of All People, Targeted in Arizona Senate Race by Wealthy Super PAC - Phoenix New Times - News - Valley Fever - Matthew Hendley::

October 31, 2012 - "One of the biggest 'Super PACs' in the nation is focusing part of its cash on the U.S. Senate Race that will undoubtedly be won by Democrat Richard Carmona or Republican Jeff Flake. However, the Ending Spending Fund -- which has spent $9 million in races this year, the 10th-most of any Super PAC in the nation -- is targeting Libertarian candidate Marc Victor....

"'Every morning, Harry Reid wakes up, eats his breakfast, and says a little prayer that Libertarians will vote for Marc Victor,' the ad we found on Facebook says. 'Harry is desperate to keep the Senate. And, polling at less than 5%, he knows that a vote for Marc Victor is really a vote for Richard Carmona'....

Victor tells New Times. 'I'm just promoting freedom.... Jeff Flake is pretending to be a Libertarian, pretending to be for freedom and free markets.... He can't even come out against the drug war,' Victor continues. 'For me, that's the easiest thing to come out against.'

"Victor says it seems like Flake's campaign wanted him to withdraw from the race, and he would -- 'if it were in the interests of freedom. If Jeff Flake says he'll end the drug war, I'll withdraw.'"

Read more: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/10/libertarian_marc_victor_of_all.php
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