Monday, October 31, 2016

Rep. Rigell records video endorsing Johnson

Powerful: GOP Congressman Scott Rigell Video Endorsement of Libertarian Gary Johnson - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Nick Gillespie:

Oct. 23, 2016 - "That's Scott Rigell, a Republican congressman from Virginia who broke party ranks to endorse Libertarian presidential nominee and former two-term New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson back in August. The mere fact of partisans such as Rigell splitting their votes is important, of course — it's a bold, even courageous example, and a necessary one for an era in which voter identification with the major parties is going down like the Titanic:"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/23/powerful-gop-congressman-scott-rigell-vi
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Sunday, October 30, 2016

McAfee & Perry won't vote for Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson's Libertarian rivals reject him for president - Washington Times - David Sherfinski:

October 18, 2016 - "It’s not exactly 'never Johnson,' but some of Gary Johnson’s former rivals for the Libertarian presidential nomination say they are unimpressed with his campaign and won’t vote for him, with one even channeling Sen. Ted Cruz and telling libertarians to vote their 'conscience' as he mounts an informal write-in campaign for himself.

"Author Darryl Perry, who placed fourth at the party’s nominating convention in May, said last month that everyone, including libertarians, should 'follow their conscience' when voting in the general election. 'I will be writing myself in,' Mr. Perry said this week. 'Of the people that are on the ballot in New Hampshire, there’s none of [them] that I think are good.'

"Mr. Perry has taken issue with Mr. Johnson’s positions on taxes and guns, among other areas. Mr. Johnson has said he wants to replace the income tax with a consumption tax. He also said he is open to a discussion on banning people on terrorism watch lists from buying guns while criticizing such lists as riddled with errors.

"Cybersecurity specialist John McAfee, who came in third, said he is not going to vote. He cited gun control as one reason he is withholding support for Mr. Johnson. He also said he doesn’t see much appeal in either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. 'The reason I’m not going to vote is that you cannot tell me that I have a choice between the measles or a bladder infection and expect me to pick one,' Mr. McAfee said....

Nicholas Sarwark, who chairs the Libertarian National Committee, said people who didn’t win the nomination won’t be happy but that Mr. Johnson was the convention delegates’ clear choice. 'I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what the haters think,' Mr. Sarwark said. 'For the most part, the people who are the loudest concern trolls are the people who do not have our best interests at heart.'

"Mr. Johnson does still have the support of businessman Austin Petersen, his top rival for the nomination. Mr. Petersen acknowledged 'disappointments,' such as Mr. Johnson’s blanking on a question about ... Aleppo, but said the former two-term New Mexico governor still has a historic opportunity to get a higher vote total than any other Libertarian Party presidential candidate.

"'It won’t put him in the White House, but it does advance the movement that’s behind him, which is sort of what I consider the future of politics in the United States, and that’s the liberty movement,' Mr. Petersen said."

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/18/gary-johnsons-libertarian-rivals-reject-him-for-pr/
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Saturday, October 29, 2016

Johnson's the only candidate worth considering

Why Gary Johnson Is the Only Presidential Candidate Worthy of Consideration | HeatStreet - Sebastian Doggart:

October 24, 2016 - "When the Trump campaign imploded, I finally felt it was safe to come out as a supporter of Gary Johnson.... The response was more hostile than if I’d announced I was engaged to Kim Jong Un.

"'I’m genuinely concerned you’ve lost your mind,' wrote my pro-Clinton friend Eliza....  I knew Eliza opposed the death penalty, so asked her why she was voting for Clinton, who still believes the government can kill people legally. When I showed her that, unlike Johnson, Clinton is indeed a cheerleader for lethal injections, Eliza went silent.

"Capital punishment is just one issue where many Americans, in their heart of hearts, may well agree more with Johnson than with ClinTrump. Peace is another one. Hawkish Hillary voted for the Iraq war, backed military action in Libya and sending American troops into Syria. Trigger-happy Trump also gave the Iraq war a thumbs-up.... Johnson opposed the Iraq war, and has pledged to slash the military budget ... scale back on nuclear programs, close down some foreign bases and end foreign invasions.

"Johnson is a far braver free-speech advocate than ClinTrump. He has been steadfast in his opposition to the Patriot Act, censorship of the Internet, militarization of the police and the indefinite detention of prisoners. In 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union gave him the highest score of any presidential candidate....

"Johnson is the champion of the challenge to the bankrupt two-party system, with which millennials are so fed up. That’s especially true with Social Security ... an entitlements program that is heading off a cliff.... 'Millennials are getting screwed,' Johnson warns.... The same is true with healthcare. As Johnson said: 'President Obama’s affordable healthcare is dependent on young healthy people paying for older unhealthy people'....

"On education, Johnson ... will completely abolish the grossly wasteful Department of Education and will expand vouchers for private schools. Unlike Clinton, his plan favors teachers over unions; local educational processes over federalized testing.

"Johnson is passionate in his belief that the Federal government should stay out of both your bedroom and your wallet. That is most apparent in his tax plan, which would eliminate the IRS and replace most of the tax code with a single consumption tax. He’s promised to submit a balanced budget to Congress within his first 100 days in office....

"Johnson could win the White House it if he prevails in just one state, and neither Clinton nor Trump secures 270 electoral college votes.... Terror of this scenario is what’s brought out the Obamas to turn their sights on Johnson and led the liberal-limousine echo chamber to sink to personal insults. Bill Maher recently called Johnson a 'ventriloquist dummy' and a 'fucking idiot.' John Oliver drank the two-party Kool-Aid, laid into Johnson as 'weird… an ill tempered mountain-molester with a radical, dangerous tax plan.' David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, called him 'the least informed candidate for the presidency'.... The Clinton propaganda machine and their loyal media supporters ... hammered Johnson [and] MSNBC ... organized a Gotcha-ism orgy."

Read more: http://heatst.com/politics/pot-shot-heres-why-gary-johnson-should-be-the-next-president/
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Friday, October 28, 2016

Weld in Alaska, where ticket last polled 18%

Libertarian vice presidential candidate makes pitch for Alaskans’ votes - Alaska Dispatch News - Nathaniel Herz:

October 28, 2016 - "The Libertarian Party on Thursday began a last-minute blitz on Alaska, sending vice presidential candidate Bill Weld to make his ticket's small-government case in a state where it's drawing double digits in polls.

"Weld, in an interview and later speaking at an Anchorage rally that brought 150 people to the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, pitched a pragmatic libertarian philosophy. His program made room for climate change regulation, status quo military spending, and a near-endorsement of Lisa Murkowski, the incumbent Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, whom Weld described as 'dynamite' — and who's running against an official Libertarian candidate, Joe Miller.

"Weld is spending two days in Anchorage less than two weeks before the election, with Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, expected to visit Wednesday.

"Weld is a former Republican governor of Massachusetts and an avid outdoorsman who initially tried to fit a trout fishing trip into his Alaska schedule. He said the two running mates see their Libertarian ideology and love for 'wide open spaces' aligning with Alaskans who want to keep government at arm's length....

"An Alaska Dispatch News poll conducted at the end of September and early October had Johnson drawing 18 percent. Murkowski's own polling put the Libertarian candidate at 10 percent....

"The Libertarian presidential campaign sees Alaska as fertile ground, given widespread dissatisfaction with the two major [parties'] nominees and the 53 percent of voters who don't register with a political party. But they haven't been working with the Alaska Libertarian Party, which chose a social conservative and former tea party Republican, Joe Miller, as its U.S. Senate candidate....

"Weld referred to socially conservative policies as 'mean-spirited' at the rally and said Miller effectively 'took over' the Alaska Libertarian Party.

"'He doesn't speak for us or the national party,' Weld said in the interview. Instead, he praised Murkowski, who condemned Donald Trump's candidacy earlier this month. Weld said Murkowski was 'absolutely terrific' and said he agreed with her support for oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"A spokesman for Miller, Randy DeSoto, didn't respond to a request for comment."

Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2016/10/27/libertarian-vice-presidential-candidate-makes-pitch-for-alaskans-votes/
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Thursday, October 27, 2016

Libertarian Simmons polls 41% in Massachusetts

New Poll: Libertarian Congressional Candidate Nearly Tied for Lead - Josh Guckert, The Libertarian Republic:

October 24, 2016 - "In a new poll conducted by the Associated Press, Libertarian candidate for the 1st Congressional District in Massachusetts Thomas Simmons is only 4 points away from overtaking Democratic incumbent Richard Neal.
Simmons for Congress 1st CD-Mass.
October 23 at 12:49pm

FIRST POLL IS OUT! Associated Press, conducted 9/26, and released to their affiliate stations:

Richard Neal: 45%
Thomas Simmons: 41% ... See more
"Neal has served in the House of Representatives since 1989. Having no primary challenger or Republican opponent, Simmons and Independent Frederick Mayock are his only opposition. Neal has faced no serious threat to reelection since 2010 when he defeated Republican Tom Wesley by 15 points. That comfortable margin of victory is to this point Neal’s closest election.

"Simmons is a 56-year-old professor at Greenfield Community College, a position which he has held for 18 years. Due to his background in education, Simmons has made this one of the major issues in his platform:

"Schools and teachers are spending more resources each year creating meaningless reports and data, and less and less time helping students at critical thinking. The result is that politicians claim they are addressing education issues, while in fact, some 60 percent of students enter our community college system at lower than college-ready aptitude in basic English and math skills.

"With only 15 days until election day, Simmons is expected to ramp up his voter outreach so that he may pull off an ... upset. "

Read more: http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/libertarian-congressional-candidate/
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Thomas T. Simmons webpage: http://simmons4congress.com/
Thom Simmons for Congress on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Simmons4Congress/?fref=nf

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Gary Johnson gets 27% in latest military poll

Gary Johnson’s 27% Showing in Another Military Poll Is a Warning Shot to Smug Interventionists - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

October 24, 2016 - "Last week Military Times and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families released another presidential poll among active-duty personnel, conducted Oct. 12-14. Donald Trump was the first choice among the nearly 2,500 respondents, at 41 percent (in the ballpark of his 39 percent or so nationwide), followed by Gary Johnson at 27 percent, Hillary Clinton at 21 percent, and Jill Stein at 2 percent.

"The results show some slippage for Johnson from a month ago, when the same survey had the race 38-37-16-1, placing the Libertarian in a virtual tie with the Republican. But the fact that a third-party candidate with no particular foreign policy expertise is outpolling the likely next president among active military while exceeding his national averages by more than 400 percent should give Washington's default interventionists pause.

"Instead, judging by this condescending Christian Science Monitor write-up (subhed: 'A new poll shows Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson beating Hillary Clinton by 7 points among active military personnel, despite his proposals to cut military spending and a lack of foreign policy knowledge'), the only people that the political class deem ready for a re-think are the troops themselves. Don't these rubes understand that Johnson lacks the necessary sophistication?...
"It's a little hard to explain, actually," Matthew Dallek, a professor at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, tells The Christian Science Monitor. "There's no kind of rational basis."
"Nothing 'rational' about the tip of the U.S. spear preferring a commander in chief who is less eager to go to war? Hard to explain the military polling success of a candidate who wants clearly defined missions, "peace through strength," and a reorientation toward actual defense? Methinks some professors and journalists should get out more.

"Military support for politicians who are less hawkish than the Washington establishment is nothing new.... I have met dozens of young veterans who came to the ideas of libertarianism through the process of becoming skeptical about the War on Terror's overall mission. It is a far more common path, in my anecdotal experience, than, say, the fiction of Ayn Rand. Most were attracted at first by the words and presidential runs of Ron Paul (though you'll hear an occasional Rand Paul or Gary Johnson thrown in, as well as Reason magazine), and all share a searing intensity and intellectual curiosity as they seek to learn more and figure out how they might act on these ideas either in the service or out.

"It should be a cause of sober reflection, even alarm, that as of less than a month before a presidential election, a third-party skeptic of intervention who's polling just north of 6 percent nationwide is nonetheless in a virtual tie for the lead among active-duty military officers. Instead, the political class mostly offers up warmed-over snickers about 'Aleppo,' mixed with digs at the troops' endemic sexism.

"We should be clear-eyed about recognizing AleppoMania for what it is: A chance to avoid, not defend, foreign policy 'seriousness,' while aggressively marginalizing an admittedly flawed candidate who would dare challenge Washington's decades-long addiction to no-fly zones, 'smart' war, and historical amnesia."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/24/gary-johnsons-27-showing-in-another-mili
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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Evan McMullin says Johnson's not a libertarian; Johnson responds

Gary Johnson Responds to Evan McMullin’s He’s-Not-a-Real-Libertarian Critique - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

October 25, 2016 - "Independent conservative presidential candidate Evan McMullin ... is once again championing his own libertarian bonafides in contrast to Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson ... to The Weekly Standard, the neoconservative magazine that has been as enthusiastic about the McMullin campaign as it has been hostile to libertarian ideas over the years.
"Gary Johnson is not actually a libertarian," McMullin told TWS at a press event. "He has tax policies that are not libertarian, his stance on religious liberty is not libertarian." […]

McMullin is pro-life, while Johnson believes in a right to abortion. "If Gary Johnson were a real libertarian, I probably would not be in this race," McMullin said.
"I caught up with Johnson this afternoon just after he had finished a Facebook Live video to promote his new book Common Sense for the Common Good: Libertarianism as the end of two-party tyranny ... and asked him about McMullin's comments.

"'Well, all I can point ... to on my libertarian bonafides is that I've been the nominee of the Libertarian Party two cycles,' he said. 'And that is the libertarian hardcore that … decides that. So I don't know how you can get any more bonafide than that.'

"(This answer was a milder echo of what Party Chair Nicholas Sarwark told me two weeks ago: 'I trust the judgment of dedicated Libertarian Party members from around the nation somewhat more than that of an unremarkable Capitol Hill staffer.... The day I take advice on who's a real libertarian from a former CIA operative who was an insider in Washington and at Goldman Sachs, being propped up by dead-end neoconservatives like Bill Kristol and shameless Republican political consultants like Rick Wilson, is the day I'll resign as Chairman of the Libertarian Party.')

"What about the religious-liberty charge, which has dogged Johnson throughout 2016? 'I would have signed the Civil Rights bill of 1964, and I think that that's in essence what he is pointing out, that a real Libertarian would have vetoed that, or not signed it. I would have signed it.'"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/25/gary-johnson-responds-to-evan-mcmullins
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Monday, October 24, 2016

Libertarian registrations up 26% in Colorado

Libertarian Party Sees Uptick in Registered Voters, Beats Democrats and Republicans | Westword - Ana Campbell:

October 19, 2016 - "'It's been a very good year.'

"Jay North, the state chairman of the Libertarian Party, is being modest. According to the latest voter-registration statistics, the number of registered Libertarians in Colorado grew over 26 percent since January. Republicans added about 4 percent, Democrats about 7 percent.

"We spoke to North about the increasing interest in the Libertarian Party, the foibles of the party's candidate and the party's future.

Westword: To what do you attribute the rising interest in the Libertarian Party?

Jay North: We're attributing it to, the [Democrats and Republicans] have the two worst candidates running for president. People are looking for other options. They're jumping ship and looking for the parties that can fit their principles. And the Libertarian Party's principles are pretty across the board where people just fit in.

"Critics of third parties allege you all are present during presidential years but not so much during congressional and city council races.

"We actually have quite a few candidates in those races. We don't fill out the ticket, obviously, but we have about thirty people running this year out of fifty races. We like to fill a ticket, but the Libertarian Party is really about the message. Can we shift the window to a more liberty-oriented message or society than we are now?

"What do you see as the future of the Libertarian Party?

"It's either going to be the same as it was last year, or it's going to be growing more than what it is now. It's kind of hard to tell. This happened before, with Ron Paul in 2008. When he was running, the Libertarian Party had a huge uptick in participation. Then it didn't really fizzle, but it didn't keep growing. So we have another huge uptick where we're working as hard as we can to keep those people in and get them busy doing stuff, like volunteering and spreading our message. We're basically like any business. They want to have their logo or their products or services among the general knowledge of people.

"A lot of Coloradans don't want to be told what to do. That's how the marijuana law got passed. It wasn't because Democrats rolled over or Republicans gave up. It's because, since 1972, the Libertarian Party has been pushing that issue. It's taken us forty years to get there, but we got there. Same thing with gay marriage. The Libertarian Party was pushing that issue since 1972. I think Colorado is just one of those states where most of the people, they want liberty."

Read more: http://www.westword.com/news/libertarian-party-sees-registered-voters-uptick-beats-democrats-republicans-8418379
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Sunday, October 23, 2016

Documentary looks at how US politics is Rigged (video)

The Election Isn't Rigged, But The Political System Is. - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Nick Gillespie:

October 18, 2016 - "I'd like to point you to a great new hour-long documentary that explores the ways in which ordinary Americans and their concerns are systematically shut out from political discourse. Not right there at the polling place, of course, but much, much further upstream....

"Underwritten by Overstock.com's CEO Patrick Byrne and featuring a calvacade of libertarian-leaning commentators such as Matt Kibbe, Glenn Beck, and yours truly (in a brief appearance), Rigged 2016 analyzes why politics and elections never seem to engage the concerns and views of voters and citizens who refuse to identify as either Republican or Democrat. It also gets at why the two major parties are losing members like nobody's business.

"Below is the trailer and ... the website for the full, hour-long film, which you can watch for free online. "Do Not Vote For President Until You See This Film," reads the tag line. It's sage advice."

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2016/10/18/the-election-isnt-rigged-but-the-politic
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Watch complete film at: http://www.rigged2016.com/

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Fort Worth Star-Telegram endorses Libertarian Mark Miller for energy commission

Libertarian Mark Miller best for Texas energy regulator job | The Star-Telegram:

October 19, 2016 - "Texas voters ... should know about the election for railroad commissioner: It’s a very important statewide post, and it has nothing at all to do with railroads.

"The three-member Railroad Commission regulates the oil and gas industry, with which its commissioners have been overly chummy.

"On the ballot are a Republican who on his website prominently displays the Texas Oil and Gas Association president’s words praising the industry, a Democrat who is a retired schoolteacher and lacks direct knowledge of the industry, plus candidates from the Libertarian Party and the Green Party.

"Texans should buck two-party tradition and elect Libertarian Mark Miller, a former University of Texas at Austin petroleum engineering professor with deep oil and gas knowledge — but from a respectful distance.

"For transparency, Miller wants to change the agency’s name to the Energy Resources Commission. He’d help separate it from the industry it regulates.

"The Star-Telegram Editorial Board recommends Mark Miller for railroad commissioner."

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/editorials/article109268402.html
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Friday, October 21, 2016

Welfare state 'screws' millennials, Johnson tells Kimmel (video)

UPDATED! Gary Johnson on Jimmy Kimmel Live: Millennials Are Getting "Screwed" - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Nick Gillespie:

October 20, 2016 - "Immediately after last night's final presidential debate, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! to discuss a wide range of topics, including debt and deficits, marijuana legalization, foreign policy, and whether the former two-term New Mexico governor plans to run again in 2020 (answer: no).

"Here's Johnson explaining why he's polling well among millenials. It's worth a quick watch, as it lays out the mostly undeclared generational warfare that has been rolled out through most of the 21st century. Younger, relatively poor Americans are being forced to pay for the health care, retirement, and safety of older, wealthier people. The big catch? Those same entitlement programs are unsustainable, so they will be long gone by the time that millennials expect to collect on their 'investments.'"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/20/gary-johnson-on-jimmy-kimmel-live-millen
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Thursday, October 20, 2016

Jesse Ventura defends voting for Gary Johnson

Jesse Ventura’s Defense of Gary Johnson Baffles Chelsea Handler - The Daily Beast - Matt Wilstein:

October 13, 2016 - "When Chelsea Handler tried to book a genuine Donald Trump supporter on her Netflix talk show, she canceled. So now she’ll have to settle for someone who’s with Gary Johnson.

"Handler told her guest, former Minnesota Governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, that she wanted him to come on her show because she’s found it 'impossible' to get anyone to speak with her that either supports Trump or is an Independent....

"'I believe that you vote your heart and your conscience,' Ventura told Handler, before quoting Jerry Garcia, who explained his decision not to vote to Rolling Stone in 1989 by saying, 'Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.'

"'I won’t vote for evil,' Ventura said. 'I will vote for someone who I want to be the president. And when I do that, I will have fulfilled my duty as a citizen. I voted my heart, I voted my conscience, and it will be Gary Johnson getting my vote. It will not be a Democrat or Republican.'

"Handler turned around and asked Ventura, 'You know Gary Johnson’s not going to win, right?'... On this question, Ventura entered the world of the hypothetical. If this wasn’t a 'fixed, rigged election' and Johnson were allowed in the debates, 'there’s a great chance he could have won, just like I did,' he said. The big problem with this argument is that Johnson has not exactly seized the day when given the spotlight (see Aleppo moment one and Aleppo moment two).

"'But he’s not going to win!' Handler replied, emphatically. 'So you’re giving your vote to somebody who’s never going to get it! It’s like throwing someone a lifeline and they’ve already drowned!'

"All Ventura could say to that was 'So what?' He then went on to argue that ... voting for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is voting for a candidate they 'don’t really want' in office and is essentially voting 'against' someone instead of 'for' someone.... 'We truly will not get a revolution in this country until we stop electing Democrats and Republicans,' Ventura added."

Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/13/jesse-ventura-s-defense-of-gary-johnson-baffles-chelsea-handler.html
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

A millennial explains why she's voting Libertarian

I’m voting for Gary Johnson. My vote is a message of dissent. - Vox - Stephanie Page, as told to Karen Turner:

October 19, 2016 - "As a believer in small government, I’m voting this year for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate. I’m a 21-year-old first-time voter in the swing state of Ohio, and in this election, my vote represents a protest. It’s a way for me to voice my bone-deep distaste for both candidates, and to send a message to Washington that they can’t expect us to all fall into line when they offer such abysmal choices. They need to do better, and it’s our responsibility to tell them that....

"There's a quote from Charles de Montesquieu that sums up how I feel: 'Unnecessary laws weaken the necessary laws.' I’m scared of gratuitous restrictions that take away our guns, which to me are a symbol of our power as citizens. I don’t want “we the people” to keep handing over our individual rights to a powerful centralized government. While I understand that the individual gun control policies proposed by Democrats do not include literally rounding up firearms from individual homes, I fear that even small gun restrictions will just give way to bigger limitations down the line. I’m scared of a slippery slope to ever-more-infringing laws.

"It’s one big reason I simply can’t vote for Clinton. Her threats to increase gun control, along with the threat of appointing a liberal Supreme Court justice who might reinterpret the Second Amendment, are just too big of a risk to me. And that’s just the beginning. Every new scandal she is involved in, from the State Department emails to her private Wall Street speeches unveiled by WikiLeaks, smacks of the corruption of the powerful. Her desire for secrecy, her 'private position and public position' — all of her actions embody the corruptive, corrosive risk of handing over increased power to our elected officials.

"I really can’t get past Trump’s offensive and impulsive comments.... Early on in this election, I supported Marco Rubio for the conservative ticket; despite my misgivings with some of his social policies.... But now that Trump has taken over, I feel even more distaste for my party’s choices. How could they have let someone with such bigoted and hateful language come to represent small-government, conservative values in our country today?

"I sometimes worry that the Republicans’ more socially conservative, deeply religious stances will further alienate me and voters of my generation. As a gay woman, I was really bothered by the Republicans’ staunch stance against same-sex marriage in the past. I’m also a Christian, but I just don’t see a place for far-right-leaning religious rhetoric in our government policies. These institutions need to stay separate.

"More and more, I see myself aligning with the Libertarian Party. I’m really attracted to their pragmatic, mind-your-own-business-and-stay-out-of-people’s-way philosophy toward governing. I see them as the only political party with real hope for compromise and getting things done in a government afflicted with gridlock.

"I like where Johnson stands on social issues, such as gay rights and guns, while also supporting his responsible fiscal spending and lower tax policy. He seems like a genuinely likable and nice guy, which is important.

"I also really like Johnson’s views on immigration, which are to expand our work visa options and let even more immigrants into the country legally to work, spend, and contribute to our economy. Immigrants are what have always made this country great, and so many of us descend from immigrants, whether generations ago or recently. Trump’s hateful rhetoric about them stealing our jobs is just untrue and unhelpful....

"I understand that Johnson has little to no chance of becoming president, but I need to use my voice to tell our government that we need to change the way things are done. If everyone who thinks like me does the same, using their vote against the current party system, the Libertarian Party will have a chance at becoming the future of conservative political thought in our future. My vote is a message of dissent."

Read more: http://www.vox.com/first-person/2016/10/19/13307630/gary-johnson-millennial-voter
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Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Gary Johnson announces Supreme Court choices

Libertarian presidential candidate names two law profs as potential SCOTUS picks - Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal:

October 17, 2016 - "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson has announced his U.S. Supreme Court shortlist: law professors Jonathan Turley of George Washington University and Tom Campbell of Chapman University....

"Turley has challenged provisions in Utah’s polygamy law, and has sued over executive actions regarding the Affordable Care Act. 'Though I have never met Governor Johnson,' Turley wrote on his blog, 'I obviously share many values with him on the constitutional system.'

"Campbell told Law.com Johnson may have noticed his support for separation of powers, as well as his newspaper op-ed last spring suggesting that Republicans with a Libertarian bent should consider a third-party candidate."

Read: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/libertarian_presidential_candidate_names_two_law_profs_as_potential_scotus
'via Blog this'

Gary Johnson’s Supreme Court Picks Would Add More ‘Diversity’ To The Court | Above the Law - Elie Mystal:

October 17, 2016 - "As a purely intellectual exercise, I don’t hate these picks. Campbell is a law and economics Republican who would probably allow the Court to continue being the most pro-corporate collection of justices in American history. Turley is a civil libertarian who thinks the Second Amendment condemns us all to living in an armed hellscape. Both of these guys studied at the University of Chicago at some point. We’d be getting robust defenses of the market’s supremacy to solve issues for us from either of these guys.

"BUT THEY’RE NOT PROSECUTORS. Their legal experience is more theoretical than practical, but here are two guys who haven’t made their bones in the incarceration-industrial complex. Turley has media experience, Campbell has political experience. Nobody on the current Court has much of either. Yes, they’re both white males.... But there is more than one kind of diversity needed on the Court, and these guys would add some much needed professional diversity to the Court."

Read more: http://abovethelaw.com/2016/10/gary-johnsons-supreme-court-picks-would-add-more-diversity-to-the-court/
'via Blog this'

Monday, October 17, 2016

Libertarian registrations up 28% in Nebraska

Libertarian Party sees surge of new voters in Nebraska | Regional Government | journalstar.com - Grant Schulte, Associated Press:

October 16, 2016 - "Nebraska's Libertarian Party ... has seen a 28 percent increase in voter registrations since the state's May primary. The number of registered Libertarians is on pace to top 10,000 before the Nov. 8 election, and a state senator who recently joined the party is using her experience as a former GOP political activist to teach its members how to campaign.

"'It has a different feel from the third-party campaigns of the past,' said Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete, who switched her affiliation from Republican to Libertarian in May.

"Libertarian activists have set up phone banks and are building a volunteer network to knock on doors. The party recently purchased campaign software to track and communicate with registered voters. They're also using a 'text blasting' app to communicate with young voters, a tactic borrowed from former Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders' campaign.

"Party activists are focusing more on local government races and setting up new county chapters to recruit candidates. Libertarian Ben Backus, who ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state in 2014, is expected to win a seat on Gering's City Council after his primary opponent withdrew from the race. The party is also fielding candidates for the Scotts Bluff and Washington county commissions.

"Activists said their strategy is twofold: In local government, they can influence policies that affect people directly, such as property and sales tax rates. It also helps them gain experience and name recognition that could help them run for higher state offices....

"Backus said Libertarian Party officials have offered debate training and provided mailing lists to candidates who seek their help. Ebke has played a major role, drawing from her experience as a former GOP activist, Fairbury School Board member and state lawmaker. She now serves as Nebraska's state director for the Libertarian presidential ticket of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, both former GOP governors.

"Ebke said party activists hope to appeal to Democratic-leaning voters with their positions on civil liberties and Republicans with their emphasis on fiscal restraint. In the presidential race, the party is aiming to secure at least 5 percent of the statewide vote for Johnson in hopes that the Libertarians will automatically qualify for the ballot in the next presidential election.....

"Libertarians have traditionally struggled to qualify for the ballot in Nebraska but regained access in 2010 and slowly working to build their ranks, said Michael Knebel, a district coordinator for the party. Knebel said Ebke's party switch and the resulting media attention helped boost the number of registered Libertarians, as did opposition to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"'The last 12 months have been a game-changer,' he said."

Read more: http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/libertarian-party-sees-surge-of-new-voters-in-nebraska/article_b1eb6732-53ee-5568-a20f-daacaf1c2d1b.html
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Sunday, October 16, 2016

Where Johnson and Sanders agree (video)

Where Gary Johnson and Bernie Sanders Agree | I Agree To See - Kaitlyn Goodman:

October 14, 2016 - "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson stars in a new political ad for the campaign to ... tell supporters where he and Senator Bernie Sanders agree.

"Johnson begins by explaining that Clinton has been spending millions on attacking him, because he's gaining momentum among millennials and independents – a group Bernie Sanders did well with during the Democratic primary.

"'They supported him because he opposed the wars they oppose – just as I do. The same wars Hillary Clinton has supported and helped send us in to,' Johnson explains.

"Johnson then goes into other topics including crony capitalism, the war on drugs and individual freedom. However, he does concede that [he] and Sanders disagree on one thing – higher taxes. 'I see the dangers in high taxes and in big government,' he goes on....

"The Hill reported in August that Johnson is beating Donald Trump among millennials in Colorado.... And in [nationwide polls last month, Johnson was second [in] millennial support."

Read more: http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/10/clayton-hunt-gary-johnson-supporters-the-pragmatists-that-werent/#comment-1453596
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Saturday, October 15, 2016

Why the mainstream media pile-on on Johnson?

In Defense of Gary Johnson - Antiwar.com Original by -- Antiwar.com - Justin Raimondo:

October 3, 2016 - "The Clinton smear machine, having finally noticed that Gary Johnson is cutting into what they regard as Hillary’s rightful share of the so-called 'millennial' vote, has set its sights on the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate.

"It wasn’t supposed to be this way: the conventional wisdom was that the Libertarian ticket of Johnson and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld would split the traditionally Republican base, providing an outlet for the 'Never Trump' crowd to vent their spleen. This delighted the pro-Clinton 'mainstream' media, which gave both Johnson and Weld more publicity – most of it highly favorable – than any third party ticket in memory....

"This strategy has had consequences that hardly anyone foresaw. While Johnson-Weld went out of their way not to criticize Mrs. Clinton except in the mildest possible terms – saving their venom for Donald Trump, whom Weld likened to Hitler – what everyone overlooked is that Trump was defining the race. One was either for Trump, or against him – and the Libertarians wound up splitting the anti-Trump vote.

 "This was exacerbated by their left-sounding campaign rhetoric.... Add to this Johnson’s notoriety as a marijuana advocate, and the campaign’s targeting of 'millennial' voters, and polls of a four-way contest (including Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate) began to show that Johnson-Weld spelled trouble for Hillary. This was the signal for the Clintonian regiments of the Fourth Estate to go into action.

"It began with an interview on Morning Joe, when Johnson was asked: "What would you do about Aleppo?" His answer was to look baffled for a moment and then ask, 'What is Aleppo?'... once Johnson understood what [Mike] Barnicle was referring to he gave an excellent answer: 'I do think that it’s a mess. I think that the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that [to] an end. But ... this is the result of regime change that we end up supporting. And, inevitably, these regime changes have led [to] a less-safe world'....

"None of this matters to the 'mainstream' media, however, which is so determined to elect Clinton that sparking a nuclear conflagration seems to them a small price to pay. They gleefully piled on Johnson’s 'Aleppo moment,' echoing Scarborough’s ridiculous contention that not knowing how 'important' Aleppo is 'disqualifies' him as a credible candidate. The derision was universal, the snark was endless – even Bill Maher and Colbert got into the act — and it didn’t stop there.

"In a subsequent interview with both Johnson and Weld, Chris Matthews asked them all the requisite questions about Trump’s unmitigated evil, and they went along with it, saying all the 'right' things.... Toward the end of the interview with Matthews came what Johnson himself said was another 'Aleppo moment':
"MATTHEWS: I got actually a little lightning round here. This is where we have fun and maybe make some news. Who is your favorite foreign leader?.... Name one foreign leader that you respect and look up to, anybody.... You have got to do this. Anywhere. Any continent.... Name a foreign leader that you respect.
JOHNSON: I guess I`m having an Aleppo moment ...
"The idea that any libertarian could have a 'favorite foreign leader,' a head of state one could 'look up to,' is absurd. There is no such person on earth.... That aside, however, Johnson himself saying he was having another 'Aleppo moment' was enough to invite yet another storm of derision from Hillary’s partisans in the media. Matthews is no dummy: he knew perfectly well what he was doing, and even hinted at what he was up to when he said they might 'make a little news.'

"I’ve been very critical of Johnson, but in this case I have to come out in his defense.... In spite of his many shortcomings as a candidate, he has managed to put on a good showing.... For the most part he’s been relatively principled when it comes to foreign policy....

"Johnson has been falling in the polls a bit, and with the pro-Clinton media pounding away at him his descent may continue. However, the Johnson Effect, to coin a phrase, will likely continue to impact the election in potentially significant ways.... Gary Johnson, in spite of himself – and in spite of the sinister Weld – may wind up stopping Hillary Clinton from taking the White House."

Read more: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2016/10/02/defense-gary-johnson/
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Friday, October 14, 2016

Johnson & Weld offer character and experience

Drew Clark: Johnson and Weld bring experience as well as character for Utah voters | Deseret News:

October 14, 2016 - "Politics is about more than policy positions. When electing our president, we also need to choose a candidate who brings character and experience in governance.

"Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, and Bill Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, are the only candidates this year that meet all of these necessary qualifications. They are on the ballot in all 50 states. Among independent voters, they are leading in the polls over Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"As a Utahn who believes in common-sense conservative solutions, I’ve noticed a number of my friends express some interest in Provo native Evan McMullin, the former CIA agent who declared his candidacy for president in August. He seems to be a conservative, and his positions are superficially appealing to people of my political background.

"But here’s why I’m supporting Johnson, not McMullin: The presidency is about more than one’s positions. Executive experience in government matters, as does honesty. And while Trump and Clinton fail on both of these tests, McMullin fails on experience. He and his newly-named vice-presidential candidate Mindy Finn, a Republican political consultant, don’t have presidential-level credentials.

"By contrast, both Johnson and Weld were two-term governors. But that doesn’t mean they came to government via politics, the way Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton did. Johnson was a handyman entrepreneur who grew from a one-man shop to a 1,000-employee construction company in New Mexico. He ran for governor as a political outsider, and won.

"Weld’s first elective office was also governor. But he brought experience as an attorney at the highest levels of government, heading the criminal division of the Justice Department under President Ronald Reagan. He came home to upset the Democratic lock on the statehouse in the land dubbed 'Taxachusetts.' Like Johnson, he also upset the state’s high-tax reputation. That was a great benefit to another former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney.

"In fact, Romney has said he would vote for Weld for president....

"McMullin isn’t even on the ballot in enough states to have even a mathematical chance at winning the White House.... According to Ballot Access News, he’s on the ballot in grand total of 11 states.... The electoral votes of those states total 84, not even one-third of what a candidate will need to win.... And his vice presidential pick will be on the ballot in exactly zero states.

"Instead, the McMullin presidential campaign has all the trappings of a vanity effort seeking to raise the profile of a person rather than speaking to a principled set of beliefs."

Read more: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865664793/Johnson-and-Weld-bring-experience-as-well-as-character-for-Utah-voters.html?pg=all
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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Ex-DEA agents campaign for legal cannabis

Former DEA Agents Rally In Support Of Marijuana Legalization In Arizona | Huffington Post - Emily Tate:

October 12, 2016 - "Two unlikely proponents of marijuana legalization stopped by Arizona State University Wednesday to campaign on behalf of Proposition 205, the state’s initiative to legalize and regulate weed.

"A pair of retired agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration encouraged some of ASU’s 80,000 college students to vote 'yes' on Prop. 205.... The former special agents, Finn Selander and Michael Capasso, were on hand to speak to students and explain why they support an initiative that runs counter to their former careers as drug warriors.....

"Capasso said he supports legalizing marijuana because it doesn’t have the 'collateral damage' — like addiction and overdose — that other drugs do. And because of that, he thinks it’s practical to regulate marijuana like alcohol and use the tax revenue to fund state programs....

"Selander, who as a DEA officer specialized in marijuana operations, is a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization that advocates for progressive reform of drug laws. Capasso is also featured in a new ad by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, in which he explains why he supports legalizing cannabis after 23 years working for the DEA.

"'I’m supporting Prop. 205 because it will make our community safer,' Capasso says in the ad. 'Law enforcement has more important things to do than arrest adults for simple marijuana possession. It’s time to end marijuana prohibition and regulate marijuana like alcohol.'

"If it passes on Nov. 8, Prop. 205 would legalize the possession and consumption of recreational marijuana for adults over 21. Similar to previous reform efforts in Colorado, Oregon and Washington, Arizonans would be calling for an end to weed prohibition in favor of a system that regulates and taxes it like alcohol."

"A recent poll of registered voters in Arizona found 50 percent support for Prop. 205, while 40 percent oppose it and another 10 percent are undecided."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/legalize-marijuana-arizona_us_57fe7c98e4b0e8c198a5794e
'via Blog this'

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

New British PM assails "libertarian right"

Je suis right-wing libertarian | Coffee House - Paul Nizinskyj, The Spectator:

October 7, 2016 - "On Tuesday night, Conservatives for Liberty, which I co-founded in 2013, hosted our annual Freedom Fizz reception.  Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young joined us, along with 400 party delegates, most of whom identify as right-wing libertarians....

"Twelve hours after we packed up, the Prime Minister effectively declared the lot of us enemies of the party – and the people. The Prime Minister used her keynote speech to attack the ‘ideological templates of the socialist left and the libertarian right’ as enemies of a government which would ‘act on behalf of the people’. Mrs May seemed to be suggesting that people should be just as concerned about entryism from the libertarian right as from the far left.

"It’s not a particularly nice feeling to be told you are unwelcome in a party which you’ve called your home for ten years, but we ought to have seen this coming. My colleagues and I have spent the last three years attacking in the strongest terms Mrs May’s appalling record on civil liberties as Home Secretary, as well as her enthusiasm for state intervention on the economy, but we were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.... How naive we were.

"What the Prime Minister was attempting to do was cast libertarianism as an ideology alien to traditional ‘pragmatic’ Conservatism. But unlike far-left groups ... what we now call ‘libertarianism’ is woven into the fabric of this nation and of the Conservative party. It is a philosophy whose core principles revolve around the liberties enshrined in the Magna Carta of 1215. It was men who believed those liberties to be sacrosanct who took up arms against the King in 1642, and who bound his successors by the Bill of Rights in 1689.

"It was the free-market Liberals of the nineteenth century whose prudent stewardship of the economy made Britain the richest and most powerful country on Earth. It was right-wing libertarians who provided the intellectual foundations for Margaret Thatcher’s transformation of Britain from ‘the sick man of Europe’ to the fifth largest economy in the world (even if the great lady herself would never be known as anything other than a Conservative). And it was in large part right-wing libertarians like our President, Daniel Hannan, who were behind the Brexit Mrs May so wants to make a success of.

"But more importantly for the PM, research shows most young people are right-wing libertarians without even knowing it. Decades of polling by Ipsos MORI has shown ‘Generation Y’ – those born between 1980 and 2000 – are far more likely than their parents or grandparents to be critical of high taxation and the welfare state, as well as to be more liberal on social issues such as gay marriage and gender equality. A growing number of young people within the Conservative Party do know it, however, and will be a key part of any election campaign."

Read more: http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/10/je-suis-right-wing-libertarian/
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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Drew Carey joins Johnson campaign as CA chair

Drew Carey joins Gary Johnson campaign | TheHill - Judy Kurtz:

October 4, 2010 - "Gary Johnson is saying 'Come on down!' to Price is Right host Drew Carey, with the comedian joining the Libertarian presidential nominee’s campaign as an honorary California chairman.

"In his position, Carey will 'speak out on behalf of the Johnson/[Bill] Weld ticket and help lead the campaign’s efforts in the state of California,' Johnson’s campaign announced on Tuesday.

"'Getting behind Johnson was an easy choice,” the former Whose Line is it Anyway? star said in a statement.... Carey, 58, said, 'Gary Johnson is reasonable. He’s a real person. He’s a pragmatic problem-solver who knows how to govern.'"

Read more: http://origin-nyi.thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/299222-drew-carey-joins-gary-johnson-campaign

Drew Carey Joins Gary Johnson Campaign to Help Stop ‘Needless War’ - The Daily Beast - Asawin Suebsang:

October 4, 2016 - "'I’m happy to join Gary Johnson and to campaign for a candidate, here in California and across America, who doesn’t want your money to be wasted or want your children put at risk in a needless war,' Carey said....

"Aside from his work in stand-up comedy and TV, Carey is a committed libertarian, and has worked with the Reason Foundation as a trustee and hosted a series of videos for libertarian outlet Reason TV.

"At a Johnson fundraiser hosted by Carey in July, The Daily Beast asked the comedian if he had any concerns ... about the Libertarian candidate playing spoiler in the 2016 election. 'I don’t give a f*ck,' Carey said, bluntly. 'If your person doesn’t get enough votes, you lose. I don’t want to hear it. There are more than two choices and you are allowed to vote for whoever you want. This is America'''....

"The Carey announcement from Johnson-Weld 2016 comes the week after it was revealed that Melissa Joan Hart, star of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, had been named the Connecticut chairwoman [of] the campaign."

Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/10/04/drew-carey-joins-gary-johnson-campaign-to-help-stop-needless-war.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl
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Monday, October 10, 2016

Scott Adams endorses Gary Johnson (this week)

Why I Endorse Gary Johnson (this week) | Scott Adams' Blog:

October 9, 2016 - "I don’t know how to write this post without unintentionally disrespecting the real victims of abuse in any form. I apologize in advance if it comes off that way. But it’s part of the national conversation now, and unavoidable. The best I can do is focus on how voters perceive the situation. I don’t have an opinion about who did what to whom because I wasn’t in the room any of those times. That said…

"My view is that if either Clinton or Trump can be judged by the weight of the allegations against them, both are 100% unfit for the office....

"Clinton supporters have been telling me for a few days that any visible support for Trump makes you a supporter of sex abuse. From a persuasion standpoint, that actually makes sense. If people see it that way, that’s the reality you have to deal with. I choose to not be part of that reality so I moved my endorsement to Gary Johnson....

"I encourage all Clinton supporters to do the same, and for the same reason. I don’t know if any of the allegations against the Clinton’s are true, but since we are judging each other on associations, you don’t want to be seen as supporting sex abuse by putting an alleged duo of abusers (the perp and the clean-up crew) into office....

"To be fair, Gary Johnson is a pot head who didn’t know what Allepo was. I call that relatable. A President Johnson administration might bring with it some operational risks, and policy risks, but at least he won’t slime you by association and turn you into some sort of cheerleader for sex abuse in the way you would if you voted for the Clintons or Trump.

"If you take allegations of sex abuse seriously – and you should – vote Johnson. To vote for Clinton or Trump is to be seen by others as an enabler for sexual abuse."

Read more: http://blog.dilbert.com/post/151552548531/why-i-endorse-gary-johnson-this-week
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Sunday, October 9, 2016

"We need a foreign policy guided by principle"

My Foreign Policy Vision | The National Interest - Gary Johnson:

October 7, 2016 - "Although President Obama ran for office in 2008 on a promise to get America out of Middle Eastern wars, under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his administration continued a series of policies of regime changes, particularly in Syria and Libya....

"The president’s first and most solemn responsibility is to keep us and our freedoms safe, especially from foreign attack.... Keeping us safe means having a military capability that is unquestionably second to none....

"Where the debate comes into play is what we expect our military to do. The best word to describe my approach to military interventions abroad is that I am a skeptic. As president, I would not need to be talked out of dropping bombs and sending young men and women into harm’s way. I would be the president who would have to be convinced it is absolutely necessary to protect the American people or clear U.S. interests. I will be the skeptic in the room.

"And there is good reason for skepticism. Just look at the past fifteen years. I supported going into Afghanistan after 9/11 to deal with Al Qaeda and its Taliban hosts.... But ... We’re still there.... Today, too many lives and too many dollars later, the Taliban is returning to Afghanistan. And if we were to mount another surge, remove them, and stay there another fifteen years, the same thing would happen as soon as we left....

"Iraq. Yes, Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. No question about it. But are the Iraqi people better off today because we decided to take him out? Are we safer here in America? No....

"Libya. Same song, different verse. We used our military to help overthrow Qaddafi. Again, a bad guy and, by most standards, a war criminal. But what took his place? Did we have a plan? Did we consider the potential consequences, with which we are living today?...

"Our foreign policy, or lack of it, over the past fifteen years, has been a series of erratic chess moves, and the match isn’t going well. We need a chess player in the White House. More important, we need a policy guided by principle, not politics.

"The first and overriding principle is that our foreign policy and military actions must support clear U.S. interests.... Our interests are our lives, our property and our freedom. They are not necessarily a desire to shape the world in our own image or to pick winners and losers in civil wars on the other side of the globe....

"The second principle is that we must expect and demand that other nations shoulder the responsibility for their own defense and economic well-being. We are broke. We cannot any longer subsidize the national defense and economies of other nations. Yes, we will honor our commitments to NATO and other agreements, but other countries around the world have grown too dependent upon U.S. military power.

"Third, we must not ask our military to engage in conflicts without a clear mission and clear authorization. In Afghanistan and Iraq, what were our objectives? When could we possibly know when 'mission accomplished' arrived?.... As for authorization, whatever happened to the constitutional notion that Congress should declare wars?.... Congress has ... allowed the president to conduct 'executive wars' while avoiding their responsibility to place a check — or an approval — on those wars. Yes, they have continued to fund them, but as far as casting the tough votes to drop bombs or deploy our young men and women, Congress has been AWOL.

"We need to honor the War Powers Act and force both Congress and the president to only engage in war with a clear authorization from both the Executive and Legislative Branches. As president, I will honor the War Powers Act, without hiding behind dubious legal opinions from my own lawyers.

"If we adopt and follow these basic principles, the politically sensitive idea of reducing military spending becomes realistic. We must balance the federal budget, and it is fallacy to believe we can do so without being smarter and more focused in our military spending. The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission has regularly concluded that we have excess capacity in military bases of more than 20 percent. We have tens of thousands of troops stationed in places like Japan and Europe — for what purpose? We have weapons systems the military doesn’t even want, and yes, we are subsidizing the national defense of too many other nations with our own troops, equipment and deployments.

"With defined missions [and] a focus on defense rather than intervention, regime change and nation-building, we can gain significant military savings while, in fact, better securing our safety here at home."

Read more: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/gary-johnson-my-foreign-policy-vision-17974
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Saturday, October 8, 2016

Perry reboots POTUS run as write-in campaign

Darryl W. Perry 2016 - Newsletter #17 - Darryl W. Perry Announces Limited Presidential Write-In Campaign (press release):
September 29, 2016 - "Darryl W. Perry, embarked on his Presidential Campaign ... with three goals in mind: 1) to run the most libertarian presidential campaign in history; 2) to proclaim the ideas of liberty as boldly and as often as possible; and 3) to give as many people as possible the opportunity to vote for an actual libertarian in November.
"After the 2016 Libertarian Party National Convention ... Perry issued a statement saying he had 'accomplished two-thirds of the goals I set for my campaign. I ran the most consistent libertarian campaign to date'.... Perry, who was officially endorsed by the NH Liberty Party at their convention in February, added, ... 'I will not be continuing my campaign through November.'
Since then, numerous people have asked for a way to give people the ability to vote for a philosophical libertarian for President [so] Perry decided to file declarations of intent to be a write-in candidate in a handful of states where a slate of electors is not required....
"Darryl’s focus will remain at the state and local level.... In addition, the Darryl W. Perry Presidential Campaign does not intend to raise any funds or have any expenditures towards this limited write-in campaign. Perry says, 'I do not make this decision lightly, however I have the ability to not let another election cycle go by without a philosophical libertarian candidate in the general election.'"
Read more: http://us14.campaign-archive1.com/?u=6f1641090028848d623f5c6b0&id=752e55209e&e=811cff118b

Statement on Write-In Campaign of Darryl W. Perry | Independent Political Report - Nicholas Sarwark, chairman, Libertarian Party:
September 30, 2016 - "The Libertarian National Committee is committed to fully supporting the nominee of the delegates at convention and will continue to do so with all available resources.
"Mr. Perry remains a life member of the Libertarian Party and was recently elected state chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. The LNC has no authority over the election of state party officers nor over the actions of state officers who choose to run rogue write-in campaigns."
Read more: http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/09/lnc-chair-sarwark-statement-on-write-in-campaign-of-darryl-w-perry/

National Libertarian Party Attacks “Rogue” New Hampshire Chairman in Press Release | Free Keene - Ian Bernard:
October 1, 2016 - "Now, rather than do the principled thing and follow the Seacoast LP’s request of officially withdrawing Johnson and Weld as their candidates, the LP’s National Committee has issued press release attacking Darryl by calling him a 'rogue' and saying further that they are, 'committed to fully supporting the nominee of the delegates at convention and will continue to do so with all available resources.'
"No one should be surprised to see the national LP double down on their unprincipled hack candidates. It’s the lowest point for the party in more than a decade of falling away from their principles."
Read more: http://freekeene.com/2016/10/01/national-libertarian-party-attacks-rogue-new-hampshire-chairman-in-press-release/

Free Virginia: Radical Reaction - Marc Montoni, founding member, LP Radical Caucus:
September 29, 2016 - "Perry did not discuss his plan with the Libertarian Party Radical Caucus Board of Directors.  We were ambushed with the news.
"The bylaws of the Radical Caucus provide for resigning from formal membership in the Radical Caucus simply by publicly supporting another party's candidate against a Libertarian Party candidate.... Running against the Libertarian nominee qualifies.....
"Perry certainly knew this action would be in conflict. He knew the bylaws and knew that provision. He also knew this would be unacceptable to a lot of us. Yet he ambushed us with his announcement and did it anyway....
"Mr Perry's announcement was his resignation from formal membership in the LPRC."
Read more: http://freevirginia.blogspot.ca/2016/09/radical-reaction.html

'via Blog this'

Friday, October 7, 2016

Court to hear FEC Debates challenge - in 2017

Libertarian Debate News: L.P. To Get a Day in Court Against Debate Access Restrictions, But Too Late for 2016; Florida Senate Candidate Paul Stanton Excluded from Debate - Hit & Run -  Reason.com - Brian Doherty:

October 6, 2016 - "The Libertarian Party, as I detailed back in May, was involved in two distinct lawsuits that could have resulted in presidential candidate Gary Johnson getting into the presidential debates.

"One of them, Johnson v. Commission on Presidential Debates, .... is now, according to lawyer Bruce Fein in an email today, 'on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. No briefing schedule has yet been issued and thus no oral argument date.'

"A second lawsuit, targeted specifically at the Federal Elections Commission for its alleged failures to properly curb the Commission on Presidential Debates, had been awaiting a decision on motions for summary judgment from both parties for months. Its official name is Level the Playing Field v. FEC.

"Level the Playing Field is a 'nonpartisan, nonprofit corporation not affiliated with any candidate or candidate committee…[whose] purpose is to promote reforms that allow for greater competition and choice in elections for federal office, particularly for the Presidency and Vice Presidency.' The Libertarian Party and Green Party are also plaintiffs in that suit.

"This week, a date was announced for oral arguments on the motions for summary judgment. The catch: they are set for January 7, 2017, too late to affect the debates before the 2016 election....

"The latest motion for summary judgment argues that the CPD has always been a deliberated duopoly for the two major parties and has 'been violating FECA and FEC regulations limiting debate-sponsoring organizations' ability to use corporate funds to finance their activities' since its efforts are not truly 'nonpartisan.' The suit accuses the FEC [of] 'refus[ing] to enforce the law and ignored virtually all of this evidence in conclusorily dismissing the complaints even though there is plainly reason to believe that the CPD is violating FECA'....

"The suit accuses the CPD's 15 percent polling requirement to be admitted to the debate as being effectively 'impossible for an independent candidate who is not a self-funded billionaire to achieve'....

"The motion for summary judgment finally requests that:

The Court should grant summary judgment for Plaintiffs, and direct the FEC to do its job, which is to enforce the law and put an end to the CPD's biased, anti-democratic, and fundamentally corrupt and exclusionary polling rule.

Those arguments will now be made in court in front of Judge Tanya Chutkan, alas too late to matter for 2016 no matter the outcome.

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/06/libertarian-debate-news-lp-to-get-a-day
'via Blog this'

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Boston Globe story on Bill Weld "made up"

Bill Weld: Media Is Publishing “Made-up” Stories About Me (UPDATED) - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

October 5, 2016 - "'Libertarian VP Candidate Bill Weld Gives Up, Will Focus on Preventing Trump Presidency,' is an interpretative summation of a Boston Globe article from yesterday that begins like this: 'The Libertarian vice presidential candidate, William F. Weld, said Tuesday that he plans to focus exclusively on blasting Donald Trump over the next five weeks, a strategic pivot aimed at denying Trump the White House and giving himself a key role in helping to rebuild the GOP.'

"But in a follow-up interview with Reason this afternoon, Weld denied that he was pivoting, denied that he would be focusing 'exclusively' on Trump, and denied that he was working on any political future outside the Libertarian Party.

"'I said to the reporter that I plan to focus on Donald Trump, because I think his international proposals represent a grave threat,' Weld told me, 'but in the same breath I said that I'm not going to omit to make the points that Mrs. Clinton, if she were elected, runs the risk of spending and borrowing us into the poorhouse, and that I think her fiscal policies and her military policies are not at all in line with the approach that Gary Johnson and I will take if elected. So nothing is to the exclusion of anything else. I did convey to the Globe the idea that I would be emphasizing the respects in which I think Mr. Trump's international proposals are wrong-headed, but that's nothing new — I've been saying that since Day One'....

"The Globe piece contains several paraphrased sentiments from unnamed Weld "aides" about things like 'Johnson's flubs on national television,' and then drops this scooplet: 'At one point, Weld strategists researched Libertarian Party rules to see if it were possible for him to take over the top of the ticket'....

"'No, you can't do that — all 50 states have printed their ballots, so it's completely out of the question, even if it was a good idea, which it's not,' Weld told me. But were his 'strategists' looking into the possibility? 'It didn't come to me,' he said.

"The former Massachusetts governor also rejected the Globe's assertion that 'Weld's new plan calls for him to focus his fire on Trump in a handful of red states,' saying 'No, somebody's making that up. I mean, I'm going be tomorrow in Massachusetts, the next two days in New Hampshire, and then in Maine,' he continued. 'Those are not red states the last time I looked' Certainly, Weld's itinerary does not look like the schedule of a candidate who has given up.

"Of particular sensitivity to Libertarians ... was this sentence in the Globe article: 'He insisted he was not abandoning Johnson, although he signaled that bolting from the Libertarian Party might be a possibility in the future." Weld's response? 'No, that's the most made-up of any of these phrases.'"

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2016/10/05/bill-weld-media-is-publishing-made-up-st
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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Medicine Hat police stop Libertarian leafletting

Libertarian candidate files official complaint after incident with police › Medicine Hat News - Gillian Slade:

October 4, 2016 - "A byelection candidate has filed an official complaint after police told him to leave the Stampede grounds parking lot where he was handing out campaign literature on Saturday and Sunday.

"'I was first approached by Stampede staff on Saturday. I gave them my Elections Canada documentation … I remained completely outside. I did not go inside the facility,' said Sheldon Johnston, Libertarian candidate.

"Johnston returned on Sunday and was told police were being called. 'I knew I was lawfully there so I continued,' said Johnston. After looking at Johnston’s documentation police asked him to leave.

"Elections Canada returning officer Mary Ulbricht says Johnston had a right to be campaigning there. Police called her at some stage over the weekend to clarify. 'I got the act and read it to the police and sent him a copy of it,' said Ulbricht. 'He was very unfamiliar with the Canada Election Act … It was a difference between public property and private.'

"The Elections Canada Act reads as follows:
81.1 (1) No person who is in control of a building, land, street or any other place, any part of which is open without charge to members of the public, whether on a continuous, periodic or occasional basis — including any commercial, business, cultural, historical, education, religious, governmental, entertainment or recreational place — may prevent a candidate or his or her representative from campaigning in or on that part when it is open without charge to members of the public.
"'I think that now the police know this is acceptable,' said Ulbricht.

"Medicine Hat Police Service say paragraph 81.1 (1) of the Elections Act does not apply in Johnston’s case because he was not an official candidate yet. ''Our officer phoned the returning officer and he’d (Sheldon Johnston) not yet registered as a candidate,' said Chief Andy McGrogan. ...

 "On Monday, Ulbricht confirmed Johnston has filed an application with Elections Canada but it has not been fully processed. Applications had to be submitted by Monday but Elections Canada’s website states it may be Wednesday before the website is updated with all official candidates.

"Ulbricht says a candidate can campaign before a byelection is even called. But section 81.1 of the Canada Elections Act only applies to candidates who have been confirmed by Elections Canada."

Read more: http://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2016/10/04/libertarian-candidate-files-official-complaint-after-incident-with-police/
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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Gary Johnson polling at 24% in New Mexico

Clinton, Trump in tight race in New Mexico | Albuquerque Journal - Michael Coleman:

October 2, 2014 - "Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds a slight lead over Republican Donald Trump among likely New Mexico voters in a four-way race, while Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is pulling nearly a quarter of voter support in the state, according to a Journal poll.

"Clinton received 35 percent support and Trump 31 percent support. Twenty-four percent of New Mexicans favored Johnson, a former governor of the state, while 2 percent favored Green Party candidate Jill Stein....

"Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc. ... said Johnson’s presence in the race is hurting Clinton more than Trump in New Mexico. He said the former two-term New Mexico governor garnered the support of 31 percent of New Mexico Hispanics, who traditionally tend to vote heavily Democratic in the state.

"Still, Clinton holds a solid lead over Trump among Hispanics in New Mexico, according to the poll. Forty percent of Hispanics said they would vote for Clinton while 18 percent said they would vote for Trump. Stein polled at zero percent support among Hispanics in New Mexico....

"Among female voters polled, 38 percent said they would vote for Clinton while 27 percent voiced their support for Trump. Johnson had the support of 24 percent of females polled. Three percent of New Mexico females said they preferred Stein.... Thirty-five percent of New Mexico males said they’d vote for Trump while 31 percent said they favored Clinton. Johnson had the support of 25 percent of male voters in New Mexico, while Stein registered 2 percent support.

"Clinton garnered the support of just 3 percent of Republicans polled while 9 percent of Democrats said they would vote for Trump. Twenty percent of Democrats said they would vote for Johnson while 23 percent of Republicans said they would support the former New Mexico governor.

"Among independent voters – or those who declined to state a party affiliation – Gary Johnson led all candidates in the four-way field. Among these voters, Johnson had 42 percent support, while Clinton polled at 26 percent, Trump at 14 percent and Stein at 6 percent...."

"The poll surveyed 501 likely New Mexico voters and contained a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent. All of the poll respondents were questioned by live interviewers, with 52 percent of respondents reached by cellphone and 48 percent on land lines."

Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/857961/clinton-trump-in-tight-race-in-new-mexico.html

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Monday, October 3, 2016

Chicago Tribune endorses Gary Johnson

A principled option for U.S. president: Endorsing Gary Johnson, Libertarian - Chicago Tribune:

September 30, 2016 - "The Republicans have nominated Donald Trump, a man not fit to be president of the United States. We first wrote on March 10 that we would not, could not, endorse him. And in the intervening six-plus months he has splendidly reinforced our verdict: Trump has gone out of his way to anger world leaders, giant swaths of the American public, and people of other lands who aspire to immigrate here legally. He has neither the character nor the prudent disposition for the job....

"The Democrats have nominated Hillary Clinton, who, by contrast, is undeniably capable of leading the United States. Electing her the first woman president would break a barrier that has no reason to be.... But ... Clinton's vision of ever-expanding government is in such denial of our national debt crisis as to be fanciful.... Clinton calls for a vast expansion of federal spending, supported by the kinds of tax hikes that were comically impossible even in the years when President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats dominated both houses of Congress.... Sort through all the details and her plan would raise the national debt by $200 billion....

"Clinton knows she is ... promising Americans all manner of things she cannot deliver. That is but one of the reasons why so many Americans reject Clinton: They don't trust what she says, how she makes decisions, and her up-to-the-present history of egregiously erasing the truth.... Clinton's behavior affirms the perception that she's a corner-cutter whose ambitions drive her decisions.....

"We would rather recommend a principled candidate for president — regardless of his or her prospects for victory — than suggest that voters cast ballots for such disappointing major-party candidates....

"Libertarians Gary Johnson of New Mexico and running mate William Weld of Massachusetts are agile, practical and, unlike the major-party candidates, experienced at managing governments. They offer an agenda that appeals not only to the Tribune's principles but to those of the many Americans who say they are socially tolerant but fiscally responsible.... Theirs is small-L libertarianism, built on individual freedom and convinced that, at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, official Washington is clumsy, expensive and demonstrably unable to solve this nation's problems....

"Johnson, who built a construction business before entering politics, speaks in terms that appeal to many among us: Expanded global trade and resulting job expansion. Robust economic growth, rather than ever-higher taxation, to raise government revenue. A smaller, and less costly, federal government. Faith in Americans' ability to parlay economic opportunity into success. While many Democrats and Republicans outdo one another in opposing the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, or TPP, we're amused by this oddity: Today the nation's two most ardent free-traders arguably are Barack Obama and Gary Johnson.

"That said, Obama and Johnson are but two of the many candidates we've endorsed yet with whom we also can disagree. Johnson's foreign policy stance approaches isolationism. He is too reluctant to support what we view as necessary interventions overseas.... But unless the United States tames a national debt that's rapidly approaching $20 trillion-with-a-T, Americans face ever tighter constrictions on what this country can afford, at home or overseas. Clinton and Trump are too cowardly even to whisper about entitlement reforms that each of them knows are imperative. Johnson? He wants to raise the retirement age and apply a means test on benefits to the wealthiest....

"We wish the two major parties had not run away from today's centrist Americans. Just as we wish either of their candidates evoked the principles that a Chicago Tribune now in its 170th year espouses, among them high integrity, free markets, personal responsibility and a limited role for government in the lives of the governed. We hope Johnson does well enough that Republicans and Democrats get the message — and that his ideas make progress over time.

"This year neither major party presents a good option. So the Chicago Tribune today endorses Libertarian Gary Johnson for president of the United States. Every American who casts a vote for him is standing for principles — and can be proud of that vote. Yes, proud of a candidate in 2016."

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-gary-johnson-president-endorsement-edit-1002-20160930-story.html
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Sunday, October 2, 2016

Melissa Joan Hart is Connecticut campaign chair for Gary Johnson

Melissa Joan Hart Joins Gary Johnson's Campaign as Connecticut Chairperson : People.com - Lindsay Kimble:

September 27, 2016 - "Melissa Joan Hart ... tells PEOPLE Now that she's joined Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson's presidential campaign as the Connecticut Chairperson.

"'I want to break away from this two-party system and I think it's important for people to know that there's another candidate out there who really toes the line between Democrat and Republican,' says Hart, who has a home in Connecticut. 'I mean he's Libertarian. But socially he's liberal, but fiscally conservative.'

"Johnson, 63, is the former governor of New Mexico – a position he held from 1995 to 2003. He previously ran for president in 2012.

"'Governors, I love, because they already ran their state as like a little president,' Hart, 40, says. 'So he gets the way, you know, things run. The politics of it all.'

"She adds, 'He was on a border state, so if you want to talk about immigration, he's the guy."

"Hart says she disagrees with the notion that a third-party candidate can't win the election, dispelling arguments that a vote for Johnson is a wasted vote.

"'I think that everyone that I keep hearing say that, if they all voted for him we could have a third party win,' she says. 'Even if he doesn't get that far, I just hope that they let him debate.'"

Read more: http://www.people.com/article/melissa-joan-hart-gary-johnson-campaign-connecticut-chairperson
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