Monds declares for Libertarian POTUS nomination

Former Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Announces Presidential Campaign | Georgia Public Broadcasting- Sharon Rose:

February 4, 2020 - "John Monds, a 2010 Georgia gubernatorial candidate, has announced that he will seek the Libertarian nomination for president. Monds was also the first Libertarian candidate to receive more than 1 million votes at the state level during his 2008 campaign for Georgia public service commissioner.

“'John Monds has been an incredible voice for Libertarians in Georgia,' said Ryan Graham, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Georgia. 'I look forward to seeing him extend that influence to a national scale, energizing supporters of libertarian principles.'

"Monds said the decision was one he had weighed for the past several years. 'Just recently I've made up my mind that this is exactly what I want to do,' Monds said. 'This is the right time.'

"Monds said his focus right now is not about President Trump, but securing the nomination of the party.... The Libertarian Party nominates their candidate through registered delegates at their national convention, which will take place in Austin, Texas, in May. Monds said he’s open to reforming the Libertarian nomination process, but believes ballot access restrictions for third parties have been a factor in preventing that....

"He believes the biggest way the Libertarian Party can make its case in 2020 is in sticking to its core [principles]. 'I definitely believe ... we don't need to water down our message and we have to be very careful about that,' Monds said.

"The Libertarian’s 2016 presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, received 3.27% of the popular vote in the last election, but did not win any electoral votes."

Read more https://www.gpbnews.org/post/former-georgia-gubernatorial-candidate-announces-presidential-campaign
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Hornberger says US government already socialist

An Interview With Libertarian Presidential Candidate Jacob Hornberger - Gary Doan, Libertarian Republic:

February 4, 2020 - "The day of the Iowa Caucuses ... I had a chance to talk to Jacob Hornberger. He’s the president and founder of the Future of Freedom Foundation, and is currently running for the Libertarian presidential nomination with the backing of the Mises Caucus....

"TLR: I’m talking with you the day of the Iowa caucus, a contest that Bernie Sanders could actually win. As such, I’d like to start with a couple of questions about socialism. In your presidential campaign announcement video, you called the following things socialism: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public schooling, educational grants, farm subsidies, corporate bailouts and foreign aid to dictators. What does the US government currently do that you don’t think is socialism?

"JH: Very little, in that the primary source, the driving force in the federal government is to take care of people through the coercive apparatus of the state. It seizes money from people to whom it belongs, and it gives it to people to whom it does not belong. That is classic socialism. It embodies the Marxian principle, from each according to his ability to each according to his need.

"And many of these socialist programs came into existence as a direct result of socialists in Germany advocating them. Social Security is a primary example. The idea originated among German socialists. It was adopted by Otto von Bismarck, the so-called Iron Chancellor of Germany. It was imported to the United States and they became part of our laws in the 1930s. And it’s the same thing as socialized medicine, Medicare and Medicaid… public schooling was another German socialist idea. So whenever you have coercive redistribution of wealth or central planning [–] That’s another central feature of socialism [–]. You have socialism, even when it’s run by Americans....

"Socialism is the opposite of libertarianism, because socialism is based on coercion....

"TLR: I’d like to switch to something more specific about the nomination you’re running for and, more importantly, the purpose of running for it. What’s more important: spreading the message or getting a higher vote total?

"JH: Really, neither. I think what’s much more important is that we fight for a free society. And that’s what our goal is. We want to be free. That’s my goal.... And I’m one of those who strongly believes that there is a very realistic and distinct possibility of winning our freedom. So I see these kind of races as a way to achieve our freedom.

"Now, in the process, you have to make the case for freedom.... Reform is not freedom. You’ve got to dismantle abridgments on freedom. In the campaign ... I would be making the case for liberty ...  what we need to do to achieve a free society [and] why a free society is worth going for....  So in the process, you’re educating people."

Read more: https://thelibertarianrepublic.com/lp-presidential-candidate-jacob-hornberger/
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Health Canada asked to permit psilocybin therapy

Is Canada constitutionally required to legalize magic mushrooms? — Quartz - Olivia Goldhill:

August 29, 2019 - "A Canadian therapist has asked Health Canada to permit the use of psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms, for medical reasons. If denied, he’s planning to file a lawsuit, claiming the health department’s [refusal] would violate Canadians' right to 'life, liberty, and security of person' — an argument that previously convinced Canadian courts that it is unconstitutional to prohibit medical access to cannabis.....

"Bruce Tobin said he submitted an application with Health Canada in March, asking for approval to treat cancer patients’ end-of-life anxiety with psilocybin. Magic mushrooms are illegal under Canada’s Controlled Drug and Substances Act, but the law has a clause, Section 56(1), which states that the Health Minister may exempt substances if necessary for medical or scientific purposes.

"Tobin is planning to give Health Canada to the end of the year to respond and, if they don’t, will file a motion in federal court asking for a judicial review. If his argument is denied there, he plans to go all the way to the Supreme Court.

"'There have been several landmark cannabis cases in which the High Courts have delivered very explicit judgements that Canadian citizens have the right to autonomy in making healthcare decisions with regards to life and death medical conditions,' said Tobin. Early research has shown that psilocybin therapy is effective at treating end-of-life anxiety. Tobin says he has patients who’ve tried all the alternatives and are in 'abject misery,' and he wants them to have access to psilocybin.

“Tobin isn’t the only one pushing against Canada’s legal system. Dana Larsen, who founded a medical cannabis dispensary in 2007, announced he was launching a medical psilocybin dispensary in June. The dispensary is based in Vancouver and claims to mail psilocybin microdoses to people with a documented medical need; Larsen lists anxiety, cluster headaches, and pain as conditions that can be treated with psilocybin."

“Reat more: https://qz.com/1693840/is-canada-constitutionally-required-to-legalize-magic-mushrooms/
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Weld tries to beat the odds in New Hampshire

Weld bets on New Hampshire to fuel long shot bid against Trump | TheHill - Jonathan Easley

January 29, 2020 - "Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld (R) is betting on undeclared voters in New Hampshire to fuel his long shot challenge against President Trump, believing the state’s fierce independent streak and potential for cross-over voters could turn him into a contender after the Feb. 11 primary....

"Trump’s grip on the Republican Party is as tight as ever. Over the course of 120 events Weld has attended across the Granite State over the past year, he said there’s been no evidence to suggest that Trump’s voters are warming to him as an alternative. However, Weld says he’s gaining traction among left-leaning independents and undeclared voters who are eligible to vote in either party’s primary in New Hampshire.

"Weld faces near impossible odds in his quest for the nomination. A WBUR survey of New Hampshire from last month found Trump at 74 percent support, against 9 percent for Weld. The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) combined to raise more than $463 million in 2019. The Weld campaign brought in about $1.3 million in the first three quarters.... About a half-dozen states will not even hold GOP primaries this year, and the RNC has taken other steps to head off a potential primary challenger as well.

"But Weld says the bar for success is so low that he’s set up to shock the world on primary day in New Hampshire. The 'wise guys,' Weld said, expect him to get only 1 or 2 percent in New Hampshire, so a 10 percent showing or better might be all he needs. 'If I got 20 percent, they’d be like, ... what’s happening here?,' Weld said....

"Weld, who ran on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson in 2016, said if he does not win the GOP nomination, he will not run as a third-party candidate again.

"Weld said he could happily support former Vice President Joe Biden in a matchup against Trump.... [H]e likes and admires Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), but would have a tough' time supporting either of them, believing their progressive politics are out of step with where most of the country is. And he’s worried about how a candidate from the left would fare in a head-to-head matchup against Trump....

"Weld also said he’d also be happy if either Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) or former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee secured the Libertarian Party’s nomination. Regardless, Weld says he wants Trump out of office at all costs....

"Weld is warning Senate Republicans that absolving Trump of wrongdoing in the impeachment trial will backfire, and that instead, the GOP will pay a price at the ballot box for not removing him from office. When asked if he thinks Republicans will lose the Senate, Weld responded: 'I think it’s quite likely.'”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/480600-the-hill-interview-weld-bets-on-new-hampshire-to-fuel-long-shot-bid-against
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Amash raises over $500,000 in 2019 4/4

Justin Amash Outraises Democratic and Republican Opponents in Fourth Quarter – Reason.com- Matt Welch:

February 1, 2019 - "The fourth quarter 2019 campaign disclosure reports that were due at the end of January brought some welcome news for embattled independent Rep. Justin Amash (I–Mich.): Despite being abandoned by some of his biggest historical backers, the pro-impeachment libertarian raised more money and has more in the bank than any of the Democrats and Republicans gunning for his Grand Rapids seat.

"According to the Detroit Free Press, Amash raised $595,000 over the last three months of 2019, or almost as much as all the Republican contenders for the seat combined. Supermarket magnate Peter Meijer brought in $313,000 ($75,000 of which was a loan to himself), DeltaPlex Arena owner Joel Langlois netted $212,000 ($200,000 of which was a self-loan), and state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis announced $113,000.

"In the cash-on-hand sweepstakes as of the end of 2019, Amash led $722,000 to Meijer's $557,000, Langlois's $333,000, and Afendoulis's $200,000.

"What about the Democrats competing in MI-3? Social worker and immigration attorney Hillary Scholten raised $124,000, and had $207,000 cash on hand, while former Barack Obama aide Nick Colvin raised $101,000 and has just $60,000. Primaries for both major parties are scheduled for August 4....

"The three-way race in this Republican-leaning but hard-to-characterize district has widely been seen by election forecasters as a toss-up or slight lean toward the GOP.... Both major parties are expected to pour money into the contest once the primaries are settled, giving a three-way scrum a chance at being among the most expensive in the country."

Read moew: https://reason.com/2020/02/01/justin-amash-outraises-democratic-and-republican-opponents-in-fourth-quarter/
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Atlas Shrugged and the literary critics

Who Is Ayn Rand?: - Lisa Duggan, Jacobin magasine:
The following is an excerpt from Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed by Lisa Duggan (University of California Press, 2019).

August 23, 2019 - ""When Atlas Shrugged made its incendiary appearance in 1957, it cracked open the apparent political consensus in favor of the welfare state to reveal intensely warring camps. The mainstream press, leading academics, and prominent literary figures didn’t just dismiss the tome; they abhorred it. [Author Ayn] Rand herself predicted to Nathaniel Branden that her novel was 'going to be the most controversial book of this century; I’m going to be hated, vilified, lied about, smeared in every possible way.' Her characteristic grandiosity notwithstanding, she was prescient.

"Atlas Shrugged was described as 'execrable claptrap,' 'grotesque eccentricity,' and a 'shrill diatribe' comparable in its godless, heartless overwrought cruelty to Nietzschean-inflected fascism. Ex-Communist ... literary critic Granville Hicks opined in the New York Times, 'It howls in the reader’s ear and beats him about the head in order to secure his attention. And then, when it has him subdued, harangues him for page upon page. It has only two moods, the melodramatic and the didactic, and in both it knows no bounds.'

"But the most notoriously devastating review came from William Buckley’s National Review. Echoing the views of many religious conservatives, ... ex-Communist ... Whittaker Chambers wrote that Atlas Shrugged substitutes 'the Sign of the Dollar, in lieu of the Sign of the Cross,' presenting the 'Randian Man' who, like 'Marxian Man,' is at 'the center of a godless world.' Chambers continued: 'Out of a lifetime of reading, I can recall no other book in which a tone of overriding arrogance was so implacably sustained. Its shrillness is without reprieve. Its dogmatism is without appeal.... From almost any page of Atlas Shrugged, a voice can be heard from painful necessity, commanding: "To a gas chamber — go!"'

"These over-the-top negative reviews combined bitter rejection of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, from the Right as well as the Left, with attacks on ... the writing style and on the tone or sheer meanness of the novel. They were met with a much smaller number of equally over-the-top positive reviews and private evaluations, deeming Atlas Shrugged 'vibrant and powerful' and Rand a writer of 'dazzling virtuosity.'

"Economist Ruth Alexander, Rand’s friend, predicted that 'Ayn Rand is destined to rank in history as the outstanding novelist and most profound philosopher of the twentieth century.' A private note to the author from famed right-wing economist Ludwig von Mises praised the book as a political achievement:

Atlas Shrugged is not merely a novel.... It is also – or may I say: first of all – a cogent analysis of the evils that plague our society, a substantiated rejection of the ideology of our self-styled “intellectuals” and a pitiless unmasking of the insincerity of the policies adopted by our governments and political parties.....

"Despite the overwhelmingly negative reviews in the mainstream press, Atlas Shrugged quickly became a word-of-mouth best seller, generating thousands of fan letters from gushing enthusiasts. Though never regarded as serious by cultural gatekeepers, the novel nonetheless became undeniably socially and politically important, sometimes compared to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Gone with the Wind, and 1984."

Read more: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/08/mean-girl-ayn-rand-culture-of-greed-lisa-duggan-excerpt
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LP 2020: Ends and means

by George J. Dance

This May, 1,000 or so Libertarian Party delegates will gather in Austin, Texas, to pick the party's nominee for President. It promises to be a contentious convention. LP members were divided as never before by Gary Johnson's two runs as nominee, and remain divided on whether the party should continue to run campaigns like that, or radically change direction.

On paper, the party had its most successful presidential campaign ever in 2012, and an even more successful one in 2016. Only once before 2012 had a candidate for POTUS even come close to a million votes (in 1980, the year David Koch financed the campaign from his own pocket). Gary Johnson's campaigns both topped a million votes, and the 2016 campaign - despite the most bipolarized election of this century - topped 4 million.

Yet, to many, the 2016 Johnson campaign was a disaster. In their view, Johnson was the least libertarian candidate for the nomination, and his campaign platform the least libertarian message the party could project. Delegates will be seriously questioning where the LP should go from here. That should include even revisiting the question of what a Libertarian Party is. What is it for? Why even have one?

My definition: The LP is a vehicle for accomplishing libertarian political ends by democratic means. While each libertarian has their own preferred "political ends", there is substantial agreement on those, which the LP has used to create its Platform and Statement of Principles. By democratic means, I mean attracting members and donors, and running candidates and campaigns, in order to gain sufficient votes to influence public policy. Perhaps the LP will never gain enough votes to win; but one does not need to win to change policy.

In the words of Libertarian strategist Tom Knapp:

“Winning elections” or “maximizing vote totals” are the LP’s means, not the LP’s ends.
The LP’s ends are about changing policy to match the party’s platform and Statement of Principles.

The end is not the Platform itself, but changing policy to align with it. Policy change could be either an immediate matchup (absolutism) or one of a series of incremental moves toward it (gradualism). Sometimes an absolutist policy may be best to adopt, sometimes a gradualist one. One consideration is the end: which option is closest to the platform? The other is the means: which option will let the party gain and keep the votes needed to actually influence policy?

David Bergland ran probably the most absolutist campaign in party history: great on all the ends. But he attracted just 250,000 votes: bad on the means. Gary Johnson's campaign was absolutist on maybe 3 issues, gradualist on most, and even contradicted the platform on an issue (private discrimination by race or sexual orientation): not as good on the ends. But he attracted 4 million voters: much better on the means.

It is important in 2020 that the Libertarian candidate's campaign be consistent with the ends: changing policies in line with the Platform and the Statement of Principles. But it is also important that the party keep the 4 million people who voted for it, and do all that it can to attract more. The LP delegates need to consider both the ends and the means.