Elected Libertarians making a difference

How Elected Libertarians Are Making the World More Free - Reason.com - Matt Welch:

July 14, 2018 - "What exactly do Libertarians do? Wait — don't answer that. As someone who edited a small-l libertarian magazine for eight years, I know all your jokes.... But at least 169 of these exotic creatures also hold elected office across the [U.S.].... And what these critics of government power are doing once they acquire it may provide a flicker of whimsical hope in these dark and fractious times.

"Brandon Phinney, a 30-year-old Army vet who found libertarianism through Ron Paul, was elected to the 400-member New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2016 as a Republican. He then switched parties after discovering to his horror that elected GOP officials did not mean what they said about cutting the state budget.... Phinney ... pores through the ever-expanding state code, looking for laws that are anachronistic, impossible to enforce, and/or just plain wrong. [Then] he tries to remove them.

"For instance, the Live Free or Die State had on its books for more than a century a prohibition against reusing glass milk-delivery bottles for any other substance besides milk.... New Hampshire is one of the few states in the union where performers are barred from drinking alcohol on stage. Or I should say were, until Phinney tackled the problem....

"Phinney faces his first reelection with an "L" next to his name this November, which will be an important early indication of whether the L.P. is able to protect, and thus lure more of, its recent converts from the two older parties.

"Another key party switcher facing electoral challenge this year is Nebraska state Sen. Laura Ebke. Ebke, who transferred from the GOP to the L.P. two years ago over issues of civil liberties, achieved something this spring that libertarians have been talking about forever: occupational licensing reform. Like Phinney's bills, Ebke's passed with overwhelming bipartisan — nay, tripartisan — support....

"Having Libertarians play the honest, respected brokers between Dems and Repubs may seem far-fetched... But that's just what Mayor Jeff Hewitt has done in Calimesa [California].

"The swing vote on a split city council, Hewitt, a garrulous former swimming pool digger, convinced his small town to tackle one of California's biggest problems: The unsustainability of public sector pensions. Instead of contracting fire services from unwieldy Riverside County, with its top-down engine-staffing rules and defined-benefit pensions, Calimesa under Hewitt's tutelage opted out and created its own tiny fire department, saving taxpayers a bundle. Now Hewitt is running for a spot on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors....

"The Libertarian Party needs, and is finally getting, some demonstration projects about how to govern better. Getting more Jeff Hewitts in more important positions could transform the little party that couldn't into not just the country's leading third party (which it is already), but also a bloc that can at long last change the behavior of the top two."

Read more: https://reason.com/archives/2018/07/14/how-elected-libertarians-are-making-the
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Glenn 'Kane' Jacobs elected Knox co. mayor

Glenn Jacobs, Professional Wrestler and Libertarian, Wins His Race for Mayor - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Zuri Davis:

August 3, 2018 - "The next mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, will be a Big Red Monster. Glenn Jacobs, better known to pro wrestling fans as Kane, secured a victory last night against Democratic challenger Linda Haney.

"Prior to announcing his mayoral candidacy in April 2017, Jacobs spent a long and seasoned career as a WWE star. He has also had a long and seasoned career as a libertarian writer and activist. In a 2009 open letter to Chuck Norris, he encouraged [Norris] to back measures to 'End the Fed,' mirroring Ron Paul's denunciations of the Federal Reserve....

"Jacobs' byline has appeared on several libertarian and quasi-libertarian websites, including the Future of Freedom Foundation, LewRockwell.com, and Rare. He spoke at the Young Americans for Liberty's annual conference in both 2016 and 2017, and he has made several television appearances with the likes of Kennedy and Andrew Napolitano. He also co-founded a pro-market organization called the Tennessee Liberty Alliance.

"Though he ran as a Republican, Jacobs' campaign included many libertarian-friendly messages. During a May debate, for example, he argued that the Knox County government could not simply 'incarcerate [its] way out of' the opioid crisis. After he entered the mayoral race last year, he told Rare that running for such offices is important to the liberty movement because change is most effective on the local level:"

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/08/03/glenn-jacobs-is-knox-county-tn-mayor
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Mark Sanford loses primary to Trump pick

Mark Sanford Is a Libertarian Republican Who Took on Trump. He Just Lost His Primary. - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Eric Boehm:

June 12, 2018 - "A primary challenger backed by President Donald Trump successfully unseated incumbent Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) tonight just hours after Trump took to Twitter to attack Sanford for — of all things — the congressman's marital infidelities. First-term state Rep. Katie Arrington (R-Dorchester) defeated Sanford, earning more than 51 percent of the vote to Sanford's 46 percent....

"In an interview with Politico last weekend, Sanford suggested that a loss in his re-election bid could cause other Republicans to think twice before speaking out against the Trump administration.... 'I think it's entirely appropriate to say "I agree" when I agree and "I disagree" when I disagree,' Sanford told Politico's Alex Isenstadt. 'That's the American way. That's what our entire political system is based on, ... the fact that we can have dissent'....

"Sanford's dissent to Trump's takeover of the GOP dates back nearly two years.... Sanford has accused Trump of fanning 'the flames of intolerance,' criticized Trump's use of the word 'shit-hole' to describe some third world countries, and most recently called the president's plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports 'an experiment with stupidity.' He's also criticized Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) for not taking a hard enough line against the Trump White House.

"Trump appears to have taken notice. As voters were heading to the polls Tuesday, the president took a shot at the incumbent congressman.

Mark Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA. He is MIA and nothing but trouble. He is better off in Argentina. I fully endorse Katie Arrington for Congress in SC, a state I love. She is tough on crime and will continue our fight to lower taxes. VOTE Katie!

"Yes, that reference to Argentina is the thrice-wedded president (who may have had an affair with a porn star) accusing Sanford of being bad at marriage, apparently without a hint of irony....

"It's true that Sanford's six-day disappearance during July 2009 — when he was ... having an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman, María Belén Chapur — changed the course of his political career.... Prior to [L'Affaire] Argentine, Sanford was regarded as a possible White House contender. Following Ron Paul's 2008 dark horse presidential run, he and [former] governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson (along with, of course, Rand Paul) were often identified as the heirs apparent to the libertarian wing of the GOP....

"Will there be a third act for Sanford? One can hope. Whatever you may think of his personal foibles, he's been a consistently principled voice for liberty and limited government. He opposes bailouts, loves Atlas Shrugged, and disdains political tribalism. And in the age of Trump, a history of adultery is hardly political suicide anymore."

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/06/12/anti-trump-republican-mark-sanford-loses
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Glenn 'Kane' Jacobs wins GOP mayoral primary

WWE's Glenn 'Kane' Jacobs is the newest Republican libertarian to (likely) win office - Jack Hunter, Washington Examiner:

May 2, 2018 - "On Tuesday, Glenn Jacobs — aka World Wrestling Entertainment star “Kane” — won a Republican primary by a razor-thin margin in his bid to become mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.

"Jacobs ... beat his closest Republican challenger by only 17 votes. There are still 43 provisional ballots to count before the victor is finalized, which might come as early as Thursday, and reports seem to strongly favor Jacobs’ chances....

"In deep-red Knox County, it is highly likely the Republican will best the Democrat mayoral candidate in the general election.... Tuesday’s primary all but decided who would become the next mayor, and it will likely be a nearly 7-foot tall professional wrestling 'demon,' who also is a well-established dedicated libertarian.....

"Jacobs operated a different kind of campaign, running on a pro-free market limited government platform, while also using his pro wrestling celebrity and libertarian-conservative brand to attract support from both inside and outside his county.

"A slew of famous pro wrestlers — The 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, the “Big Show,”Arn Anderson, Ricky Morton — all traveled to Knox County to hold fundraisers for their longtime colleague and friend, and doubled down on their support on election day, enabling the WWE legend-turned politician to draw more popular attention than most conventional Republicans.

"Before he became a mayoral candidate, Jacobs helped found the limited government Tennessee Liberty Alliance, was a regular on the libertarian program 'Kennedy' on Fox Business, a speaker for libertarian youth activist group Young Americans for Liberty, and ... spoke at the Foundation for Economic Education’s national conference in August. Jacobs was also endorsed by Rand Paul in May 2017....

"A mayor will obviously not have the same sort of national profile or impact as a U.S. senator or a congressman, but a figure with Jacobs’ celebrity who so openly embraces liberty ideas and policies is still another great representative for the libertarian faction within the Republican Party....

"There are other promising Liberty Republicans running this year — Maine’s '28-year-old wunderkind' state Sen. Eric Brakey who is challenging Sen. Angus King; former Libertarian Party presidential candidate Austin Petersen’s current GOP bid for U.S. Senate in Missouri; and Pensacola’s Rebekah Bydlak, whose 2016 attention-grabbing congressional run has positioned her well for a Florida statehouse victory in 2018 (not to mention Young Americans for Liberty’s current nationwide effort to elect a slew of libertarian Republicans at the state level)."

Read more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/wwes-glenn-kane-jacobs-is-the-newest-republican-libertarian-to-likely-win-office
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Republican libertarians' newly-won political clout

Jack Hunter: Libertarians are flexing their political muscle - My Statesman:

March 27, 2017 - "Before Ron Paul’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns spawned a 'liberty movement' of activists and political leaders, the influence of which is still being felt to this day (just ask Barack Obama or Donald Trump), you would have had a hard time finding libertarians in Congress period, with the exception of Ron Paul.

"But today, and for some time, libertarian Republicans have actually had measurable political clout. This has certainly been true on the foreign policy and civil liberties fronts, where, in 2013, it was Rep. [Justin] Amash who spearheaded the effort to reign in the NSA’s controversial mass surveillance practices with a bill that was unsuccessful by only 12 votes. Some could argue that Sen. [Rand] Paul has been instrumental in shaping President Trump’s state and defense cabinet with his denunciations of prominent neoconservatives whose names were floated.

"In the House, Rand Paul’s father Ron Paul would often be the sole 'no' vote based on his strict constitutionalist principles. Sen. Paul has been known to be the sole 'no' vote in the senate — among Republicans or among everyone — where his single vote can sometimes be more effective than a representative’s would be.... Paul held up the Balkan nation of Montenegro’s entrance into NATO all by his lonesome, causing the hawkish John McCain to accuse Paul of working for Vladimir Putin.

"In 2008, McCain dismissed Ron Paul during presidential debates as an 'isolationist,' and most Republicans probably agreed with McCain in that still very hawkish post-George W. Bush GOP environment. In 2017, the son of Ron Paul is mucking up McCain’s ability to put America on the hook militarily for yet another foreign country, and while Paul doesn’t have much Senate support, he does have it elsewhere in conservative and libertarian circles.

"Things have changed, and libertarians have benefitted....

“'This time, instead of merely standing against something, the Freedom Caucus is standing for what the Republican Party repeatedly promised constituents: a full repeal of Obamacare,' Boland notes. 'It also helps that Paul, a physician from Kentucky, has another replacement bill in the Senate that could actually lower the cost of insurance by eliminating government mandates, giving people the freedom to purchase insurance across state lines, allowing customers to join voluntary larger insurance pools and a host of other free-market reforms.'

"Libertarians favor less government, individual choice and free markets in most things, including healthcare. Most conservative Republicans pretend to favor these things too, or at least when Democrats are in control....

"But when Republicans are in control, these one-time small government advocates behave little differently than Democrats in their zeal to 'do something.' That’s precisely what Paul Ryan and others have been doing, in their rush to jam through a health care bill that retains the individual mandate Republicans used to say was the worst part of Obamacare.

"If not for libertarian Republicans, I wouldn’t want much to do with the GOP." They are the best Republicans precisely because they are the most principled. Thankfully, they also have political muscle now too, as this week reminds us."

Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/opinion/jack-hunter-libertarians-are-flexing-their-political-muscle/vYncZBRoRCJAB4H1V0bOIO/
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2 more Republican officeholders join Libertarians

LP.org: Two more Republican officeholders join the LP | Independent Political Report:

April 5, 2017 - "Kankakee County Board Representative Jim Byrne of Illinois, and Ed Zielinski, an elected councilman of Elsmere, Delaware, have joined the Libertarian Party.

"Byrne announced in December that he has officially joined the Illinois LP, and now serves as vice chairman of the new Kankakee County Libertarian Party central committee that was formed last fall.... He won re-election in November and will serve a four-year term. He will remain as an elected Republican official.

"'I have joined the Libertarian Party of Illinois, not because POTUS-Elect Trump was just elected or what Gov. Rauner is doing in Springfield,' said Byrne. 'I joined the Libertarian Party because, as I said ... on my first day on the board back in 2011, I am a Ron Paul Republican, a Libertarian who believes in small government that is accountable and transparent to the people.'

"Byrne’s future plans on the board include consolidating and eliminating redundant taxing bodies, and downsizing the county board. He also wants to work toward offering Kankakee County citizens greater government transparency by video-streaming meetings online and putting the meetings on public-access television.

"Zielinksi ... switched his party registration to the Libertarian Party in September. His seat will be up for election in April 2017.

"'I had received no support for liberty legislation,' said Zielinski about switching parties. 'The council has continually pushed for spending and tax increases.'

"'We’re proud to have Ed join the Libertarian Party of Delaware,' said Scott Gesty, chair of LP Delaware. “Ed has always been a strong advocate of liberty and we’re honored to have him representing the people of Elsmere as a Libertarian.'"

Read more: http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2017/04/lp-org-two-more-republican-officeholders-join-the-lp/
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WWE wrestler Kane to run for mayor

WWE's Kane Runs For Mayor - Being Libertarian - Brandon Kirby:

March 25, 2017 -  "Best known for lighting people on fire and chokeslamming his enemies, World Wresting Entertainment’s Glenn Jacobs, better known as Kane, sets his sights on the political ring to run for Knox County [Tennessee] mayor, according to the Associated Press.

"Standing at 6’9 and weighing over 324lbs, The Devil’s Favourite Demon had a successful 22-year career in the WWE.... Outside of the world of wrestling, Jacobs and his wife own and operate Jacobs Insurance Associates, LLC, offering auto, business, flood, home, life, and motorcycle insurance.

"The successful businessman and entertainer’s bid for mayor is sure to excite libertarians. Jacobs is actively involved in libertarian politics, supporting Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, is a member of the Free State Project, and spoke at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum and the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

"In an interview with Fox Business, Jacobs cited Harry Browne, Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, and Mary Ruwart as influences on his political thinking. The former world champion also cited the non-aggression principle as his guiding principle.

"In an interview with Tom Woods, Jacobs elaborated, 'Then I realized that it really is a philosophy that we’re talking about, you know — the nonaggression axiom, that the government should be bound by the same moral laws that the rest of us are. Once you realize that, you’re like, "Oh!" Your entire world opens up, and then your entire paradigm changes.'

"In the interview he also indicated that he believes taxation is theft."

Read more: https://beinglibertarian.com/wwes-kane-runs-mayor/
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Ron Paul coalition fragments in 2016

Where are all the Ron 'Paulite' libertarians in 2016? - Daniel Libit, CNBC:

April 14, 2016 - "Last month, Walter Block, a libertarian professor of economics and long-time acolyte of Ron Paul, pinched his nose and co-launched a group, Libertarians for Trump.... While he finds much of Trump's domestic agenda odious, Block very much likes Trump's noninterventionist foreign policy positions.

"Still, Block insists his group ... advocates only for Trump as the Republican nominee, and it intends to promptly disband after the primary. Then, Block said, even his vote is up for grabs. 'If it was Bernie [Sanders] versus Donald, I would vote for the Libertarian [Party candidate] for sure," he told CNBC.com. 'If it was Donald versus Hillary [Clinton], I would have a much harder time. I would have trouble deciding.'

"His conundrum is not unique among his kind. Four years after its political awakening, and in the absence of an obvious rallying point, the Ron Paul coalition finds itself in a diffuse, conflicted and confused diaspora. Paul's devotees .. are now erratically strewn across the political spectrum of the 2016 election, ... attaching themselves to Trump's populism, Ted Cruz's conservatism and even Sanders' socialism....

"The current state of the Paul coalition ... suggests ... its support had much more to do with Paul's outsiderism, than his libertarianism. It is this reality that dawned too late on the presidential campaign of his son, Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who thought he could expand on his father's base of support by appealing to establishment Republicans as well as true libertarians ... the campaign's internal polls found that of Iowa voters who said they supported Ron Paul in 2012, only about a third identified generally as having libertarian leanings....

"Paul commits his time to leading the Campaign for Liberty and the Ron Paul Institute, a foreign policy nonprofit.... But perhaps Paul's greatest political legacy is Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian student organization that Paul is not formally affiliated with, but which grew out of his 2008 presidential campaign. It currently counts 600 college chapters and 200,000-plus members....

"Cruz, despite Paul's withering criticisms, has arguably made the most consistent effort to attract his former supporters, even name-checking libertarians in his Iowa Caucus victory speech. Prior to Rand Paul dropping out of the race, Cruz had already snatched the support of Iowa state Sen. Jason Schultz, who endorsed Ron Paul in 2012, and Joel Kurtinitis, an activist who served as Paul's regional director. Cruz also won the endorsement of former Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr, who has gotten crosswise with Paul in the past....

"But at least one political organization sees a unique opportunity this election — the national Libertarian Party. 'This is a year where things are so uncertain, and where the two parties are split among themselves, that it could be a very big opportunity,' said Wes Benedict, the Libertarian Party's executive director. Past nominee Gary Johnson's 1,275,871 votes in 2012 represented a high-water mark for the party in its 44-year history....

"During the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial race, Libertarian Party candidate Robert Sarvis ended with almost 7 percent of the vote, the most a third-party candidate has netted in the South since 1970.

"Immediately after Rand Paul's exit from this year's nominating contest, the Libertarian Party saw notable spikes in new donors, according to figures provided to CNBC.com. The party is on the ballot in 32 states (and Washington, D.C.) — the most of any third-party — and Benedict says he's confident it will be on all states' ballots for November."

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/where-are-all-the-ron-paulite-libertarians-in-2016.html
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Paul stressing libertarian themes in runup to Iowa

Rand Paul returns to libertarian roots before Iowa caucus - Joseph Gerth, Louisville Courier-Journal:

January 18, 2016 - "Rand Paul finds himself desperately needing a strong showing in the Hawkeye State to get back into the presidential discussion. Once a promising candidate who was leading in some polls, two years ago, the U.S. senator from Kentucky has seen his fortunes plummet as his message became lost in a large field of GOP contenders who had more money and more star-power.

"Now, says Dave Nalle, the vice chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which has endorsed Paul, the candidate is re-emphasizing his libertarian roots in a final dash that Nalle says is crucial for him to stay relevant.

"'I think it’s vitally important,' Nalle said of the Feb. 1 Iowa caucus where he said Paul must do better than polling now shows - which he expects Paul to do.

"According to the most recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll, Paul gets 5 percent of the vote and sits in fifth place among likely caucus-goers in Iowa behind U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, businessman Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson....

"The belief among analysts that the race is over for Paul and concern that he needs to focus his efforts on being re-elected to the Senate haven’t stopped him from plowing ahead with his presidential campaign.

"And as of late, Paul appears to have been working harder to reclaim the libertarian heritage of his father, former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican who once ran for president on the Libertarian ticket....

"After he didn’t make the South Carolina debate last week, Paul went on a two-day media tour of New York City television and radio, appearing non-stop almost on the air trying to get his libertarian message out – hitting hard on the issue of limited overseas military engagement and government prying into private affairs.

"'I have a unique voice. I am the one voice saying we shouldn’t make the sand glow. I’m the one voice saying … the government shouldn’t be collecting all your records,' he said during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday. Those were also recurring themes during an 80-minute webcast Paul held on Twitter during the South Carolina debate on the Fox Business Channel....

"Nalle said Paul is on the right course to take back the so-called 'liberty voters' who have left the Paul family fold. 'I think he’s listening to his constituents,” Nalle said. 'A lot of us have urged him not to moderate his views.'

Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/rand-paul/2016/01/17/fading-rand-paul-needs-big-splash-iowa/78849884/
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Rand Paul's Iowa problem: Ted Cruz

Rand Paul's Problem: Ted Cruz | National Review Online - Tim Alberta:

December 5, 2015 - "Cruz has been poaching Paul’s libertarian supporters since last January, when the Texas senator touched down in Iowa for a forum organized by Representative Steve King. The first thing Cruz did on that trip — before visiting with King or any of the state’s evangelical leaders — was stop at the Holiday Inn by the airport for a private roundtable discussion with Iowa’s 'liberty' leaders. In the eleven months since, Cruz has made significant inroads with this constituency — the one Ron Paul created, and Rand Paul had counted on as the backbone of his campaign.

"It’s an effort even longer in the making for Cruz. Over the last two years, the fiery Texan has followed Paul’s political lead on a number of key votes — from the 2013 budget showdown to the NSA-reforming USA Freedom Act and the National Defense Authorization Act earlier this year — in an effort to win over his libertarian fans. As the broader GOP electorate has soured on Paul-style non-interventionism over the same period, Cruz has charted a 'third way' on foreign policy, positioning himself in between Paul and the more traditionally hawkish Marco Rubio in an effort to court both camps’ voters. That’s hurt Paul, whose libertarian base of support was never the largest segment of the primary electorate to begin with....

"Paul has struggled to reconstruct his father’s base in Iowa — and therefore has struggled to remain viable in the run-up to the state’s Feb. 1 caucuses. Ron Paul had no opposition for the votes of libertarian-leaning Republicans in 2012, and wound up winning 21 percent of the overall caucus vote. His son, however, facing a field twice as large — and direct competition from Cruz — has been mired in the single digits for five months. He currently registers at 3 percent support in Real Clear Politics’s polling average, and hasn’t earned more than 6 percent in any poll since July.

"Paul dismissed the threat from Cruz in a meeting with reporters ... saying that nine of the ten state central committee members who supported his father are backing him in 2016. 'We still think the vast majority of the liberty vote is coming to us,' he said.

"But unaffiliated Republicans around the state say otherwise. The emerging consensus is that while Paul still probably has the support of most liberty-minded voters, Cruz has peeled away enough of them — from a pool that wasn’t very large in the first place — to make Paul a non-factor in the race....

"Paul was never going to win Iowa, or the GOP nomination, unless he could grow his father’s base of support, which hasn’t happened. Instead he finds himself bleeding family loyalists to Cruz, and struggling to stay relevant because of it."

Read more: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428081/rand-paul-ted-cruz-problem
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Ted Cruz courting Ron Paul Republicans (video)

Ted Cruz snags former Ron Paul supporters - Washington Post - Katie Zezima:

September 29, 2015 - "For months, the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has quietly been courting libertarian-leaning supporters -- people who once supported Ron Paul and ostensibly would have been inclined to back his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the 2016 race.

"On Tuesday, Cruz released a video showing eight former Ron Paul liberty movement supporters -- a number of them from Iowa -- who are now backing Cruz. The campaign announced that former Congressman Bob Barr will chair a 'Liberty Leaders for Cruz' coalition comprised of libertarian-leaning Republicans....

"In the video, Cruz's supporters talk about how both Pauls endorsed Cruz's 2012 Senate run and said they believe he has held positions consistent with the liberty movement, including a reluctance to send boots on the ground to Syria and support for Rand Paul's bill calling for an audit of the Fed."

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/29/ted-cruz-snags-former-ron-paul-supporters/
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‘Liberty Kids’ control Los Angeles GOP

LA’s ‘Liberty Kids’ seek Republican Party shake-up | Features | The Malay Mail Online:

August 6, 2014 - "Amir Zendehnam passionately supports marijuana legalisation, same-sex marriage, abortion rights and the Republican Party.

"He is not alone. The 26-year-old aspiring restaurateur and chairman of the party’s West Los Angeles central committee, is one of a raft of ethnically diverse young libertarians who hold seats in LA County’s huge GOP apparatus, injecting youthful energy into its operations at a time when the state’s Republican Party is nearly moribund.

"After winning control [of] the executive board of the Los Angeles County Republican Party in December 2012, the “Liberty Kids,” as they call themselves, are seeing the fruits of their activism. This year one of their own is running as the Republican nominee for Congress from the San Gabriel Valley, with Zendehnam serving as policy adviser.

'The Liberty Kids are challenging the party’s social conservatives and are drawing the attention of Democrats, who see liberal youth as part of their base. And in what could be a harbinger for the GOP, they have begun campaigning in other states, aiming to increase their influence beyond California....

"The Liberty Kids hold four of seven seats on the local party’s governing board and dozens of spots on its 200-person central committee, representing a county that is home to 10 million people."

Read more: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/las-liberty-kids-seek-republican-party-shake-up
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Seven Maine Committeemen leave Republican Party

Seven Maine GOP Officials Leave Party In Name Of Libertarian Cause - Igor Bobic, Talking Points Memo:

"August 20, 2013 - State Republican officials appear to be fleeing their party in August.

"After the co-chair of Iowa's Polk County GOP resigned and registered Independent Tuesday citing a party 'headed in the wrong direction,' seven local GOP members in Maine also stepped down lamenting the abandonment of conservative and libertarian principles, the Portland Press Herald reported.

"The officials, including one of Maine's three voting members of the Republican National Committee and six other members of the Maine State Republican Committee, joined a letter accusing House speaker John Boehner (R-OH) of 'cowardly leadership' and criticized establishment for accepting tax increases, supporting National Security Agency surveillance programs and orchestrating a move at the Republican National Convention in Tampa last year that froze out delegates for then-Republican presidential contender and libertarian hero Ron Paul."

Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/seven-maine-gop-officials-leave-party-in-name

Lindsey Graham challenged by libertarian Republicans

Lindsey Graham’s Libertarian Challengers | The American Conservative - W. James Antle III:

"Ever since Strom Thurmond shuffled off to an Edgefield retirement home over a decade ago, Lindsey Graham has represented South Carolina — and served as John McCain’s junior partner — in the Senate.

"Like McCain, Graham has been bipartisan in his deal-making and support for war-making.... South Carolina is home to eight military bases and two military colleges. More than a fifth of voters in the state’s 2012 Republican presidential primary served in the armed forces....

"So it is remarkable that two of Graham’s three challengers in next year’s Republican primary seem prepared to take the senator’s hawkishness head-on. State Sen. Lee Bright, a lawmaker from Greer, endorsed Ron Paul for president....

"Bright is joined by Charleston businesswoman Nancy Mace. When Graham suggested that Rand Paul was soft on national defense, Mace ... argued that instead of endorsing 'President Obama’s intrusive arm of big brother regarding the collection of data and phone records,' we might instead revisit Graham’s policies of foreign aid and intervention....

"Bright went a step further. 'I think the federal government is a lot more dangerous to our liberties and our freedoms than some radical Islamist coming in,' he told a conservative website, saying that vigilance was required but Graham has 'got more faith and trust in the federal government than I do' regarding national surveillance."

Read more: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/lindsey-grahams-libertarian-challenge/
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Ron Paul loses WIPO dispute over RonPaul.com

Ron Paul Domain Dispute Ends Poorly for Ron Paul | Geekosystem - Victoria McNally:

May 24, 2013 - "Ron Paul ... asked the UN, an organization he notoriously does not like, to take the domain RonPaul.com from the huge supporter base that runs it so that he can have it. Now not only has the UN ruled in favor of those supporters, but they’ve also found Paul guilty of reverse domain name hijacking....

"RonPaul.com is currently run by an extremely fervent base of Ron Paul supporters who were reluctant to disrupt their already-existing online community to give Paul their domain when he asked for it. Instead they offered to either sell him the .com domain, or to give him the domain RonPaul.Org at no charge. For some reason Paul took this as a slight against him, and his lawyers tried to claim that the gesture was evidence of malicious intent. Or something. Maybe his lawyers don’t get the Internet, either.

"Paul filed an official URDP complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization in February, attempting to [seize] both the .com and the .org domain name[s]. WIPO is one of 17 specialized agencies within the United Nations and deals primarily, as the name suggests, with the protection of intellectual property among UN member states."

Read more: http://www.geekosystem.com/ron-paul-domain-dispute/
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What's a Libertarian Republican? Do we need them?

What's a Libertarian Republican? Do we need them? | Washington Times Communities - Shirley Husar:

March 29, 2013 - "You might not see much of a difference between a traditional Republican and a Libertarian Republican. Both believe in the three Republican pillars of lower taxes, smaller government, and more personal responsibility. They share beliefs in the free market, property rights, school choice, repealing affirmative action, protecting gun rights, and securing the borders.

"The difference is in the scope of application. The Libertarian Republican would say that the Republican bridge only goes halfway across the river; they seek to take it all the way to the other riverbank.

"Libertarian Republicans believe that working outside of the two-party system has little effect, and therefore seek to work within the system to advance liberty and small government.... Many of them work within the Republican Liberty Caucus — the wing of the Republican party that represents that particular interest."

Read more: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/urban-game-changer/2013/mar/29/whats-libertarian-republican-do-we-need-them/
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Ron Paul sues supporters for control of RonPaul.com

Ron Paul sues supporters for control of RonPaul.com - Salon.com - Jillian Rayfield::

February 10, 2013 - "Ron Paul supporters are angry and confused about a complaint Paul filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization, an agency of the U.N., in attempt to regain control of RonPaul.com and RonPaul.org.

"In a blog post on Friday, the site’s owners wrote that after hearing Paul say on a radio show that he wished he owned the domain name, they offered to sell him RonPaul.com and their 170,000 supporter mailing list for $250,000, with RonPaul.org included as a 'free gift.'

"'Instead of responding to our offer, making a counter offer, or even accepting our FREE gift of RonPaul.org, Ron Paul went to the United Nations and is trying to use its legal process related to domain name disputes to actively deport us from our domain names without compensation,' the blog post said."

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2013/02/10/ron_paul_sues_supporters_for_control_of_ronpaul_com/
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After Ron Paul, Then What for Libertarians? New York Times

After Ron Paul, Then What for Libertarians? - NYTimes.com - Brian Doherty:

February 9, 2013 - "Ron Paul, Republican of Texas, has retired from the House, after winning more than two million presidential primary votes in 2012. He took the party’s libertarian wing from ignorable fringe to significant faction. His son, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, is angling to lead that faction, very possibly as a presidential candidate himself.

"The libertarian wing’s dissatisfaction with Mitt Romney led the Libertarian Party to earn 1.2 million votes in the presidential election for its candidate, the former New Mexico governor (and former Republican) Gary Johnson. That was its largest vote total ever. In at least seven national House and Senate races a Libertarian beat the spread between a winning Democrat and a losing Republican. From the Republican point of view, losing the libertarians can mean losing elections."

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/after-ron-paul-then-what-for-libertarians.html?_r=0
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Ron Paul Supporter Challenging Reince Priebus For RNC Chairmanship

Ron Paul Supporter Challenging Reince Priebus For RNC Chairmanship: Will a Libertarian Ever Lead the GOP? - Frank Hagler:

January 24, 2012 - "Reince Priebus is being challenged by a libertarian for his position as national chairperson of the Republican National Committee. Priebus is a weak candidate but the libertarians are not expected to be able to muster enough support within the party in order to secure a nomination....

"Mark Willis, a self-described member of the liberty movement, is not expected to be able to gain enough votes to have his name nominated for the position. In order to be nominated for chairperson a candidate has to receive the majority of RNC member votes in three states....

"Priebus should be easy pickings. In his two years as chairperson he has done nothing to further the party’s goal.... Instead under his leadership, the party lost seats in the House, the Senate and, of course, the White House. His strategy was a total failure, everything from his effort to suppress voter turnout to his decision to alienate the libertarian wing of the party at the national convention have been met with disappointment and a failure to produce tangible results."

Read more: http://www.policymic.com/articles/24098/ron-paul-supporter-challenging-reince-priebus-for-rnc-chairmanship-will-a-libertarian-ever-lead-the-gop
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Ron Paul's Republican Legacy Growing In Caucus States Like Iowa And Nevada

Ron Paul's Republican Legacy Growing In Caucus States Like Iowa And Nevada - Thomas Beaumont, Huffington Post:

January 15, 2013 - "Ron Paul is exiting the political stage, but his legions of followers insist they are only getting started. Libertarian-leaning loyalists of the two-time Republican presidential candidate have quietly taken over key-state GOP organizations....

"Iowa's state Republican governing body this month voted to re-elect as chairman and vice chairman two of Paul's top 2012 Iowa caucus campaign aides. Last year, Nevada Republicans similarly elected top Paul suppoporters to its two spots on the Republican National Committee....Paul backers also have made inroads into Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, in part vestiges of his 2012 presidential campaign....

"And while Paul retired from Congress this month, his disciples picked up House seats in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan and Texas last year."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/15/ron-paul_n_2481069.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
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