Jim Gray / Larry Sharpe ticket enters LP race

Judge Jim Gray To Seek Libertarian Presidential Nomination | Reason - Matt Welch:

April 13, 2020 - "Judge Jim Gray, the 2012 Libertarian Party (LP) vice presidential nominee and the first sitting jurist to come out against the drug war way back in 1992, announced to his email list Monday that he will seek the party's presidential nomination in tandem with vice presidential candidate Larry Sharpe. The L.P., America's third-place finisher in the previous two presidential elections, is scheduled to determine its 2020 ticket during a national convention on May 21-25.

"Gray, 75, was a Superior Court judge in Orange County, California, from 1989 to 2009, during which time he was best known for his pioneering stance on marijuana prohibition and his unsuccessful Republican primary run against longtime Rep. Bob Dornan in 1998. Gray switched to the LP soon thereafter, finishing in fourth place with 1.8 percent of the vote in a 2004 U.S. Senate race.... After being cultivated by former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson for the vice presidential slot in 2012, Gray became part of what was then the party's second-most successful White House ticket in history, earning 1.0 percent of the national vote.

"The announcement ... was, in Gray's telling, set into motion with the demise of the presidential bid by ex-mayor/senator/governor Lincoln Chafee, who Gray had backed. 'After [Chafee] hung up the phone,' the judge recounted in his email newsletter, 'his staff members asked if I would consider running in his place. My answer was no. But, since they were persistent, I told them that I would take two days to consider that possibility.

"'During those next two days,' Gray continued, 'I spoke to several high-ranking and well-respected Libertarians around the country, and they were all supportive and even enthusiastic. So, also considering the fact that I always thought I would be a good candidate, I called Larry Sharpe, who is a friend in New York who was a great Libertarian candidate for Governor in the 2018 election. During the discussion, I told Larry that if he would be my running mate, I would throw my hat in the ring. On Friday, April 10 he agreed. So that afternoon we had a Zoom meeting of Governor Chafee's staff, along with the campaign manager of Riverside County Board of Supervisor Jeff Hewitt's campaign where we introduced ourselves to each other and then started planning our campaign'....

"Sharpe, one of the party's leading and most ubiquitous figures (he is scheduled to deliver the keynote at the national convention, though the physical status of the gathering is currently in doubt), was certainly not expected to make a second consecutive run at the vice presidential nomination.

"'The two guys that I adore most are the two people I voted for first as Libertarians: Gary Johnson and Judge Gray,' Sharpe told me. 'They are literally the only two people who could have gotten me to run for anything….If Gary Johnson had decided to run and asked me, I would have said yes to him, too.' (Sharpe, a former Marine, had told me back in 2017: 'I will always be loyal to Gary Johnson. Without him I'm not a Libertarian.')

"Until now, the primary and caucus season has been dominated by Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger, who has received the most results among human candidates in six out of the eight nonbinding state contests.... Team Hornberger is likely to laser in on Gray's presence on the 2012 ticket, his prior support for the Weld-like northeastern party-switcher Chaffee, and his enthusiasm for the ex-Massachusetts governor himself....

"Sharpe will likely be Gray's best asset within the party, though the coming days should indicate whether the party's money and political talent (such as either exist) will come off the sidelines and rally around an old familiar face.... As of now, Sharpe would seem to have much better chances of securing the veep slot than Gray does at besting Hornberger."

Read more: https://reason.com/2020/04/13/judge-jim-gray-to-seek-libertarian-presidential-nomination/

Bill Weld suspends his presidential campaign

Bill Weld Suspends Presidential Campaign | WBUR - Roberto Scalese:

March 18, 2020 - "Former Mass. Gov. William Weld has suspended his presidential campaign for the Republican nomination. 'While I am suspending my candidacy, I want to be clear that I am not suspending my commitment to our nation and to the democratic institutions that set us apart,' Weld said in a statement released Wednesday.

"In departing the race, Weld took a moment to emphasize his commitment to the reasons he ran, including restoring the rule of law to the presidency and Justice Department, reining in the federal deficit, instituting a carbon tax to combat climate change, strengthening relationships with military allies, and addressing income inequality.

"'Because of the damage that has been done to our social fabric during the past three years, in order to maintain national unity the U.S. Government must now directly address income inequality, by cutting taxes for lower income wage earners and families living below the federal poverty line,' he said.

"Weld, who ran as a Republican challenger to President Donald Trump, never caught on with voters, even in his home state. He was shellacked by Trump in the Massachusetts primary, losing to Trump by 78 percentage points. Weld won just two tiny Bay State towns: Gosnold in Buzzard's Bay and Pelham on the shores of the Quabbin Reservoir.

"Several states didn't bother with a Republican primary at all, even with Weld and former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh running for the party's nomination. Weld could have faced a similar ignominy in Massachusetts, where the state Republican party submitted only Trump's name for the primary. Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin added Weld to the list of candidates despite the state party's protests."

Read more: https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/03/18/bill-weld-suspends-presidential-campaign

Registered Libertarians doubled in Massachusetts

Libertarian ranks swell amid voter dissatisfaction | Gloucester Daily Times - Christian M. Wade:

March 6, 2020 - "Driven by voter dissatisfaction with the two major parties, the state's Libertarians have seen a surge in numbers in recent years, even as other parties shrink. The Libertarian Party of Massachusetts had 19,851 members as of Feb. 12 — a more than 130% increase from 2017 when it regained its party status, according to Secretary of State's Bill Galvin's office. A sizable portion of its membership draws from Essex and Middlesex counties, where about 6,300 voters are registered as Libertarians.

"While Libertarians are still just a sliver of the electorate – only 0.43% of more than 4.5 million registered voters – their ranks are growing faster than any other political party. Cristina Crawford, the state party's chairwoman, attributes the growth to voter dissatisfaction with the two major parties, as well as the Libertarians' message of civil rights, economic liberty and limited government.

"'We're seeing a lot of support, which is very encouraging,' she said. 'We've become a refuge for disillusioned voters who are tired of big government, high taxes and politics as usual'....

"Dozens of candidates are vying for the Libertarians' presidential nomination this year. In Massachusetts, 10 candidates were listed on the party's ballot on Super Tuesday. The Libertarians hold their state convention on March 22, ahead of the party's May 21–25 national convention in Austin, Texas.

"Nationally, the Libertarian Party has seen a 92% rise in membership in the last decade, fielding candidates in dozens of states. Two years ago, the party saw more than 600 candidates in federal, state and local races in nearly 40 states....

"Increased interest in the Libertarians also helped the party reclaim official state recognition three years ago, due to the party's showing in the 2016 presidential election. New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson was the party's candidate, with former Massachusetts Republican Gov. Bill Weld as his running mate.... The Libertarian ticket won 4.2% of the vote in Massachusetts – clearing a benchmark 3% necessary to be officially recognized and have its candidates listed on the next ballot.

"Two years ago, Dan Fishman of Beverly challenged Democratic State Auditor Suzanne Bump, and while he came in third [also with 4.2% of the vote - ed.] ... he boosted the party's profile.

"Independent parties come and go in Massachusetts.... Still, voter dissatisfaction with the two major parties continues to simmer, according to polls that cite frustration over divisive national politics. A 2018 Suffolk University survey found a strong appetite for strong third-party candidates, with only 22% of the respondents saying the Democratic and Republican parties do a good job of representing Americans’ views."

Read more: https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/local_news/libertarian-ranks-swell-amid-voter-dissatisfaction/article_0261da49-c86a-5521-aad4-1a58cca4b91d.html

VT governor endorses Weld for GOP nomination

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott endorses Bill Weld for Republican presidential nomination - POLITICO - Evan Simones:

February 15, 2020 - "Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Saturday said he'll back Bill Weld for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination, an endorsement the Weld campaign touted as the first sitting Republican governor to publicly oppose President Donald Trump's reelection. In a press conference, first reported by Vermont's WPTZ, Scott announced his decision to back the fellow Republican and former Massachusetts governor.

“'I've met with him before, I think a lot of him and his platform so I would be supporting him,' Scott said.

"Weld, who was the vice presidential nominee on the 2016 Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, took to Twitter soon after the announcement to thank Scott for his support.

“'I’m a great admirer of @GovPhilScott of Vermont, and am delighted to have his endorsement in the Republican presidential primary on Super Tuesday,' Weld said. 'VT has been well served in the past by Republican governors, and Gov. Scott admirably extends that tradition.'

"Scott, a frequent critic of Trump, said in January that Trump 'abused his powers' and shouldn’t be in office after the Senate voted to acquit the president on the two articles of impeachment brought against him by the House....

"The former Massachusetts governor — now the only remaining Republican vying to unseat Trump after former Reps. Joe Walsh and Mark Sanford ended their campaigns — has received several endorsements from within his party, including ... former New Jersey Gov. Christine Christine Todd Whitman."

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/15/phil-scott-endorses-bill-weld-gop-115375
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Iowa, New Hampshire, and soft libertarians

by George J. Dance

As a political junkie, I eagerly turned to the news this morning to see the New Hampshire primary results. Not for the winners: I expected Trump and Sanders to win. (They both had won the earlier  Iowa caucuses.) I was looking further down, to see how the 'soft libertarian' candidates in the major parties would perform.

What is a 'soft libertarian'?, I hear you ask. I can best explain that term by pointing to the Nolan Chart [pictured at right], that classifies voters into four quadrants: liberal (or progressive), conservative, libertarian, and statist (authoritarian or, at the very bottom point, totalitarian). A 'hard' voter is totally committed to one of those four ideologies; a 'hard libertarian,' for example, is someone whose political beliefs put them up at the top point of the diamond. A 'soft libertarian' would be anyone else, whose political beliefs are less extreme (or less consistent, or more independent) but still land them inside the libertarian quadrant.

Depending on how they are measured, soft libertarians make up as much as 25% of voters. Traditionally the Republican Party has owned that vote: since the 1970s at least, soft libertarians have been voting GOP, by margins as high as 75%. However, Ross Perot's candidacies cracked that party's hold on many of those voters; and while George W. Bush brought them back, he didn't hold them long. A large number of soft libertarians voted Democratic in 2006 - I don't know the number, but it was a big factor in the Dems taking both houses of Congress that year. Obama's two terms, and the Tea Party movement, brought many back to the GOP, but whether they'll stay with it this time is frankly questionable.

In 2012 and 2016, the only candidate appealing to soft libertarians was Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. And, to the extent he was heard, they responded. Johnson got the LP its two highest vote totals, over 1 million in 2012 and over 4 million in 2016. After that, one would think, the larger parties would have tried to capture those voters by offering them something. Instead, both parties have tacked toward one or another variety of statism: Democrats have flirted with socialism, the Sanders wins being enough said. Meanwhile, the GOP is shedding its libertarianism, replacing the Reaganist ideology of fusionism (which specifically included and appealed to libertarians) with corporatism, or as some call it, "economic nationalism".

As this month's featured post (from the London School of Economics' US Centre) explains, soft libertarians could be kingmakers this year. However, rather than attract soft libertarians, both Democrats and Republicans seem intent on driving them away. 

Hence the importance of the New Hampshire results, as the first test of where the soft libertarian vote would go. Because of the Free State Project, that state has an outsize proportion of libertarians both hard and soft. New Hampshire also has an open primary, where anyone - Democrat, Republican, other party, independent, or even a habitual non-voter - can vote in either the Democratic or the GOP primary.

There was a soft libertarian, Bill Weld and Tulsi Gabbard, running in either party. Both are strong opponents of interventionism, the surveillance state, the drug war, and the imperial presidency; while both also have held non-libertarian positions, most notably on gun control. Both were counting on soft libertarian support in New Hampshire. So how did they do?

Gabbard's campaign, with its strong opposition to an interventist foreign policy, was endorsed by libertarians from Ron Paul to Gary Johnson. She ended up with under 4% of the vote, nowhere enough to make her a contender. She will be gone from the race in a month, and with her will go most of her party's appeal to soft libertarians.

Weld's campaign is more problematic. He beat expectations, but fell short of the 10% he was hoping for. (He received 9%.) He is wealthy enough to fund his own limited campaign, so he will stay in and hope for a breakthrough somewhere else. But, so far, his campaign is not resonating with soft libertarian voters, either.

That leaves a better-than-ever opportunity for the Libertarian Party, if they cared to reach out to those voters with another 'soft libertarian' campaign like the Johnson ones. However, many LP members seem determined to run anything but. Libertarians didn't vote in New Hampshire yesterday; but based on last weekend's Iowa caucus vote, a plurality just shy of a majority is backing Jacob Hornberger, a thinktank founder and director, who wants to run to 'educate' Americans with a hard libertarian message.

To repeat, the soft libertarian vote could be key to deciding this election. If faced with the alternatives of statism (either the more progressive variety of socialism or the more conservative variety of corporatism) versus hard libertarianism, where will they turn?
   

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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Mark Sanford enters GOP primary race

Mark Sanford 2020: Former Congressman Says Running Against Trump - Bloomberg - Hailey Waller:

September 8, 2019 - "Mark Sanford said he’s running for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination against President Donald Trump.... Sanford joins former Massachusetts Governor William Weld and syndicated talk show host and former one-term Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh in challenging Trump at a time some states are poised to cancel their Republican primaries altogether.

"The former U.S. representative from South Carolina made the announcement on “Fox News Sunday,” calling for 'an earnest and real conversation on debt and deficits and government spending'....

"Sanford, 59, finished his second term as South Carolina governor under a cloud after the revelation of an extramarital affair -- something Trump has reminded him of at campaign rallies and in Twitter messages. Sanford disappeared for days in 2009, supposedly to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail, but was instead in Argentina with a girlfriend....

"Asked how his clouded personal history might affect his primary bid, Sanford said he’s atoned for his past actions. 'In contrast to the president, where he says there’s not a single thing that he regrets or apologizes for, I profoundly apologized for that,' he said.... Asked whether his bid to take the Republican nomination from Trump is personal, given the president’s comments about him, Sanford said, “It’s not personal, but it’s indicative of the way the president makes too many things personal'....

“'The world of Trump is personal loyalty,' Sanford said. 'I believe as the Republican party our loyalty should be to ideas and ideals.'

"Trump’s popularity among Republican voters remains high in polls, typically between 80% and 90%. His challengers argue that if presented with a choice, at least some GOP supporters would back away. Trump has termed his challengers the 'Three Stooges' and said of Sanford: 'One is "Mr. Appalachian Trail" who was actually in Argentina for bad reasons.'

"Republican leaders in Sanford’s home state voted on Saturday to skip a presidential primary in 2020, CNN reported. That would allow Trump to capture all of the state’s delegates without competition. Other states, including Nevada, Arizona and Kansas, are considering similar actions."

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-08/sanford-says-he-s-running-for-2020-gop-nomination-against-trump

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'Cone of silence' creates Amash campaign buzz

Justin Amash Has Been Coy About a Presidential Bid, Leaving Never Trumpers Searching for Clues - Sam Brodey, The Daily Beast:

August 31, 2019 - "Rep. Justin Amash’s political future has been the subject of intense fascination and interest in Republican circles these days. After his call to impeach Trump and his subsequent exit from the GOP, the libertarian congressman from Michigan has attracted tons of buzz over a possible run for president as a third-party candidate.

"Amash’s plans remain opaque. Publicly, he insists he’s running for re-election to his House seat until he says otherwise. Privately, he’s told supporters the same thing. And while those people believe Amash is actively considering a presidential bid, his political inner circle is so tight-knit about the possibility that allies have little idea what the congressman is actually planning.

"That cone of silence has fueled speculation that Amash will join former Govs. Bill Weld and former Rep. Joe Walsh in formally challenging President Trump. And it has supercharged outside efforts to get him in the race. Several officials in the Libertarian Party, which would be the most logical vehicle for an Amash presidential run, told The Daily Beast they have been reaching out to the congressman’s camp to indicate that he’d have strong support among the activists who decide the party’s presidential nomination.

"Those who know Amash say he may be waiting on two things before making a decision: a clearer sense of Libertarian Party support, and a clearer statement of plans from another rumored Trump challenger: his former House colleague Mark Sanford. The South Carolina Republican, who served as governor and a member of  Congress before losing his seat last cycle, has not yet officially launched a bid but is considered likely to challenge Trump in the GOP primary.

"The Daily Beast spoke with six people who either know Amash personally or have worked with him, three of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly about what his plans may be. One of them said that the congressman is almost certainly waiting to see if Sanford will run, and that he would not run himself if his old friend were to get in the race....

"Unlike other Trump challengers, Amash would not be competing against him in a primary. The damage he could inflict, instead, would come in a general election contest, where a conservative alternative to the sitting president could, potentially, pull away some Republican votes in key states. But there is a sense that he will need to announce soon in order to make a bid count — most likely by the end of the year.

"In the meantime, Amash is clearly benefiting from the aura of mystery around his current plans, ... Liz Mair, a GOP strategist and Trump critic with libertarian views ... told The Daily Beast. 'No one knows what Amash is doing. People like a mystery.'”

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/justin-amash-has-been-coy-about-a-presidential-bid-leaving-never-trumpers-searching-for-clues
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Amash wants Sanford to primary Trump

Trump critic Justin Amash welcomes potential Sanford presidential run | News | foxcarolina.com - Haley Byrd, CNN:

July 17, 2019 - "South Carolina Republican Mark Sanford already has one supporter in Congress for his potential long-shot bid to challenge President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary: newly independent Michigan Rep. Justin Amash.

"Amash, who left the Republican Party in early July and has repeatedly declined to rule out a presidential bid of his own, told CNN that Sanford 'would be a great candidate.' 'I know Mark. He's thoughtful, he's humble, he's learned from his mistakes and grown, and I think we really need a person like that in the White House," Amash said....

"Amash again brushed off questions about his own presidential ambitions, saying he was focused on providing independent representation for his constituents in Congress. He did rule out the possibility of running in the GOP primary as Sanford's running mate....

"A Sanford run would be quixotic. Once a rising star in the party, he resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2009 amid a scandal over his infidelity.... He was subsequently elected to Congress, where he'd served before becoming governor, but lost his primary in 2018.

"If he runs, Sanford would face a Republican Party increasingly unified behind Trump. An overwhelming 90% of Republicans approve of the President, according to Gallup polling last month. But Sanford could present an alternative for a subset of conservatives who are uncomfortable with supporting Trump and have sought a standard bearer in the 2020 race.

"In 2016, Trump faced pushback from conservative Republicans loosely aligned under the umbrella of 'Never Trump' all the way into the general election. But the likelihood of strong resistance to his nomination from within in 2020 has dwindled....  Reluctance to publicly split with Trump is increasingly a primary motivation among elected Republicans....

"Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who ran as the vice presidential candidate on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016, is already running against Trump in the GOP primary, but he has failed to gain traction. Sanford's conservative credentials on issues like abortion and government spending could appeal to religious anti-Trump voters who haven't been energized by Weld's moderate record on social issues.

"In the long run, a Sanford primary challenge, even if it fails as expected, may build a base of supporters who could ultimately rally behind a third-party candidate in the general election -- potentially Amash, now that he's left the Republican Party."

Read more: https://www.foxcarolina.com/news/politics/trump-critic-justin-amash-welcomes-potential-sanford-presidential-run/article_9acaa314-aa12-5c96-aa09-60d7382dae61.html

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Mark Sanford thinking about primarying Trump

Mark Sanford, Old Trump Foe, May Enter Republican Presidential Primary – Reason.com:

July 16, 2019 - "President Trump may have another primary challenger in the 2020 election. In an interview with The Post and Courier, former South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford said that he planned to spend the next month deciding whether or not he would enter the upcoming presidential Republican primary.

"Sometimes in life you've got to say what you've got to say, whether there's an audience or not for that message," he said in the interview....

"Sanford, who largely advocated for limited government during his time in Congress, has criticized Trump several times in the past for lacking a firm grasp on the Constitution, wanting to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and even his "shithole" countries comment.

"Sanford lost his Republican primary in 2018. His loss was believed to be an early indicator of the weakness of anti-Trump Republicans in the face of a newer, more Trumpian party.

"So far, Trump's only primary opponent is former Massachusetts governor and Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate Bill Weld. Upon making the announcement, Weld referred to himself as a 'Reagan Republican.' He has since criticized Trump for not being economically conservative.

"There is also speculation that Rep. Justin Amash (I–Mich.) could join the race. Amash has very recently left the Republican Party, as well as his congressional committees. Whether he chooses to run as a Republican, Libertarian, or independent, it's possible that his entry into the race could disrupt both Trump and the eventual Democratic nominee's 2020 dreams."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/07/16/mark-sanford-old-trump-foe-may-enter-republican-presidential-primary/?utm_medium=email
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LP POTUS field makes me want to vote NOTA

by George J. Dance

2020 will be a leap year, and like all leap years will witness a new installment of the biggest, longest, most-watched media event of them all. No, not the Summer Olympics; those run for only a few weeks. I'm talking about the U.S. presidential election, which runs from January right through to the inauguration finale a year later.

The Republican and Democratic races for the 2020 nomination are already getting plenty of attention; as usual, the Libertarian race is not. This year, though, that is probably a very good thing, considering the choice of candidates offered so far.

Apparent frontrunner Adam Kokesh is a founder of Iraqi Veterans against the War, who has run for the Senate (and lost) as a Ron Paul Republican. The only Libertarian Party activism I know him for is his disrupton of the LP's 2008 campaign kickoff. He has also conducted a libertarian podcast, on one show of which he advocated killing police (hence my nickname for him, "Kop-Killer Kokesh"). His platform is to abolish the U.S. government by Executive Order, and then resign.

Then comes Arvin Vohra, former LP vice-chairman. Originally a pragmatic millennial politician-in-training, he became radicalized after the 2016 Johnson campaign, and began taking extreme positions - some of which, like writing that age of consent laws should be abolished, and calling school board shootings a "good idea," led to attempts to censure him and remove him from office. In the end, LP voters did remove him at the last convention - following which he promptly declared as a POTUS candidate.

Then there is John McAfee, an eccentric (if he's still rich) who plans to campaign "from exile". Plus a bunch of people I know nothing about; this is getting too long, so I'll just give a link. And as always there is Vermin Supreme, the ex-Democrat who campaigns with a boot on his head, and whose signature campaign plank is to give every American a pony.

In short, the real LP candidate hasn't surfaced yet; all we have are possibilities.  Four well-qualified possibilities are:

Mark Sanford, former governor of South Carolina. Sanford has never lost a general election, but was defeated as congressman by a Trump-endorsed candidate in the 2018 GOP primary, so he has no seat to lose. He has always focused on the national debt crisis, which I think will be big news again by 2020 (now that the Democratic-leaning media can blame it on Trump).

William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts. While he ran for the LP as Johnson's running mate, Weld is a divisive figure in the party. Besides, he has rejoined the Republicans to primary Trump. Weld is staking everything on New Hampshire: if he does well there, his campaign could catch fire (at least with the Dem-leaning media), and make him a star; in which case he would be the most prominent candidate we could get. But many members count his reregistering Republican, after declaring that he was in the LP for life, as a betrayal and sell-out, making him more hated than ever by a large faction.

Lincoln Chafee, former governor of Rhode Island. Chafee is a wild card - he registered Libertarian just this month - who isn't telling anyone his plans as yet.

Justin Amash, congressman from Michigan. Amash is the most libertarian guy in the House, today's Ron Paul, and I would prefer that he stay there. However, since he accused Trump of "impeachable" conduct, he too has a Trump-endorsed primary challenger, who is leading him by double digits. If Amash loses the primary, there is no way he could win his seat as an independent (or Libertarian), as Michigan has straight-ticket voting. Meanwhile, there is a sizable movement within the LP to draft him for the Libertarian nomination, including a facebook page I recently joined:

Three of those four (Weld excepted) could have the nomination for the asking. Alas, none of the four is presently a live option: none is even running for the job. Given today's live options - the current field of declared candidates - the only one worth voting for is None of the Above: which, fortunately, will be on the ballot at the LP's 2020 presidential convention.

Weld outlines primary strategy against Trump

Weld lays out GOP primary map for defeating Trump - POLITICO - Daniel Strauss:

May 23, 2019 - "Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said he‘ll be directing his campaign toward open primary states where he expects to win crossover votes from Democrats intent on casting a vote against President Donald Trump before the general election in November.

“'I’ll be focusing on the 20 states that permit crossover voting. It’s not just Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, it’s 17 other states,' Weld said in an interview with C-SPAN's Newsmakers program.... “And a lot of those states permit even a Democrat to take a Republican ballot and I’ve heard from Democrats that they’re going to come and vote in the Republican primary for one day so that they can vote for me against Mr. Trump'....

"The former two-term GOP governor, who’s waging a longshot primary campaign against Trump, laid out a path to the 2020 Republican presidential nomination that runs through New England, the mid-Atlantic region and the West Coast. 'The geographic path in case you’re interested would be the six New England states and then down into the mid-Atlantic states where I’m a native, actually, of New York,' Weld said, ticking off New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware as three more states he saw as favorable to his candidacy.....

"Weld also argued that West Coast states would be receptive to his candidacy against Trump, who lost California, Oregon and Washington by wide margins in 2016.

"'A Republican would probably have a terrible time in California in the general election against a Democrat. It’s quite a blue state. But in the primary against Mr. Trump, I think my politics lines up more closely with California politics than Mr. Trump does,' said Weld, who ran as Gary Johnson's vice presidential nominee on [the] Libertarian Party ticket in 2016.

"While Weld is the only announced candidate running against Trump in the Republican primary, Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan and former Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich have drawn mention as potential challengers. In the C-SPAN interview, Weld said he talked with Hogan and Kasich before he announced for president. He said he told both of them before he ran that 'the water's fine' and 'I would welcome you in. I know both of you.'"

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/gov-weld-2020-trump-1342651
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Bill Weld declares for POTUS

Weld says he is seeking GOP nomination for president in 2020 | Times Colonist - Bob Salsberg, Associated Press:

April 15, 2019 - "William Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts who two years ago ran for vice-president on the Libertarian Party ticket, on Monday became the first Republican to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 primaries. Weld, 73, said in announcing his candidacy that 'it is time to return to the principles of Lincoln — equality, dignity and opportunity for all.' He said, 'There is no greater cause on earth than to preserve what truly makes America great. I am ready to lead that fight'....

"The move by Weld makes Trump the first incumbent president since George H.W. Bush in 1992 to face a notable primary challenge.

"Fiscally conservative but socially liberal, Weld is known for an unconventional, at times quirky, political style and a long history of friction with the party he now seeks to lead. Weld endorsed Democrat Barack Obama over Republican nominee John McCain in 2008 , later saying it was a mistake to do so, and has enjoyed a decadeslong friendship with the Clintons.... Weld's nomination by President Bill Clinton to be U.S. ambassador to Mexico touched off a bitter public spat with then-Sen. Jesse Helms, a conservative Republican from South Carolina.... Years earlier, Weld was among a handful of top Justice Department officials to resign in protest over alleged ethical violations by then-Attorney General Ed Meese, long a favourite of conservatives.

"With little in the way of organization or outside money, and at odds with a majority of GOP voters who solidly support Trump, Weld's longshot campaign will target disaffected Republicans and independents who share his disdain for the president and embrace libertarian values of small government, free trade and free markets, and personal freedom.

"Alternately a politician, federal prosecutor, investment banker, lobbyist and even novelist ... the Harvard-educated scion of a prominent Boston family was a lifelong Republican before bolting the GOP to run on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson in 2016. Johnson and Weld received about 4.5 million votes, a little more than 3 per cent of the national popular vote.

"Despite a pledge to libertarians that he would remain loyal to the party going forward, Weld on Jan. 17 walked into the clerk's office of the Massachusetts town where he lives and re-registered with the GOP....

"Weld has not won a political race since being re-elected governor by a landslide in his heavily Democratic state in 1994. He was first elected to the office in 1990 ... and quickly became one of Massachusetts' most popular governors in recent history. While holding the line on spending and taxes, Weld as governor embraced liberal positions at odds with national Republicans on abortion and gay rights."

Read more: https://www.timescolonist.com/weld-says-he-is-seeking-gop-nomination-for-president-in-2020-1.23792340
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Weld exploring primary challenge to Trump

Bill Weld looking to challenge Donald Trump in 2020 Republican primary - CNNPolitics - Veronica Stracqualursi, Harry Enten & Daniella Diaz:

February 15, 2019 - "Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said he's launching a presidential exploratory committee to run in 2020 as a Republican.

"'I hope to see the Republican Party assume once again the mantle of being the party of Lincoln. It upsets me that our energies as a society are being sapped by the President's culture of divisiveness in Washington,' he said Friday in New Hampshire, adding later, 'Because of the many concerns I've talked about today, I've established an exploratory committee ... as a Republican in the 2020 election.'

"Speaking at the 'Politics & Eggs' breakfast in Bedford, New Hampshire, Weld called Donald Trump a 'schoolyard bully,' 'unstable,' and 'a president whose priorities are skewed to the promotion of himself rather than toward the good of the country.'

"Weld is the first potential primary challenger to the President [and] ... will face an uphill battle.... Trump recently scored an 89% approval rating among Republicans nationally in a Gallup poll. Even in New Hampshire, where Weld is expected to base much of his campaign effort, Trump showed a similarly strongly 83% approval rating with Republicans in a late October University of New Hampshire poll.....

"Weld has had a unique political path. He served as a two-term Massachusetts governor during the early 1990s and later lost the 1996 US Senate race in Massachusetts against John Kerry. He resigned as governor in 1997 after Democratic President Bill Clinton nominated him to be US ambassador to Mexico [but] he was blocked by then-chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jesse Helms....

"He was Mitt Romney's co-chair in New York when Romney ran for president in 2008. After Romney dropped out, Weld ended up endorsing then-Democratic nominee Barack Obama for president over the GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain.

"Weld was the 2016 vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian Party ticket with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. And despite that, Weld vouched for Hillary Clinton, even saying at one point he's 'not sure anybody is more qualified' than her to be president."

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/15/politics/bill-weld-2020-exploratory-committee/index.html

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Read Weld's full speech here: https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2019/02/15/bill-weld-2020-speech

William Weld reregisters as Republican

Weld switches back to GOP ahead of 2020, mulls challenging Trump - Domenick Mastrangelo:

February 5, 2019 - "Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld is mulling running for president and has taken a step toward challenging President Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020, according to a report.

Weld, 73, has changed his party registration in the Bay State from Libertarian back to Republican, according to the Associated Press.

"A former Republican governor during the 1990s in the strongly blue state, Weld was running mate to 2016 Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson. Johnson and Weld earned ... about 4.4 million votes. Some analysts say if the pair had decided against running, Trump's popular vote margin might have been closer. Trump won the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote by about 2.9 million to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"No Republican has announced plans to challenge Trump in 2020, and some states have discussed nixing primaries in order to clear a path for the president to the nomination.

"In the run-up to the 2016 election, Weld described Trump as having 'a screw loose.'"

Read more: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/weld-switches-back-to-gop-ahead-of-2020-mulls-challenging-trump
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Midterm results disappointing for Libertarians

The Libertarian Party Future, Perennially Out of Reach - Reason.com - Matt Welch:

January 2019: ""He's going to finish certainly no worse than second, and maybe first,' Libertarian Party (L.P.) 2016 vice presidential nominee Bill Weld enthused about Massachusetts state auditor candidate Dan Fishman in mid-October.... It looked like Weld might be onto something two weeks later when The Boston Globe took the highly unusual step of endorsing the L.P. candidate....

"Massachusetts voters declined the advice. When the smoke cleared on November 6, the would-be Libertarian auditor for the government of Taxachusetts finished not first, not second, but a distant third place, with a desultory 4.2 percent of the vote. The effort was enough to give the party automatic statewide ballot access for 2020 ... but not enough to stave off the national wave of nausea that afflicted many libertarians on election day.....

"About the only federal candidate prioritizing the budget calamity was Gary Johnson.... Running in the state he governed twice, and where he earned 9.3 percent of the presidential vote in 2016, ... Johnson was able to participate in debates and generate extensive media coverage. The first independent three-way poll in late August hinted at a shockingly competitive race: 39 percent for Heinrich, 21 percent for Johnson, and just 11 percent for Rich. And yet Election Day 2018 brought another Libertarian bummer:... Rich doubled up on Johnson, 31 percent to 15 percent....

"Political fear and loathing, it turns out, is no friend to independent and third-party candidates.... As we learned in 2016, when voters feel revulsion toward a candidate or party, they are likely to go for the alternative with the best chance to defeat the bad guy. In a high-turnout midterm like 2018, minor parties undershoot their polling projections by massive amounts.

"The most anticipated of the 22 Libertarian races for governor, for example, was rising party star Larry Sharpe in New York. An energetic, fast-talking campaigner with a preternatural talent for fundraising, Sharpe brought in an impressive $450,000.... He pulled just 1.6 percent, behind even Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins' 1.7. Yes, the L.P.  achieved state ballot access for the first time in history, but that low showing came as a demoralizing shock.

"'WTF is going on?' Wisconsin Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Phil Anderson messaged me on election night..... Anderson's pre-election polling average of 4.2 percent had collapsed to a barely visible 0.8 percent. Eight Libertarian candidates for governor were polling higher than the Democratic-Republican point spread on election eve; zero repeated the trick once the votes were counted....

"The three state legislators who had previously switched from Republican to Libertarian once in office — Nebraska state Sen. Laura Ebke and New Hampshire state Reps. Brandon Phinney and Caleb Dyer — all faced their first election wearing the L, and all lost badly.... Insurgent Wyoming state House candidate Bethany Baldes came so close to unseating incumbent Republican Majority Leader David Miller that she was erroneously reported as winner on election night, only to eventually lose by 53 votes....

"Libertarians are accustomed to being outnumbered and excel at playing long-game strategies, often far outside the cyclical sugar highs of electoral politics.... As disappointing as November 2018 felt for the L.P., the party did emerge in a stronger position for 2020, when it will be the only minor party with a spot on all 50 state ballots. American politics moves fast, so the next two years may yet feature more political libertarianism than we can currently fathom. As hard as that may be to believe after Election Day."

Read more: https://reason.com/archives/2018/12/08/the-libertarian-party-future-p

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Also read: Libertarians see progress in midterm elections

US LP staffs new Youth Engagement Committee

Libertarian Party Establishes Youth Engagement Committee · 71 Republic - Spencer Kellogg:

October 9, 2018 - "In September, the Libertarian Party’s National Committee ... established the Libertarian Party’s first ever Youth Engagement Committee. Members of the LNC voted on a list of nearly 50 candidates for four positions and among the selected is 71 Republic’s CEO, Matt Geiger.... [T]he other new members are Aeris Stewart, Matt Long and Dustin Nanna. The committee will be headed by LNC region 2 alternate Victoria Paige Lee....

"71 Republic’s Spencer Kellogg reached out to the new members for information....

"Aeris Stewart ... 'I’ve been involved in YAL chapter leadership for 2 years and just started as a CC with SFL. Before that, I was an at-large for the LYC, am currently the whip for the LPCaucus, and have volunteered/interned at a couple of campaigns'....

"Matt Long ... 'I only started thinking I might be a Libertarian after hearing Bill Weld speak at the CNN Town Hall. That was a life-changing moment for me politically because I ended up volunteering for the campaign. Highlighting the issue of Intersex Human Rights (and other LGBT+ issues) is definitely something I want to promote as a Libertarian.'

"Matt Geiger - 'I am the chairman of the Carroll County Libertarian Party. I was the national vice chair of the Libertarian Youth Caucus and I am the CEO of 71 Republic. I’ve engaged hundreds of young libertarians and helped them build their writing abilities and prepare them to be real libertarian activists'....

"Dustin Nanna - 'I’m 24 years old and I live in Delaware, Ohio... I am the Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Ohio and am ... a Central Committee member in Ohio in the 12th Congressional District. I have been active with the Libertarian Party since I was 21 and I consider myself a Jeffersonian Minarchist. I ran for City Council in Delaware in 17 and got 14% of the vote in a 5-way race. Now I’m running for Secretary of State in Ohio'....

"Congratulations to the selected members of the new committee!"

Read more: https://71republic.com/2018/10/09/libertarian-party-youth-engagement-committee/
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George Will promotes 2020 Weld POTUS run

WILL: Can this libertarian restore conservatism? | Opinion | niagara-gazette.com - George F. Will:

June 22, 2018 - "'This,' exclaimed Margaret Thatcher, thumping Friedrich Hayek’s 500-page tome The Constitution of Liberty on a table in front of some Conservative Party colleagues, 'is what we believe.' It also is what Bill Weld believes, which is why he aspires to be the Libertarian Party’s 2020 presidential candidate.

"The former twice-elected Republican governor of Massachusetts has been visiting Libertarian Party state conventions and [was] in New Orleans at the national convention June 30-July 3. There he will try to persuade the party, which sometimes is too interested in merely sending a message (liberty is good), to send into the autumn of 2020 a candidate representing what a broad swath of Americans say they favor: limited government, fiscal responsibility, free trade, the rule of law, entitlement realism and other artifacts from the Republican wreckage....

"Weld, who majored in classics, took philosophy classes from Robert Nozick, whose Anarchy, State and, Utopia, a canonical text of libertarianism, argues that 'the minimal state is inspiring as well as right.' Weld served in Ronald Reagan’s administration for seven years, five years as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.... Weld was head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division....

"Weld’s sandy-reddish hair is still abundant and, at 72, he is eager to build on his 2016 experience as the Libertarians’ vice-presidential nominee. During that campaign, 'I carried around with me every day' the 10th Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."' Noting that the Articles of Confederation excellently referred to powers not 'expressly' delegated, Weld says, 'I might have been an anti-Federalist.' Imagine having a president who knows that there were anti-Federalists....

"During a recent breakfast at the Hay-Adams hotel across Lafayette Square from the White House (the Adamses reached these shores shortly after the Welds), Weld recalled how, as governor, he taught agencies to not expect 'last year’s appropriation plus 5 percent.' He cut taxes 21 times and raised none. A believer in freedom for what Nozick called 'capitalist acts between consenting adults,' Weld says his most satisfying achievement was cutting the 6 percent tax on long-term capital gains by 1 point for each year the asset is held....

"If the florid face of today’s snarling GOP wants to be renominated, he will be.... And in the autumn of 2019, upward of 20 Democratic presidential aspirants might clog the stages at 'debates' that could become contests to see who can most arrestingly pander to activists ... who are enamored of 'Medicare for all,' government-guaranteed jobs and generally gobs of free stuff....

"If in autumn 2020 voters face a second consecutive repulsive choice, there will be running room between the two deplorables. Because of its 2016 efforts, the Libertarian Party will automatically be on 39 states’ ballots this fall and has a sufficient infantry of volunteers to secure ballot access in another nine. So, if the Libertarian Party is willing, 2020’s politics could have an ingredient recently missing from presidential politics: fun. And maybe a serious disruption of the party duopoly that increasing millions find annoying."

Read more: http://www.niagara-gazette.com/opinion/will-can-this-libertarian-restore-conservatism/article_a7d83747-4bd8-5cde-aec1-b7591b8a3b68.html
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Sarwark re-elected Libertarian chair in landslide

Libertarian Party Rebuffs Mises Uprising - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

July 4, 2018 - "The Libertarian Party on Monday afternoon re-elected in a surprising first-ballot landslide incumbent Chair Nicholas Sarwark to an unprecedented third consecutive two-year term. In doing so, the nation's third-largest political party swatted down what was supposed to be the most contentious challenge at its biannual national convention — to a leadership that was considered by various critics to be too operationally incremental, too ideologically tepid, and too (in the words of Ludwig von Mises Institute Senior Fellow and popular podcaster Tom Woods at a nearby New Orleans rally Saturday) 'SJW-friendly.'

"Sarwark's main opponent, the Mises Caucus-endorsed Joshua Smith, stumbled badly in a defensive debate performance at the New Orleans Hyatt Regency Sunday night, and ended up Monday on the business end of a 65 percent-22 percent rout. In the vice chair race, two-term incumbent Arvin Vohra, who has become a lightning rod over the past year-plus for intentionally provocative public comments such as 'Bad Idea: School Shootings. Good Idea: School Board Shootings,' was resoundingly drummed out of office, never receiving more than 11 percent of the vote in three rounds of balloting that ended Tuesday with a positivity-exuding 33-year-old finance/tech/consulting guy named Alex Merced squeaking past the 50 percent finish line.

"'What I think the race shows is that if you want to change the direction of the Libertarian Party, if you have new ideas about how we can grow and reach new members, the election of Merced to vice chair shows that the delegates want that kind of change,' Sarwark told me Tuesday afternoon. 'If your campaign is seen, or has themes of trying to kick people out, of trying to attack people like Gov. Weld, or... basically anyone — if your campaign was seen as trying to drive people out of the party, the delegates soundly rejected that. And I think that that is the biggest takeaway from the convention.'

"Weld, the controversial-within-the-party 2016 vice presidential nominee and former moderate Republican Massachusetts governor who is laying the groundwork for a possible 2020 presidential run (and was everywhere to be seen at the convention, amiably taking on all skeptical comers), played a pivotal role in the decisive debate. Candidates had the opportunity to ask their opponents one question, and when it was Smith's turn, a delegate in the audience shouted out, 'What do you think about Bill Weld?!' (Weld-heckling was a sporadic feature throughout the three-day event.) Smith decided to make that his question.

"'What I think about Bill Weld," Sarwark started slowly, building into a feisty crescendo, 'is that he is still in the Libertarian Party, while many of his opponents are not. [He's been] raising money for and endorsing Libertarian candidates. He is fundraising for us. And the exposure of Bill Weld to the Libertarian Party has not made the Libertarian Party more like an establishment Republican, but has made Bill Weld a lot more like a Libertarian....He knows something about winning public office, and [we need to] learn how to do that from anybody who will help us, anybody who will join us. And we should not PUSH PEOPLE OUT who are willing to help!'

"As New York gubernatorial candidate and popular party organizer Larry Sharpe, who had backed Smith, commented later, after that exchange it was 'game over'."

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/07/04/libertarian-party-rebuffs-mises-uprising
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Bill Weld readying 2020 Libertarian POTUS run

Bill Weld Lays Groundwork for 2020 Libertarian Presidential Run - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Matt Welch:

May 2, 2018 - "2016 ... vice presidential candidate Bill Weld ... is now openly laying the groundwork for a 2020 presidential campaign. The only question is whether he'll be the one running....

"'I take this stuff seriously," he told me. 'But I'm sincere when I say that I'm not talking about who is going to do the Libertarian race in 2020; I'm just here to say that I think that's a race that has some real potential to go the distance, and the sooner we all wrap our minds around that, the better'....

"Weld has been schlepping his favorite brown coat from Houston to New York to Long Beach for state conventions, delivering his rap about how the party can best grow from here ('The number one thing we need to do by November 2020 is to elect a Libertarian president of the United States') and sketching out tantalizing visions of '$50 million or $100 million in the bank at the beginning of the campaign'....

"Weld is also issuing strategic endorsements to some of the party's biggest names — Republican-turned-Libertarian Nebraska state Sen. Laura Ebke (facing her first re-election with an "L" by her name starting with a May 15 jungle primary), Massachusetts auditor candidate Dan Fishman (said to have a plausible shot if some local scandals break right), Phoenix mayoral hopeful Nicholas Sarwark (the party's national chairman), New York gubernatorial challenger and ubiquitous state-party-convention presence Larry Sharpe, and others. More rounds of endorsements are expected in the near future.

"Other party-building activities include filing lawsuits to make the allocation of electoral votes proportional instead of winner-take-all in four states (which, Weld says, would have resulted in the L.P. receiving 17 electoral votes in 2016); recruiting potential candidates, donors, and (quietly) vice-presidential possibilities; and starting the obligatory 501(c)(4) advocacy group, Freedom for America....

"Weld's access to money, media, and prestige stands in stark contrast to his potential presidential competitors, though that's in part because there really aren't any so far, aside from anarcho-libertarian activist and trouble-magnet Adam Kokesh. The Adam vs. the Man impresario has been dogging Weld on the L.P. circuit, challenging him to debates, ambushing him on camera with questions like 'How much did Hillary Clinton pay you off?' and accusing him of being a 'liar and backstabber'....

"At the same time, if a growing party is going to continue to grow, and to position itself as the beneficiary of the Democratic and Republican parties' ongoing nervous breakdowns, it is going to need to absorb major-party defectors with less libertarian cred than Bill Weld....

"The Libertarian Party has a truly valuable commodity: likely ballot access in all 50 states, at a time when the major parties are both abandoning even rhetorical support for balanced budgets, free trade, civil liberties, non-interventionism, and a host of other key issues. By planting a tentative flag in early 2018, Weld is establishing a floor of mainstream possibility — and signaling to any would-be outsiders eyeing the prize that libertarian-leaners are going to need to tack more Libertarian if they want to woo the activists who have made this moment possible."

Read this: http://gdspoliticalanimal.blogspot.ca/2018/05/reason-bill-weld-readying-2020.html
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