Austin Petersen loses Missouri Senate primary

Bitcoin-Friendly U.S. Senate Candidate Austin Petersen Loses Republican Primary -
CCN:

August 8, 2018 - "Pro-bitcoin U.S. Senate candidate Austin Petersen has lost his Republican primary bid to challenge incumbent Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill in the upcoming mid-term election.

"Petersen, who accepted the largest single bitcoin donation in federal election history and was also forced to return several six-figure cryptocurrency contributions due to campaign finance regulations, was soundly defeated by Attorney General Josh Hawley, who received 58.6 percent of the 663,553 votes...

"Despite garnering endorsements from several state-level Missouri politicians, Petersen finished a distant third, receiving 8.2 percent of the vote and coming in just behind Tony Monetti, who had been endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"Petersen’s candidacy was always a longshot, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) had already begun campaigning for Hawley long before last night’s primary. Hawley had also won endorsements from major local newspapers, including the Kansas City Star, who said that many of Peterson’s ideas are “best left to theoretical discussions in academia, or ignored altogether'....

"For cryptocurrency supporters, Petersen’s candidacy marked an opportunity to add another pro-bitcoin voice to Congress.... As CCN reported, some legislators — such as Congressional Blockchain Caucus members Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) — have embraced the burgeoning field, while others, perhaps most notably Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), have called for the government to pursue an outright ban on cryptocurrency.

"Previously, Petersen ran for president as a Libertarian Party candidate during the 2016 presidential election, finishing second ... to former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who ultimately received 3.28 percent of the popular vote."

Read more: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-friendly-u-s-senate-candidate-austin-petersen-loses-republican-primary/
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Some conservatives learn to love Wikileaks

How Julian Assange evolved from pariah to paragon - The Washington Post - David Weigel & Joby Warrick:

January 4, 2017 - "President-elect Donald Trump tweeted some praise on Tuesday for ... Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.... It wasn’t the first time Trump had praised WikiLeaks. During his campaign for president, Trump had gleefully highlighted emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. By October, just the mention of WikiLeaks could start a roar of applause at Trump’s rallies.

"Since then, Trump has continued praising the radical transparency group, harshly criticized by President Barack Obama and other officials for what they describe as damaging national security leaks. He has defended its founder, who has lived in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since August 2012 to avoid extradition on a rape allegation in Sweden. And Trump has been in sync with conservative media, once critical of WikiLeaks, which increasingly embraces Assange as a hero....

"Assange’s interview with Fox News was conducted by Sean Hannity, who had evolved from a critic to a frequent booster.... Hannity presented WikiLeaks in its favored terms – as a source of true, incorruptible journalism.... Hannity, who told Assange last month that he had 'done us a favor,' said Tuesday that he believes 'every word' Assange says....

"The Fox interview won other fans: Sarah Palin, who had once compared Assange to the editor of an al-Qaida magazine, apologized on Facebook and credited him with releasing 'important information that finally opened people’s eyes to democrat (sic) candidates and operatives'....

"This treatment of Assange is a stark departure from what was, until recently, a near-universal condemnation of the Australian by conservative pundits and politicians.... The releases that started in 2010 prompted calls in conservative media for Assange’s prosecution, or worse.... Jeffrey Kuhner ... suggested that the U.S. government should have him assassinated.... A column in the conservative publication National Review Online questioned why Assange wasn’t dead already – perhaps 'garroted in his hotel.' Trump himself, in one of his then-frequent calls to Fox, called WikiLeaks 'disgraceful' and added that 'there should be like death penalty or something' for its releases.

"Assange’s most fervent praise in the United States ... came from libertarians. Then-Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who ran for president in 1988, 2008 and 2012, asked in a floor speech 'which has resulted in the greatest number of deaths: lying us into war or Wikileaks revelations or the release of the Pentagon Papers?'”

"Assange ... appeared to notice where his defenders were coming from. In a 2013 discussion, ... Assange said: 'The libertarian aspect of the Republican Party is presently the only useful political voice in the U.S. Congress'."

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-julian-assange-evolved-from-pariah-to-paragon/2017/01/04/2a3ea6e6-d2b8-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html?utm_term=.5086f5d4f173
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Palin calls legalizing marijuana "no big deal"

Sarah Palin: Legalizing Weed Is 'No Big Deal' - Marina Fang, Huffington Post:

November 19, 2015 - "Supporters of marijuana legalization may have an unlikely ally: Sarah Palin.

"Breaking with many members of her party who oppose legalizing marijuana, the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee on Thursday said it is 'no big deal' and argued that it should not be a controversial issue.

";I look on the national scene and think, wow, of all things to be fighting over and battling over, especially when it comes to medical marijuana. I think, hmm, this is just not my baby,' Palin told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

"When Hewitt expressed disbelief that Palin's home state legalized recreational marijuana last year, she said the vote 'didn't surprise me.'

"'We've got that libertarian streak in us,' she said, explaining that Alaska, the most conservative state to legalize marijuana so far, already had lax marijuana laws, so it was a less divisive issue than in other states.

"'"I grew up in Alaska when pot was legal anyway. It was absolutely no big deal'....

"Though she did not explicitly say that she supports legalizing marijuana, she has come out in support of decriminalizing it. In 2010, she told Fox News that marijuana is a 'minimal problem.'

"'If somebody's gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems we have in society,' she said."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sarah-palin-marijuana-legalization_564e4f29e4b0d4093a570fce
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Sarah Palin says, "I’m on Team Rand"

Palin slams Christie, says ‘I’m on Team Rand’:  Ruth Tam, Post Politics, Washington Post:

August 12, 2013 - "Former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin went after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Fox News, saying Christie 'is for big government and trying to go along to get along.'

"Discrediting Christie’s reputation as a governor who 'goes rogue,' Palin said 'he’s got a schtick going there where he’s got a YouTube videographer following him around, kind of these set-up situations sometimes so he can be seen as perhaps a little bit avant-garde and going rogue on things.'

Throwing her weight behind Christie’s rival Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Palin praised Paul’s 'healthy libertarian streak' and said Paul 'gets the whole notion of ‘don’t tread on me’ government.'"

Read more:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/08/12/palin-slams-christie-says-im-on-team-rand/
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Sarah Palin's 'libertarian streak' doesn't impress Libertarian Party

Sarah Palin's 'Libertarian Streak' Doesn't Impress Libertarian Party - Washington Whispers (usnews.com) - Steven Nelson, U.S. News & World Report:

July 1, 2013 - "Former vice presidential candidate and Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, openly mulled leaving the Republican Party in a Saturday interview on Fox News, citing her 'libertarian streak.' The Libertarian Party, frequently a refuge for renegade Republicans, isn't sure that she would be a good fit....

"'[W]hile a few of Sarah Palin's views are aligned with those of the Libertarian Party, her pro-interventionist foreign policy, her support of the 2008 Republican-led bailouts, her loyal support of Big Government Republicans, her social conservative agenda and her lack of concrete backing for any serious downsizing of Big Government runs afoul of the Libertarian Party's goals and most Libertarians' views,' the Libertarian Party's executive director, Carla Howell, told U.S. News....

"Over the weekend, Palin responded to a question about whether she would consider starting a new "Freedom Party".... 'I love the name of that party – the "Freedom Party",' she said. 'And if the GOP continues to back away from the planks in our platform, from the principles that built this party of Lincoln and Reagan, then, yeah, more and more of us are going to start saying, "You know, what's wrong with being independent," kind of with that libertarian streak that much of us have. In other words, we want government to back off and not infringe upon our rights.'"

Read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/07/01/sarah-palins-libertarian-streak-doesnt-impress-libertarian-party
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Tom Tancredo supports Colorado ballot measure to legalize marijuana - Denver Post

Tom Tancredo supports Colorado ballot measure to legalize marijuana - Lynn Bartels, Denver Post:

September 21, 2012 - "Former Congressman Tom Tancredo sent a letter ... to certain Republican state lawmakers outlining his support for a ballot measure that would legalize the sale of marijuana.

"'I have decided that it presents a responsible, effective and much-needed solution to a misguided policy,' he said.

"'Eighty years ago, Colorado voters concerned about the health and safety of their families and communities approved a ballot initiative to repeal alcohol prohibition prior to it being done by the federal government. This November, we have the opportunity to end to end the equally problematic and ineffective policy of marijuana prohibition'....

"Tancredo said in his letter that “numerous leading conservatives have voiced their support for reforming marijuana policies including 'Pat Robertson, William F. Buckley Jr., George Will, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Milton Friedman.'

Read more: http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2012/09/21/tom-tancredo-backs-marijuana-ballot-measure/82193/
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"Pin this on the Tea Partiers"

"Pin this on the Tea Partiers", Nolan Chart

by George Dance (libertarian), Tuesday, January 11, 2011

"... it was no surprise that when Congressman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 19 others were shot by a lone gunman in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, some Democrats and their supporters would seize on the assassination attempt as Obama's 'Oklahoma City moment.'

"One of the first off the mark was Markos Moulitsas, owner of the Daily Kos blog, who within minutes of the initial report on the shooting had linked to a March 2010 map originally from Sarah Palin's Facebook page, which 'targeted' 20 Democrats in vulnerable districts, including Rep. Giffords, who had voted for health care reform (with crosshairs marking their districts). Tweeted Moulitsas: 'Mission Accomplished, Sarah Palin,'.

"(Moulitsas made no tweets mentioning that his blog had prepared its own 'target list' of Congressmen for the 2010 election, and that Rep. Giffords's name had been placed on it as well.)"

Read more: http://www.nolanchart.com/article8259.html