Free Staters ruffle local feathers in Grafton, NH

Libertarians Move In To Make A Small N.H. Town Even Smaller - Jack Rodolico, NPR:

March 9, 2014 - "Maureen O'Reilly beams with pride as she shows a visitor around Grafton, N.H., a town so small it doesn't even have a traffic light.

"'Have a look at this,' O'Reilly says, pointing to a postcard view of hilly rural New England. 'How beautiful is this? It's really pretty in the fall, really, really pretty.'

"But behind the beautiful view, locals are dividing into opposing camps. About 50 Libertarians have moved into Grafton from around the country, splitting the town over their push to shrink its government....

"About 15 years ago, a prominent Libertarian hatched the idea of moving Libertarians to New Hampshire, with the hope of having a big impact in a small state. They called it the Free State Project, and a handful of Free Staters settled in Grafton.

"O'Reilly was surprised by how quickly Free Staters started pushing their agenda.

"'Almost seems as if they walked in the door and started running for office and hold positions,' she says. 'It's not the typical way someone who's a New Englander does things.'

"Free Staters say Grafton should withdraw from the school district, cut the $1 million budget by 30 percent over three years, and carve Grafton out as a 'U.N.-free zone'....

"Even though Grafton has always had a Libertarian streak, Free Staters are a minority and locals have mostly blocked their agenda. Still, Free Stater Jeremy Olson is confident they could shift the balance if they reach out to locals."

Read more: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/09/288069880/libertarians-move-in-to-make-a-small-n-h-town-even-smaller

Tim Moen campaign generating online buzz

Federal byelection candidate gets online buzz with libertarian memes | Canada Politics - Yahoo News Canada - Andy Radia, Political Points:

March 6, 2014 - "If elections were won based on creativity, then this guy would be the next MP for Fort McMurray - Athabasca.

"Libertarian candidate Tim Moen — who is running in a federal byelection which has yet to be called — is getting a lot of attention for his social media memes which explain libertarianism.

"In an interview with Yahoo Canada News on Thursday, Moen talked about his platform. 'A libertarian is someone who espouses the philosophies of classical liberalism ;ndash; the idea that a person owns himself and is a product of his or her labour and that people ought not initiate force against other people to try and get their way,' he said.

"He continued, explaining how a libertarian government might tackle taxes. 'We see taxes as an initiation of force because the end-product of not paying your taxes or not complying is that you get thrown in the jail. And we don't think that people have the right to demand money or else you'll be thrown in a cage,... We understand that there are things that people want ... roads and healthcare and maybe national defence ... so we're for finding ways of connecting people with those services that don't involve initiating force.'"

Read more: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/want-gay-married-couples-able-protect-marijuana-plants-232134970.html
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Creative Loafing interviews FL Libertarian Lucas Overby

Third Party Lines: An Interview with Lucas Overby | Political Animal | Creative Loafing Tampa - Mitch Perry:

March 6, 2014 - "While David Jolly and Alex Sink continue to bash each other in incessant television ads, Libertarian candidate Lucas Overby has been trying to win over voters by showing up anywhere that will have him throughout [Florida Congressional] District 13.

"Although some Republicans accused him of being a 'plant' to siphon off GOP votes and aid Sink, the fact of the matter is that Overby declared even before Bill Young announced his intentions to run for re-election in 2013.

"At a Clearwater Starbucks on Gulf-to-Bay, I sat down with Overby to talk about the issues. Here are some excerpts:"

Read more: http://cltampa.com/politicalanimal/archives/2014/03/06/third-party-lines-an-interview-with-lucas-overby

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Rand Paul: We must defend the rights of all

Rand Paul’s Starkly Libertarian CPAC Speech: We Must Defend the Rights of All | Mediaite - Andrew Kirell:

March 7, 2014 - "In his address before the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) took a decidedly libertarian stance on issues of surveillance, the Fourth Amendment, executive overreach, and wrongful imprisonment.

"'We won’t trade our liberty for security,' Paul said, setting the overarching theme of the speech: 'Not now, not ever.'

He railed against the National Security Agency’s controversial phone metadata collection, telling the crowd: 'If you have a cell phone, you are under surveillance. I believe what you do on your cell phone is none of their damn business.'

"'There is a great battle going on, it’s for the heart and soul of America,' he urged to the crowd. 'The Fourth Amendment is equally as important as the Second Amendment, and conservatives cannot forget this.

"At another point, Sen. Paul quoted Pink Floyd’s 'Wish You Were Here' to attack President Obama‘s equivocating on civil liberties issues.

"He also emphasized to the audience that any minority of thought, color, creed, [or] religion should presume that government would attempt to imprison them wrongfully."

Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/rand-pauls-starkly-libertarian-cpac-speech-we-must-defend-the-rights-of-all/
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Libertarians removed from Ohio primary ballot

Husted Orders Libertarian Candidates Off Primary Ballot | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio:

March 7, 2014 - "Secretary of State Jon Husted decided late Friday to remove Charlie Earl, the Libertarian candidate for governor, off the May primary ballot.

"That decision effectively removes the possibility of a Libertarian name being on the November ballot.

"Husted said he is following the recommendation of a hearing officer who concluded Earl and Steve Linnabary, the Libertarian candidate for Attorney General, do not have enough valid signatures on petitions.

"The decision is being hailed as a victory for state Republicans.... Republican governor John Kasich narrowly defeated then-Democratic governor Ted Strickland in 2010 by a 49 to 47 percent margin.

"'Kasich and his allies have moved heaven and earth to keep Charlie Earl off the ballot, they know he would take votes from Kasich," said Dale Butland of Innovation Ohio. "But you have to give Republicans credit because when it comes to voter suppression they don't discriminate. Whether you're black or you're white, unless you plan to vote for Kasich, they don't want you at the polls."

Read more: http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2014/03/07/columbus-husted-orders-libertarian-off-ballot.html
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Generation Opportunity uses social media to promote liberty

Libertarian Activists Just Upped Their Web Game | Motherboard - Meghan Neal:

March 5, 2014 - "In 2012, the Obama campaign's unprecedented use of social media encouraged 600,000 activists to contact 5 million people asking them to get involved, with an impressive 20 percent success rate....

"'It was amazing. It was innovative. It was exciting,' Evan Feinberg, president of the conservative political advocacy group Generation Opportunity told me over the phone.

"'We've learned from that.'

"Based in DC, GenOpp is technically a nonpartisan organization, but is funded by the Koch brothers and lobbies for typically right wing, libertarian policies like small government and lower taxes. The group gave Motherboard a first look at its newly launched advocacy website Free the Future, an action-oriented platform boasting all the webby, supposedly Gen Y-friendly functionality that helped carry the president to the White House.

"All the usual players are there: personalized content, targeted social sharing, a mobile-friendly responsive design, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ integration, and language trying too hard to be hip (to comment, users click on 'drop some knowledge'). Coming up in V2 is gamification and user-generated content."

Read more: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/libertarian-activists-just-upped-their-web-game
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First Libertarian candidate in Fort McMurray, Alberta

First Libertarian candidate to run | Fort McMurray Today - Vincent McDermott:

March 4, 2014 - "Libertarian party candidate Tim Moen wants gay married couples to have the right to protect their personal marijuana plants with guns.

"That’s one of the many slogans Moen, a captain with the Fort McMurray Fire Department and freelance videographer, is posting online as a federal byelection in the region approaches.

"'To me, that meme is the message of classical liberalism and the philosophy of liberty,' he says. 'People should be allowed to marry whoever they want, put what they want into their bodies as long as no one is hurt, and protect themselves and their property.'

"Moen is the first federal Libertarian candidate to run in the Fort McMurray-Athabasca riding.

"The party advocates a platform of no government interference in Canada’s internal social and economic affairs, on the grounds that doing so violates personal liberties and freedoms."

Read more: http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2014/03/04/first-libertarian-candidate-to-run-in-mcmurray
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