VT Libertarian Feliciano "not a fringe candidate"

Libertarian Dan Feliciano Makes a Bid for Vermont’s Highest Office | Politics | Seven Days | Vermont's Independent Voice - Kevin J. Kelley:

October 22, 2014 - "Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Dan Feliciano exceeded expectations when he collected 14 percent of the vote as a late-starting write-in candidate in the Republican primary. In a Vermont Public Radio debate the following month, the 51-year-old business-efficiency expert struck some listeners as better-informed and more articulate than Scott Milne, the candidate who had won the Republican gubernatorial primary."

"Feliciano comes across as unthreatening, nondogmatic and, in the view of political scientist and retired Middlebury College professor Eric Davis, 'not a fringe candidate.' His aim to be seen as more of a mainstream conservative than a radical right-winger has been steadied by endorsements from a few Vermont GOP standouts: party vice-chair Brady Toensing, treasurer Mark Snelling and Darcie Johnston, manager of Randy Brock's 2012 campaign for governor....

"Feliciano wants to slash taxes and shrink bureaucracy. He said he'd make a start toward those twin goals by eliminating the surcharge on electricity bills that finances Efficiency Vermont. That statewide energy-conservation entity operates on an annual budget of $45 million but produces "zero value" for Vermonters, according to Feliciano....

"Feliciano would also permanently unplug Vermont Health Connect, the state-sponsored website that is supposed to enable Vermonters to buy affordable insurance policies.... Feliciano's hostility toward Vermont Health Connect squares with his sworn opposition to Shumlin's plan to introduce a single-payer health insurance system in Vermont. Estimated price tag: $2 billion. The Libertarian's flat-out rejection of single payer is a key reason why Johnston, an ardent campaigner against Shumlin's proposal, has gone to work for Feliciano rather than for Milne, who has refused to denounce single payer."

Read more: http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/libertarian-dan-feliciano-makes-a-bid-for-vermonts-highest-office/Content?oid=2460214
'via Blog this'

Cato Institute challenging Federal Reserve

Libertarian Think Tank is Spoiling for a Fight with the Fed - Real Time Economics - Wall Street Journal - Ben Leubsdorf:

October 20, 2014 - "The Cato Institute has some bones to pick with the Federal Reserve.

"The Washington libertarian think tank this week will launch a new Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives. Its goal: challenge the central bank’s policies and explore alternative ways to manage the U.S. money supply, including but not limited to a return to the gold standard.

"'I think we can do better than the Federal Reserve,' said George Selgin, the center’s director and a former economics professor at the University of Georgia. 'We should be exploring how to do better. We should be exploring alternatives that could do better, instead of dismissing that entire inquiry as something that should be only of interest to people on the fringe.'

"The new center is the latest manifestation of growing public and academic attention on the Fed and central banking after the 2008 financial crisis.... The Fed’s extraordinary actions in recent years – helping rescue large financial firms, pinning interest rates at zero for nearly six years and counting, three rounds of bond-buying aimed at stimulating economic recovery – remain controversial.

"Critics have variously accused the Fed of bailing out fat-cat Wall Street bankers, harming Americans who rely on interest from their savings, distorting the flows of the free market, failing to generate sustainable economic growth and flirting with out-of-control inflation and a debased currency. Defenders say the Fed’s policies prevented the crisis from escalating into a financial catastrophe, helped stabilize the financial system and helped nurture a fitful recovery, and they note inflation remains low and the dollar strong.

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/10/20/libertarian-think-tank-is-spoiling-for-a-fight-with-the-fed/
'via Blog this'

Knedler on Ohio ballot as Libertarian, for SoS

Libertarian points to his independence - Toledo Blade - Jim Provance:

October 19, 2014 - "Kevin Knedler offers himself as the alternative to two-party control of state government.

"'As secretary of state, I would be an independent voice,' he said. 'I would not be beholden to special interests or the two major parties. I would not use the office to run for something higher.'

"Mr. Knedler, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Ohio, scrambled to mount a successful write-in campaign during the primary election when it was clear the party’s chosen candidate failed to gather the signatures necessary to qualify.

" He is on the Nov. 4 ballot alongside Republican incumbent Secretary of State Jon Husted and the Democratic challenger, state Sen. Nina Turner (D., Cleveland).

"In addition to watching the court fights over early voting in recent weeks, Mr. Knedler points to legislation passed by the General Assembly that the party maintains would make it tougher for minor party candidates to qualify for the ballot. He also notes the apparent involvement of Republicans in challenging the candidate petitions of fellow Libertarians for statewide office, including governor.... In the meantime, Mr. Knedler said he would advocate for greater participation by independents and minor parties on county boards of elections that are currently split 2-2 between Democrats and Republicans.

"He also proposes making it easier for minor parties to demonstrate they have the support necessary to give them a spot on Ohio’s ballot."

Read more: http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2014/10/19/Libertarian-points-to-his-independence.html
'via Blog this'

Britain's rising libertarian generation

Rise of the New Libertarians: Meet Britain's Next Political Generation - Shane Croucher, International Business Times:

October 10, 2014 -  "In the ruins of Westminster party politics, between the crumbling pillars of broken promises and the shattered glass of optimism, you'll find Britain's young people building something new.

"They don't need or want the British state and its creaking machinery. Like feats of Victorian engineering, these tired institutions are impressive, interesting, and have their place in history. But they're not practical anymore, these dusty relics from the Age of Statism.

"This is Generation Y. The under 30s who are the most liberal generation in British history, not just on social issues such as decriminalising marijuana and gay marriage, but on economic ones too....

"Adolescents of austerity, who understand they can't rely, as their parents and grandparents did, on the one-size-fits-all state as a provider. This generation knows what it wants: the grand prize of individual liberty and personal responsibility....

"Young libertarians are also looking to Ukip's newest hero, the Tory turncoat Douglas Carswell. A free market-loving, privatisation-touting, tax-cutting libertarian rascal, Carswell just won a by-election in Clacton - increasing his majority - after his defection from the Conservatives to become to become Ukip's first elected MP....

"Generation Y marks a noticeable shift in opinion when compared to other generations. They're not that proud of the welfare state. They're less trusting of the traditional big public institutions. They're much more socially liberal, cosmopolitan, and internationalist.

"They believe more in markets, lower tax and less regulation. They want to make their own decisions, not have the state – an overbearing parent, of sorts – make them on their behalf....

"Years of austerity and public spending cuts have changed Generation Y, but not in the way some expected. Rather than fuelling anger among young people that the state is being chipped away, many are absorbing the message of individualism, of DIY solutions to personal, community and societal problems.

"They simply don't need the state anymore. You're more likely to find them working in social enterprises and charities than in the hallowed Westminster halls of Whitehall."

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/rise-new-libertarians-meet-britains-next-political-generation-1469233
'via Blog this'

Libertarians appealing to fed-up U.S. voters

Fed up voters in Illinois (and around US): Why Libertarian may tip governor's race | Fox News - Douglas E. Schoen:

October 16, 2014 - "In a year of unusual candidates, Libertarian Chad Grimm may be the most atypical of the bunch.

"The 33-year old gym manager from Peoria is polling at 7%, more than twice the margin by which Democrat incumbent Pat Quinn leads Republican challenger Bruce Rauner....

"He is pro-life, pro-gun, and anti-tax, but also pro-marijuana legalization, pro-marriage equality, and he has derided the wealthy Rauner as a 'billionaire venture capitalist.' Grimm promises to lead Illinois into an era of 'less taxes, less prisons and less red tape.'

"America doesn’t have much experience with Libertarians. We know Ron and Rand Paul by now and they’ve both raised the profile of Libertarianism tremendously. That said, candidates like Grimm still lack a natural constituency who will support them.

"It follows that the fact that Grimm is polling at 7%, enough to decide the outcome of the election and then some, begs the question of what’s going on with our two-party system.

"To this end, Grimm is benefitting from the same pervasive dissatisfaction with American politics that is shaping races from Kansas to South Dakota to Maine.

"Voters are angry and frustrated with the state of politics in America. And it looks like many of those who may have once held their noses and voted for a Democrat or a Republican are finally starting to get serious about other options.

"Over 40% of Americans are now identifying as independents. We’re seeing their voting power in action in both Kansas and South Dakota’s senate races where independents Greg Orman and Larry Pressler are not only in contention, but leading in some polls.

"But in Illinois, where politics is notoriously rough and four of the last seven governors have wound up in prison, any candidate who wasn’t a Democrat or a Republican has been forced off the ballot, except for Grimm."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/16/fed-up-voters-in-illinois-and-around-us-why-libertarian-may-tip-governor-race/
'via Blog this'

Time: Paul is 'most interesting man in politics'

Kentucky's Rand Paul on TIME cover as "the most interesting man in politics" - James R. Carroll, Louisville Courier-Journal:

October 17, 2014 - "After he was elected to the Senate in 2010, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul shared a TIME magazine cover with some other tea-party members of Congress.

"Then in 2013, Paul was one of the '100 most influential people' to share alternating TIME covers.

"Now, he's back on TIME again, and he's all by himself, a measure of how the Republican lawmaker has emerged as – well, the title of the story says it all: 'The Most Interesting Man in Politics.'

"Paul, of course, is a potential 2016 GOP presidential contender, and polls show him leading or near the top of his party's field of would-be candidates.

The senator has admitted he is considering a run, but won't make a decision until early next year....

"The accompanying story, by Michael Scherer, is titled 'The Reinventions of Rand Paul. Can He Fix What Ails the GOP?'.... Scherer details Paul's 'radical ambition,' saying that the senator is offering himself as 'a visionary determined to reinvent the conservative Republican story line.'

"Paul's unconventional positions against limiting ballot access and restoring rights to nonviolent felons are separating him from his potential GOP competitors, the story notes."

Read more: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/politics-blog/2014/10/16/kentuckys-rand-paul-on-time-cover-as-the-most-interesting-man-in-politics/17354845/
'via Blog this'

Union local helping Libertarian in Illinois

Liberal Union Backs Libertarian Candidate in Illinois Governor Race | Washington Free Beacon - Brent Scher:

October 16, 2014 - "A large liberal union that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to reelect Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is now throwing its financial weight behind the Libertarian candidate in an apparent effort to pull votes away from Republican Bruce Rauner.

"It was recently revealed that Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) will be conducting a large scale direct mail and robocall campaign to inform voters that Libertarian Chad Grimm is a more conservative candidate than Rauner.

"Recent polls show that Grimm is pulling in around 7 percent of voters in a race that is becoming increasingly close between Rauner and Democratic incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn....

"Last week, IOUE Local 150 contributed $30,000 to Grimm....

"The union claims that its support for Grimm is not an attempt to pull voters from Rauner, but a way to represent the various political values of its membership.

"'Local 150 is an organization with a diverse membership, and we make great efforts to encourage our members to be politically active and to vote in every election,' said communications director Ed Maher in a statement given to the Washington Free Beacon. 'While a majority of our Illinois membership has indicated its support for Governor Pat Quinn, we are committed to offering a viable choice for members who do not support Democrats.

"'Chad Grimm, the Libertarian candidate for governor, recognizes the value that unions add to Illinois’ economy and agrees that we accomplish more as a state when we focus on job creation instead of attacking unions,' he said. 'Grimm’s political values match those of a segment of our membership, and we therefore offered our support.'"

Read more: http://freebeacon.com/politics/liberal-union-backs-libertarian-candidate-in-illinois-governor-race/
'via Blog this'