DMR poll gives Ted Cruz 10-point lead in Iowa

'Big shakeup' in Iowa Poll: Cruz soars to lead - Jennifer Jacobs, Des Moines Register:

December 14, 2015 - "Seven weeks from the caucuses, Ted Cruz ... has made a rapid ascent into the lead in the GOP presidential race here, with a 21 percentage-point leap that smashes records for upsurges in recent Iowa caucuses history.

"Donald Trump, now 10 points below Cruz, was in a pique about not being the front-runner even before the Iowa Poll results were announced Saturday evening. He wasted no time in tearing into Cruz — and the poll — during an Iowa stop Friday night.

"Ben Carson, another 'Washington outsider' candidate, has plunged 15 points from his perch at the front of the pack in October. He's now in third place.

 "'Big shakeup,' said J. Ann Selzer, pollster for the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll. 'This is a sudden move into a commanding position for Cruz.'

"Cruz, a Texas U.S. senator famous for defying party leaders and using government shutdown tactics to hold up funding for the Obamacare health care law and abortion provider Planned Parenthood, was the favorite of 10 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers in the last Iowa Poll in October. He's now at 31 percent....

"Carson's zenith was 28 percent in the poll two months ago. Trump's highest support was 23 percent back in August, when he led the field by 5 points.

"And there are signs Cruz may not have peaked in Iowa yet. Another 20 percent of likely caucusgoers say he's their current second choice for president. Cruz hits 51 percent support when first- and second-choice interest is combined, again leading the field.

"With Cruz's popularity and his debate proficiency, 'it's certainly possible that he could win Iowa big — very big,' said Frank Luntz, a Nevada-based GOP focus group guru who follows the Iowa race closely."

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/12/12/big-shakeup-iowa-poll-cruz-soars-lead/77199800/

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The racist roots of the progressive movement

Progressive and Racist. Woodrow Wilson Wasn't Alone. - Bloomberg View - Virginia Postrel:

December 8, 2015 - "Illiberal Reformers: Race, Eugenics and American Economics in the Progressive Era, by Thomas C. Leonard, reveals the largely forgotten intellectual origins of many current controversies, including disputes over tightening voter identification laws, raising the minimum wage and restricting immigration....

"Early 20th-century progressives transformed American institutions, and the movement’s premises continue to inform thinking and policy across the political spectrum. 'It was the progressives who fashioned the new sciences of society, founded the modern American university, invented the think tank, and created the American administrative state, institutions still defined by the progressive values that formed and instructed them,' writes Leonard, a research scholar at Princeton’s Council of the Humanities.

"The progressives believed, first and foremost, in the importance of science and scientific experts in guiding the economy, government, and society. Against the selfishness, disorder, corruption, ignorance, conflict and wastefulness of free markets or mass democracy, they advanced the ideal of disinterested, public-spirited social control by well-educated elites. The progressives were technocrats who, Leonard observes, 'agreed that expert public administrators do not merely serve the common good, they also identify the common good.' Schools of public administration, including the one that since 1948 has borne Woodrow Wilson’s name, still enshrine that conviction....

"In the early 20th century, the progressive definition of the common good was thoroughly infused with scientific racism.... Leonard argues [that] eugenics and scientific racism fit particularly well with progressive thought: 'Eugenics was anti-individualistic; it promised efficiency; it required expertise, and it was founded on the authority of science.' Equally important, 'biological ideas,' Leonard writes, gave progressive reformers 'a conceptual scheme capable of accommodating the great contradiction at the heart of Progressive Era reform -- its view of the poor as victims deserving state uplift and as threats requiring state restraint.' They could feel sorry for impoverished Americans while trying to restrict their influence and limit their numbers.

"Take political participation. Nowadays, people argue about whether stricter voter identification laws are good-government protections against fraud or discriminatory attempts to deter minority and low-income voters. A century ago, leading progressives happily embraced both goals. 'Fewer voters among the lower classes was not a cost, it was a benefit of reform,' Leonard writes. After progressive reforms, including Jim Crow restrictions sold in part as anti-corruption measures, voter participation plummeted. In New York State, turnout dropped from 88 percent in 1900 to 55 percent in 1920, while national turnout fell from 80 percent in 1896 to 50 percent in 1924.

"Advocates similarly didn’t deny that imposing a minimum wage might throw some people out of work. That wasn’t a bug; it was a feature -- a way to deter undesirable workers and keep them out of the marketplace and ideally out of the country. Progressives feared that, faced with competition from blacks, Jews, Chinese, or other immigrants, native-stock workingmen would try to keep up living standards by having fewer kids and sending their wives to work. Voilà: 'race suicide.' Better to let a minimum wage identify inferior workers, who might be shunted into institutions and sterilized, thereby improving the breed in future generations....

"Although they generally assumed black inferiority, progressives outside the South didn’t worry much about the 'Negro question.' They were instead obsessed with the racial, economic, and social threats posed by immigrants.... So restricting immigration was as central to the progressive agenda as regulating railroads. Indeed, in his five-volume History of the American People, Wilson lumped together in one long paragraph the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act as 'the first fruits of radical economic changes and the rapid developments of trade, industry, and transportation' -- equal harbingers of the modern administrative state. With a literacy test and ban on most other Asian immigrants enacted in 1917 and national quotas established in 1924, the progressives bequeathed to America the concept of illegal immigration."

Read more: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-08/woodrow-wilson-wasn-t-the-only-progressive-racist
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Order book here: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10572.html

Rand Paul's Iowa problem: Ted Cruz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read more: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428081/rand-paul-ted-cruz-problem
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Court strikes down Nova Scotia's cyberbully law

Rehtaeh Parsons-inspired anti-cyberbullying law struck down | Canada | News | Toronto Sun - Canadian Press:

December 11, 2015 - "A judge struck down a Nova Scotia law inspired by the death of Rehtaeh Parsons on constitutional grounds Friday, ruling it violates Charter rights to freedom of expression and liberty.

"Justice Glen McDougall of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia also declined a Crown request to suspend his decision for 12 months to allow the legislature time to amend the law.

"In his decision, McDougall said striking down 'offending provisions' of the law wasn't practical either because they are 'inextricably connected' to the act's definition of cyberbullying.

"'The act must be struck down in its entirety,' McDougall said....

"Lawyer David Fraser challenged the Cyber-safety Act on constitutional grounds as part of a case involving client Robert Snell, who was placed under a cyber safety protection order sought by his former business partner last December....

"Giles Crouch was granted an order under the act after he told a justice of the peace that Snell began a 'smear campaign' against him on social media.... The protection order prohibited Snell from cyberbullying or communicating with or about Crouch. It also ordered Snell to remove any online comments about Crouch.

"McDougall found Snell had engaged in cyberbullying as defined in the act, and he concluded the behaviour was likely to continue. However, his decision to strike down the law voids the protection order.

"Under the act, cyberbullying is defined as 'electronic communication ... that is intended or ought reasonably be expected to cause fear, intimidation, humiliation, distress or other damage or harm to another person's health, emotional well-being, self-esteem or reputation'....

"'By casting the net too broadly, and failing to require proof of intent or harm, or to delineate any defences, the act limits the right to liberty in a way that has no connection with the mischief it seeks to address,' the ruling says.

"The judge goes on to say the protection order procedure is unfair because it fails to provide notice of a hearing to respondents, even if their identity is known or easily determined."

Read more: http://www.torontosun.com/2015/12/11/rehtaeh-parsons-inspired-cyberbullying-law-struck-down
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America's Liberty invests $500K in Iowa & NH

Rand Paul super PAC launches ad buy ahead of Iowa, N.H. - POLITICO - Alex Isenstadt:

November 25, 2015 - "A Rand Paul super PAC, hoping to give the struggling candidate a burst of momentum, is launching what it describes as its opening offensive ahead of the Iowa and New Hampshire nominating contests.

"The group, America’s Liberty PAC, is purchasing $500,000 in radio airtime in order to boost the Kentucky senator. America’s Liberty PAC will run five separate flights of advertisements — each flight lasts about 10 days....

"The first flight, the group says, will consist of two ads. One, focusing on Paul’s faith, will air on Christian-focused stations. Religious voters are expected to play an especially central role in Iowa.

"Another, which highlights Paul’s plan to combat the Islamic State, will air on news, sports, country and other stations. 'In the face of deadly attacks by ISIS, who will keep us safe? While politicians in both parties push liberal immigration policies that put us at risk, Paul is looking to strengthen our security,' says the ad....

"In total, America’s Liberty PAC plans to produce 10 radio ads to air over the five flights. The group’s strategists say the radio commercials are the “first salvo” in a final march to the Iowa and New Hampshire contests. It also plans to roll out TV ads, direct mail and a digital program in the coming weeks.

"Paul has been trailing in national and early state surveys. But backers argue that the libertarian approach that propelled him to national prominence will ultimately provide dividends. The senator is aggressively wooing college-age voters in Iowa and New Hampshire who flocked to his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, in the 2012 Republican primary."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/rand-paul-super-pac-ads-iowa-new-hampshire-216213
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Libertarian enters North Carolina Senate race

Libertarian joins race for Senate seat here - Mooresville Tribune: Local News:

December 9, 2015 - "Nic Haag of Denver, an information security professional and Marine Corps combat veteran, has filed to run as a Libertarian candidate for the North Carolina Senate District 44 seat.

"Haag joins a race that includes two Republicans – incumbent David Curtis and challenger Chris Carney – who will square off in a March 15 GOP primary. If no additional Libertarians file for office, Haag will be on the November ballot....

"Haag said his campaign will focus on issues 'regarding individual liberties, restoring the rights of the people in the era of ever-expanding government. (My) guiding principle in regards to good government has always been: The government is best, that which governs the least'....

"Haag said he has 'always been against government where [it] does not belong,' hence his positions on 'abolishing the ABC spirits monopoly. NC citizens should be allowed to buy spirits in a competitive free market, where selection is greater and prices are cheaper,' he said.

"Haag also advocates the legalization of marijuana in North Carolina and “using the tax revenue to abolish property taxes on vehicles and reduce income tax rates'....  Haag said he is 'confident a state with such deep roots in the tobacco industry will be more than welcoming to a cash crop that will bring about long-term economic stability.'

"Haag spent more than 10 years in the Marines and works as a technical advisor for a venture capital firm. He said he supports the idea 'that entrepreneurial spirit is among the most important things for a government to nurture. This is done by ensuring people are free from burdensome regulations, economic protectionism, and bureaucratic meddling.'"

Read more: http://www.mooresvilletribune.com/news/libertarian-joins-race-for-senate-seat-here/article_0cf38ea4-9e8d-11e5-a673-5bc4a6f3f01c.html
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Pussy Riot headlining 2016 Students for Liberty conference

Pussy Riot to Headline the World's Largest Libertarian Conference - Belén Marty, Pan-Am Post:

December 8, 2015 - "Anti-authoritarian punk band Pussy Riot will headline the 9th International Students for Liberty Conference (ISFLC16), to be held in Washington, DC, on February 26-28, 2016, the organization announced on November 30.

"The event, which gathers libertarian university students from across the world, will also feature key speakers such as US political satirist and journalist “P. J.” O’Rourke, Vietnamese rapper Nah, and North Korean defector and human-rights activist Yeonmi Park.

"Students For Liberty (SFL) is the world’s largest pro-­liberty student organization, with over 1,500 affiliated groups worldwide. Their annual conference is the largest annual libertarian event, but it’s open to the public, students, and non-students alike.

"Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, member of the Russian band and a political activist, will open the conference. In February 2012, Russian police famously arrested her after performing a song critical of President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral. She was released after spending two years in jail.

"Then, only two months after her release, 'Tolokonnikova was famously attacked with whips by Cossack militia members at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi,' the ISFLC16 website states.....

"SFL President Alexander McCobin tells the PanAm Post regarding Pussy Riot’s confirmation: 'Too often, activists are pigeonholed as "conservative" or "liberal," but the truth is that the fight for liberty transcends these tired labels. The fact that 2,000 libertarian students can stand in solidarity with Pussy Riot at ISFLC16 shows the true cosmopolitan nature of the liberty movement.'

"'Disillusioned by the two-party system,' McCobin says, 'tens of thousands of students have become involved with Students For Liberty since our founding in 2008 in search of an alternative to the empty rhetoric and broken promises of our elected officials.'

"McCobin cites a Harvard University study that revealed that 41 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds identify as independents, as opposed to Republicans (24 percent) and Democrats (33 percent).

"'Our generation is not easily categorized according to the historical political mold. We do not rally around a single political party, strategy of social change, or philosophical stereotype,” he argues."

Read more: http://panampost.com/belen-marty/2015/12/08/pussy-riot-to-headline-worlds-largest-libertarian-conference/
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