Changes to the Libertarian Party of Indiana Bylaws are brought to the floor of the annual convention each year. If there are any bylaw change proposals, please submit those to Executive Director Chris Spangle via email at lpinhq@lpin.org by April 16th. The proposed change must be in the proposed language.

Every year we recognize the hard work and passion of those involved in growing the party. Awards are presented at the Libertarian Party of Indiana convention each year. With the exception of one award all winners are granted their award by a vote of the LPIN membership at the convention.

We need your nominations! Below, you’ll find an explanation of the awards, and previous winners. To nominate someone for an award, please email Chris Spangle at lpinhq@lpin.org with their name, and an explanation of why they should win the award. Please submit all nominations before April 16th.

Dr. Barbara Bourland Light of Liberty Award: The recipient is honored as the person most responsible for the growth of the party and dedication to the libertarian cause.

Past winners include:

2009 – Dan Drexler (LaPorte)
2008 – Timothy Maguire (Marion)
2007 – Mike Kole (Hamilton)
2006 – Greg Kelver (LaPorte)
2005 – Rex Bell (Wayne)
2004 – Phil Miller (Hancock)
2003 – Rebecca Sink-Burris (Monroe)
2002 – Sam Goldstein (Marion)
2001 – Mark Rutherford (Marion) & Andy Horning (Marion)
2000 – Kurt St. Angelo (Marion)
1999 – Steve Dillon (Marion)

Susan Bell Officeholder of the Year Award: Awarded to a current elected officeholder of the Libertarian Party that best promotes libertarian principles and values through public service.

2009 – Susan Bell (Wayne)
2006 – Ed Dilts (Johnson)

Ken Bisson Outreach Award: Awarded to a party member who has worked exceptionally hard to spread the message of libertarian principles to as many potential voters as is possible.

2009 – Doug Horner (Allen)
2006 – Mike Sylvester (Allen)

Joe Hauptmann Campaign Leadership Award

Steve Dasbach Chairman’s Award for Extraordinary Service: Awarded to an individual that has helped grow the Libertarian Party of Indiana in extraordinary ways over many years. This award is not voted on by LPIN membership, and it is the sole privilege of the Chair of the LPIN to award it to the recipient.

2009 – Andrew Horning (Owen)
2007 – Mark Rutherford (Marion), Mike Runnebohm (Shelby)
2006 – Brad Klopfenstein (Marion), Cindy Kirkpatrick (Marion), Kenn Gividen (Bartholomew)

With no elections in 2009, there will be no Phil Miller Candidate of the Year or Joe Hauptmann Campaign Leadership award.

Calls for Constitutional Convention to overturn ObamaCare

by Eric Dondero

In 2006, libertarian Republicans Sarah Palin and Butch Otter won their elections for Governor in Alaska and Idaho.

In 2008, longtime GOP libertarian Tom McClintock was elected to the US Congress from California.

Now, in 2010, a new libertarian Republican superstar has burst upon the scene: South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer.

He's held office for a few years already, elected on the ticket with Governor Mark Sanford in South Carolina. But he was under the radar until a month or two ago.

Lt. Governor Andre Bauer got himself in some hot water with the liberal media, in South Carolina and nationally, for suggesting back in December that welfare was not a right, and that those who needed governmental assistance should eventually seek private alternatives, rather than spending a lifetime on the public dole.

These are the comments that garnered him national attention:

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better," Bauer said. "You see, for the first time in the history of this country, we've got more people voting for a living than we do working for a living."

He was immediately labeled a "Social Darwinist." To his great credit he didn't back down. And while liberal media talking heads and leftwing bloggers jeered, libertarians, including Libertarian Republican blog, jumped to his defense. He became a hero of sorts to many on the Right, not only among libertarians, but also many social conservatives.

See our original article on Bauer from Jan. 24: "Social Darwinist Republican? SC Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer makes some stunningly libertarian statements against Society's Moochers"

Bauer in addition to serving as Lt. Governor is also a candidate for the Governorship. The most current poll has him just behind the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, in a field of 5 strong candidates. The field includes Rep. Nikki Halley, also a favorite among libertarian Republicans.

Now, Bauer has just taken his increasing libertarian Republican popularity to a new level.

Appearing on Greta last night on Fox, Bauer presented his idea for a Constitutional Convention of 34 States to overturn ObamaCare.

Two other States' Lt. Govs already on board with Bauer's proposal

Excerpted Transcript from Greta:

Well, the people I talk too in SC believe that the federal government is running roughshod over our personal rights and liberties, and we want them back quite frankly.

I've been calling legislators throughout the country, talked to several Lt. Governors... asking them to join us. It would take 34 states to actually have a constitutional convention, 38 states to ratify it... I talked to David Dewhurst in Texas yesterday, he was excited about it. I talked to Peter Kinder over in Missouri. He was excited about it.

I know people realize that here in South Carolina we're extremely conservative, and we've watched what the federal government has done. And we've moved towards socialism. People are scared. They don't want it! We know that only 20% of the entire country want it. So, I fell very confident it will pass in SC and many other states, as well.

I sure don't want to give up on this battle. What we're losing 1/6th of the entire economy was socialized last week. I can't think of a battle more important than stopping what's happening in Washington right now.

The federal government shouldn't be involved in the health care business in the first place. I'm a free market individual. I don't think the government ought to be involved in this. It shouldn't be mandating who has health care coverage. We are way over-stepping what our founding fathers ever dreamed of.

Bauer also expressed skepticism that the route taken by many Republican State AGs of overturning the state mandate, would actually work. But he did express his support for their efforts.

Watch the full video interview at Breitbart.com

Photos - Peter Kinder MO Lt. Gov. left, David Dehurst TX Lt. Gov. right.

From Eric Dondero:

Sarah Palin announced on her Facebook page late yesterday three endorsements for US Congress. The three Republicans include: Adam Kinzinger in Illinois, Allen West in Florida and Vaughn Ward in Idaho.

Both Kinzinger and West have been featured here at Libertarian Republican on numerous occasions. Both come solidly from the libertarian wing of the GOP. The third Vaughn Ward is more standard conservative, but was once described by the Idaho Statesman as coming from the "Sarah Palin wing of the GOP."

All three are Veterans of the United States Military.

Ward in Idaho, Kinzinger in Illinois & West in Florida

Excerpts:

The first is Major Vaughn Ward, a fourth-generation Idaho native who grew up on his family’s farm in Shoshone and is running in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. Coming from a family with a proud military tradition, Vaughn joined the Marine Corps after college and was finishing up his service when the September 11th attacks occurred. He put his life on hold and heeded his country’s call – serving first as a CIA Operations Officer and later volunteering with the Marine Corps for a combat tour in Iraq, during which he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V. After returning from Iraq, Vaughn went to work for the McCain/Palin campaign. I was grateful for his support then, and I’m happy to support him now...

Vaughn knows that real job growth comes from the private sector, not government. He believes in free market reforms, tax relief for families and small businesses, and a return to a constitutionally limited government that lives within its means. He’ll carry the conservative banner to Washington and will rein in the reckless growth of government to get it back on our side.

The second veteran is Captain Adam Kinzinger, a decorated special-operations pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Adam is running for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District against a freshman incumbent congresswoman who seemed to pull a bait and switch on voters to get elected. She sounded like a blue dog on the campaign trail, but didn’t vote like one in Washington. Instead, she voted in lockstep with the Pelosi agenda – on Obamacare, the stimulus, cap-and-tax – and the list goes on.

The third veteran is Lieutenant Colonel Allen West, a decorated war hero who’s served with distinction in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of you may have heard of Allen from a speech he gave last year that became a viral video on YouTube with over 2 million viewers. Allen’s personal story is a testament to the commonsense conservative belief that our nation’s greatness is rooted in freedom, because with freedom comes equal opportunity, and that, coupled with hard work, leads to success. Allen is a small government fiscal conservative running against a leftwing ideologue who’s marched to the beat of Nancy Pelosi on every issue from cap-and-tax to the stimulus, TARP, and, of course, Obamacare.

All Three serving their Country in more ways than One

Palin went on to comment:

I believe that these great veterans will fight for us in D.C. to uphold and defend our constitution as courageously in the halls of Congress as they did on the field of battle field.

Of note - Vaughn is running in a 3-way primary for the opportunity to challenge incumbent Democrat Rep. Walt Minnick. Ironically, Minnick is the only Democrat in the entire US House with any libertarian-leanings. Kinzinger and West already have their respective nominations.

allenwestforcongress.com
Kinzinger for Congress electadam.com
vaughwardforcongress.com

Top-rated Liberal Blog claimed Rightwingers tried to remove him

From Eric Dondero:

Here's how this story was first reported by the ultra-liberal TPM on March 12:

"In all honesty, it was a debacle for public education," says Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network, a liberal watchdog that tracks the board.

Here's a rundown of the highlights of the new draft standards, according to media reports and the Texas Freedom Network:

•The board added a requirement that economics students "analyze the decline of the U.S. dollar including abandonment of the gold standard." Students must also learn about Austrian economist Friedrich von Hayek, author of libertarian urtext The Road to Serfdom.

•According to TFN: "the board stripped Thomas Jefferson from a world history standard about the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on political revolutions from the 1700s to today. In Jefferson's place, the board's religious conservatives succeeded in inserting Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. They also removed the reference to 'Enlightenment ideas' in the standard, requiring that students should simply learn about the influence of the 'writings' of various thinkers (including Calvin and Aquinas)."

Of course this was picked up by just about every Christian-bashing leftwing blog in the blogosphere under headlines such as, "Christian majority removes Jefferson from History Textbooks."

Conservatives heart libertarian hero Jefferson

Now, here's what really happened as explained by Board Chairwoman Gail Lowe who is a member of the conservative majority on the 15 member board:

"The only individual mentioned more times in the curriculum standards than Thomas Jefferson is George Washington,” said Gail Lowe, chairwoman of the 15-member board. “We expect students at the elementary level, in middle school and in high school to study the Founding Fathers and to be well versed in their contributions to our country. That includes Thomas Jefferson and his legacy," she said.

Although Jefferson had been listed in a World History standard, the board removed his name from a list of European Enlightenment philosophers that included John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

“This was inappropriate placement of Jefferson’s name,” said Lowe of the World History proposal. “Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals. But to say the State Board of Education has removed him from the TEKS is inaccurate and irresponsible,” said Lowe.

Lowe continued, “Jefferson not only penned the words of the Declaration of Independence, served as the third president of the United States and was father of the University of Virginia, but his promotion of the ideals of a limited federal government and states’ rights also permeated our nation for generations. No study of American history would be complete without his inclusion,” she said.

H/t Texas AFP

In 2007, the City of St. Louis told property rights activist Jim Roos to take down his mural citing code violations against large signs. Roos, a property owner, has been battling the city for years over eminent domain.

He argued that his political statment was art. He got the libertarian Institute for Justice to take his case.

Yesterday, the court ruled against Roos and the Institute. From St. Louis Today:

Monday, U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey rejected that argument, saying the mural — which featured the addresses of two affiliated websites — is a "classic example" of the definition of a sign.

"The painting is outside and is used to advertise, identify, direct and attract attention to what petitioners believe is eminent domain abuse. It advertises online addresses for more information," Autrey wrote. "It attracts attention to the perceived eminent domain abuse."

Autrey also ruled that the city's sign ordinance is constitutional because it is "content neutral" — restrictions on signs are based on size and place, not subject

Roos was represented by the Institute for Justice, an Arlington, Va.-based libertarian advocacy group. Lawyers for the group seized on a clause in the city's sign code that exempts art, as well as flags and fraternal crests, from the restrictions on signs.

Roos and the Institute for Justice intend to appeal the ruling.

Further info - Institute for Justice, http://www.ij.org

Good ole' fasioned Cowboy Conservatism

by Paul Jacob

By hook and by crook — ignoring the constitution and twisting parliamentary rules — the president and his congressional allies are succeeding in imposing command-and-control health care on all Americans.

If the new law is allowed to stand, the scraps of freedom we still enjoy in matters of health care will dwindle as provisions of the bill kick in. And that’s only the prequel. Pelosi and other Democrats promise to introduce even more constrictive legislation once Obamacare Round One has been rammed through.

Friends of freedom aren’t giving up. There’s an election in 2010, for one thing. But many state governments aren’t waiting for that. The Idaho legislature just passed the Idaho Health Care Freedom Act, which states, in part, that “every person within the state of Idaho is and shall be free to choose or decline to choose any mode of securing health care services without penalty or threat of penalty.” Governor Otter is signing the Act because, in his view, health care laws should treat people as individuals “rather than as an amorphous mass whose only purpose in this world is to obey federal mandates.”

Idaho is the first state to pass such a measure, but similar legislation has been proposed in 22 others. Such declarations will most likely have only symbolic significance if Obamacare remains in effect and other legal challenges on the grounds of federalism get beaten down. But those are two big ifs. Americans aren’t ready to surrender to the health care commissars just yet.

Paul Jacob is the former National Director of the Libertarian Party, fmr. President of US Term Limits and fmr. National Petition Drive Coordinator for Property Rights and Spending Limits. His blog is ThisisCommonSense.com