Pushes Socialist Party to status of minor party

by Clifford F. Thies

The center-right Civic Party registered an enormous victory in the first round of voting in Hungary, conducted on April 11th. Already assured of an absolute majority in the country's parliament, it is now poised, in the second round, to be held on April 25th, for the two-thirds majority that would be needed to effect fundamental, Constitutional-level change.

In the first round, the Civic Party received 53 percent of the popular vote, as opposed to the Socialists, with 19 percent; the far-right with 17; and, greens with eight. In terms of seats, Civic Party candidates won 206 of the 265 seats decided in the first round. The Socialists, which held 190 seats in the old parliament, won only 28 seats in the first round. Jobbik, the authoritarian, "anti-Semitic" and "anti-Roma" party, which had not formerly been represented in parliament, won 26 seats; and, the greens - the only other party that will be in the next parliament - a mere seven seats. The second round, in which only the Civic Party, the Socialists and Jobbik will be competing, will decide another 121 seats.

From the NY Times, "Hungarian Winner Vows Battle Against the Far Right"

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s incoming prime minister, Viktor Orban, vowed Monday to defend the country from the ascent of a far-right party and its black-clad paramilitary branch, which have railed against the large Roma community and dubbed the Hungarian capital “Jewdapest.”

Mr. Orban, 46, the leader of Fidesz, the party that defeated the incumbent Socialists in first-round parliamentary elections here Sunday, said he was deeply unhappy over the rise of the far-right party, Jobbik, which won 16.7 percent of the vote. It was the best performance by a far-right party in Hungary since the fall of Communism in 1989.

Mr. Orban, who became famous in 1989 when he called for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary...

Protecting Borders Yes! but not at the expense of Individual Rights

A few comments are in order concerning Jobbik. There are elements of the Jobbik manifesto that are unexceptional. Hungary is, indeed, a homeland country for the Magyar people and, so, needs to stand up for the rights of Hungarians throughout the world and, if necessary, to be a place of refuge for any who find themselves persecuted. We, Republican Libertarians, accept the legitimacy of homelands, whether internal to nations as in the case of tribal reservations within the United States, or coincident with national borders, as in the case of Hungary, but always within the context of individual rights, free trade and open borders.

But, we ask, how can Jobbik issue a manifesto describing Hungary as a homeland for the Magyar people, who - over the centuries - have suffered as minorities in other countries, and not see the need for Israel to be a homeland for the Jews of the world?

Problem with Gypsys? Get rid of the Welfare State

As for Jobbik's anti-Roma, or anti-Gypsy positions, we have some sympathy, but not much. The welfare state practically invites people to adopt life-styles of petty crime, scamming, shiftlessness, and such, especially for this interesting population which has never been very fond of traditional work. One of the reasons we Libertarian Republicans oppose the welfare state is that it inevitably pits people with alternative-lifestyles against those with middle-class values. Inevitably, people will object to "providing" subsidies to those who choose not to work. Inevitably, there will be "individual mandates," as in the Obama health care legislation, and forced labor, as in several of the northern European states. In a socialist country, you are not free to not work.

Sloppy-headed liberals in counties in transition from a free economy with a private charity-provided social safety net to a full-fledged socialist economy can try to fool themselves into believing that they are not on the Road to Serfdom. They can proclaim that their goal is to have both individual freedom and what they describe as a well-developed system of social insurance. But, we notice the reality is different. It involves "do not treat" orders for the aged and the infirm, the use of abortion to restrict procreation by the lower classes, the forced sterilization and removal of lesser persons to labor colonies, and the end of alternative life-styles like that of the Gypsies.

We have a different solution to the Gypsy problem: abolish the welfare state.

Punk Libertarian rails against UK's Nanny State

Polly Morgan is featured in the latest London Evening Standard. The title "Polly Morgan, Death becomes Her."

The art of taxidermist Polly Morgan is once-seen, never-forgotten stuff. Slightly sick yet eminently covetable, it has been bought by Kate Moss and Courtney Love, and promoted by Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst and Damien Hirst, whose gallery Other Criteria is selling her latest series of work, Resurrection, in which a balloon seems poised to carry off a bedraggled pheasant chick. Gothic yet strangely compassionate – such little bodies, so tenderly preserved – her work resonates with questions: who is this artist, and what dark secrets drive her?

Later on in the piece, her politic views come out, and they're more aligned with the libertarian bloc of the Tories, the UK Independence Party, or even the newly formed UK Libertarians.

An old-fashioned libertarian, she lets rip against the Labour government, health-and-safety rules, bland politicians and 'actress puppets who come out and say, "Don't put on your kettle" because their agents have told them they should be against global warming.'

Note - Photo of a recent showing of her works.

Wyoming RLC Coordinator Michael Dean, speaks to Tea Party rally, with a big "Howdy"

Members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, the organization that represents the libertarian wing of the GOP, participated in Tea Party rallies all over the United States yesterday. Here is one RLCer who was asked to address the crowd in Casper, Wyoming.

Dean describes the RLC, as "basically a group that originated out of the Libertarian Party... we want to see Libertarians actually win elections."

He invites Tea Party members to the first statewide RLC organizing meeting next Monday night.

Note - Dean is a former lead singer for a punk rock band in Califoria, turned Wyoming Cowboy gun rights enthusiast.

http://www.rlc.org

Breitbart proven Right!

From Eric Dondero:

Libertarian media entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart should be feeling pretty good this morning. He has just won a major battle with the liberal media. And it's a United States Congressman who is confirming the media's fraud.

From the AP, by reporter Jesse Washington, "...Health Protest spurs 'N' word feud", April 13:

It was March 20, near the end of the bitter health care debate, when Reps. John Lewis, Andre Carson and Emanuel Cleaver say that some demonstrators, many of them tea party activists, yelled the "N-word" as the congressmen walked from House office buildings to the Capitol.

With so many media and citizen cameras at the demonstration, any epithets would have been caught on tape, says Andrew Breitbart. He's the web entrepreneur... and has pledged $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund if anyone provides proof of the epithets.

"It didn't happen," said Breitbart, who wasn't there. "This is 2010. Even a racist is media-savvy enough not to yell the N-word."

Now 3 days later a correction issued by the Associated Press in the Washington Post "Shuler denies hearing N-word at Capitol protest":

Rep. Heath Shuler is denying a report that he heard racial slurs yelled from a crowd of angry health care protesters outside the U.S. Capitol.

Shouldn't someone in the liberal media cough up $100,000 for one of Andrew's favorite charities? Say, Americans for Limited Government, Sam Adams Alliance, Cato Institute, or Reason Foundation?

(H/t Newsbusters)

Ultimatum!

Potential evidence Hasan was an AntiWar activist, and killed 13 US Soliders in revenge for Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

In what is being described as a further rift with his former Party, Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, is now threatening subpoenas of Obama administration officials to be issued on Monday, if more information on the Ft. Hood shootings is not immediately made available. He is joined by ranking Republican, and fellow New Englander Susan Collins of Maine.

From The Hill:

At a press conference Thursday, Lieberman said he would give the administration until Monday to release information about the shootings and, if it didn’t, would start subpoenaing.

Lieberman and ranking Homeland Security panel member Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said they would issue the subpoenas to the Defense Department and Justice Department under their own authority and would seek full committee approval to take the administration to court if the information isn’t released.

A stern Lieberman said he and Collins have been stalled for five months in their attempts to seek answers in the Nov. 5, 2009, tragedy at the Texas military base, in which 13 people were shot dead. An Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Hasan, is accused of the murders, which Lieberman and others have described as an act of terrorism because Hasan had been in contact with Islamic clerics and may have acted out of opposition to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Further, Lieberman was quoted by the Washington Post:

"The painful fact is that 13 Americans died in the Fort Hood massacre," Lieberman said. "We owe it to them and their survivors and everyone else in our country to determine whether our government could have prevented their deaths -- and if so, why it did not -- so that we can make sure it does the next time."

Collins for her part accused the administration of "an inexplicable determination to stalemate and slow-walk our investigation."

Senator Collins, a staunch supporter of the US Military, has worked closely with her colleague Senator Lieberman before. They both co-sponsored the Collins-Lieberman Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act to codify recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. She has also been a tireless promoter of the Bath Ironworks in Maine, a Naval vessel restoration facility and shipyard. In 2003, she was one of the earliest Republican Senators to back President Bush's resolution to go into Iraq.

Libertarian-leaning Gov. Janice Brewer signs bill into law

From Eric Dondero:

Janice Brewer entered the Governor's office nearly two years ago, unexpectedly. Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano was tapped by Obama to head Homeland Security. According to Arizona law, since there is no Lt. Governors office, the Sec. of State ascends to Governor.

We wrote here at LR on Jan. 23, 2009:

This is the truly one great thing to come out of the election of socialist authoritarian Barack Hussein Obama to President; Arizona got a libertarian-leaning Governor in return.

Desert Mouse blog wrote on the same day:

Due to Obama's appointment of Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security, Arizona's Secretary of State Jan Brewer has become our governor. Brewer is no Goldwater, no Jeff Flake, but she is from that sparsely populated libertarian wing of the Republican Party nonetheless (and by that I don't mean she's a Virgil Goode or Ron Paul style paleocon), and we hope that she will amplify those tendencies in the Legislature...

Now Brewer has just signed an important piece of legislation into law that will warm the hearts of libertarians and hardline conservatives.

From USA Today - On Deadline:

In Arizona, it's now legal for (most) adults to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer just signed the legislation, putting her state in the same camp as Alaska and Vermont.

The state had issued 154,000 permits under the old law, which required background checks and instruction. Gun buyers still face federal background checks when purchasing weapons from a store.