PRO-LIBERTY SUPERHERO PAMELA GELLER STRIKES AGAIN

Ayn Randist Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs guest appearance on Mike Huckabee's Fox News show, expressing opposition to the Muslim Mosque to be built 600 feet from the spot of the 9/11 attacks.

Geller takes the explicitly libertarian view: The government should not be involved forcing the Mosque out. However, she implores the peaceful Muslim community to consider the pain and suffering such a Mosque built so close to the 9/11 site, would cause the victims and their families.

Calls the failed bomber a "Muslim Dirtbag"

From Eric Dondero:

Frequent Contributor to Reason Mark Goldblatt penned a piece titled "The Poet Versus the Prophet: On standing up to totalitarian Islam" in the latest Hit&Run blog. Goldblatt is refreshingly blunt on the dangers of Radical Islam, and the threats the ideology poses to Free Speech.

I’ve had a couple of weeks now to think about Ginsberg cursing out that cabbie, and cursing out Islam and Muhammad. You see, I live in Manhattan, three blocks from Times Square. As near as I can determine, I was walking with a friend about thirty feet from the car bomb on May 1st right around the time it was supposed to detonate. Except for the technical incompetence of a Muslim dirtbag named Faisal Shahzad, I and my friend would likely be dead now. Note the phrase: “Muslim dirtbag.” Neither term by itself accounts for the terrorist act he attempted to perpetrate; both terms, however, are equally complicit in it. It might have been a crapshoot of nature and nurture that wrought a specimen like Shahzad, but it was Islam that inspired him, that gave his fecal stain of a life its depth and its justification. Why is that so difficult to admit?

Muhammed as a Cockroach

Goldblatt goes on to write:

Let me ask the question another way: Where’s the rage? If Islam justifies, or is understood by millions of Muslims to justify, setting off a bomb in Times Square, then I shit on Islam.

Reason has over the years had a reputation of being on the leftside of the libertarian movement. They mercilessly bashed President George W. Bush on virtually all fronts, and were highly critical of the War in Iraq.

Something's changed. There is a noticable difference in the editorial leadership of the magazine/on-line version these days. In short, Editor Nick Gillespie and most of the writers, now get it. They recently wrote in defense of South Park Cartoonists Trey Parker and Matt Stone. And now they've bravely published this hardcore piece by Goldblatt.

We on the Libertarian Right most assuredly welcome this shift from our friends at Reason. It may have taken threats to the lives of Reason friends Parker and Stone. And now a near miss on the life of one of their very own writers. But it's a welcome shift, none-the-less.

Photo of Goldblatt's new book, with a cockroach on the cover, which Reason editors note is a representation of "The Prophet" Muhammed. You can purchase the book off of JeffGoldblatt.com

MOVEMENT NEWS

From Eric Dondero:

Two weeks ago, the Republican Party of Maine helds its annual convention. By all accounts the Party, most especially the platform committee, was virtually taken over by a coalition of libertarians affiliated with the Republican Liberty Caucus, Ron Paul supporters and Tea Party Patriots. The resulting platform was hardline libertarian, with a de-emphasis on divisive social matters, but a hardline stance on economic conservatism.

Now another development out of the Pine Tree State. WCSH6 - Portland reports:

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The newly reconstituted Libertarian Party of Maine held its first meeting in Portland Saturday.

The Libertarians advocate for smaller government, less spending, and more emphasis on the individual. Maine's Libertarian party lost ballot status in 1992, but now it's easier to stay on the ballot, so the party is hoping to be recognized again.

Libertarians will have to collect petition signatures from at least 5 percent of the voters who cast ballots in the most recent gubernatorial election.

NATIONAL SECURITY FIRST!

"Jan Brewer did what she had to do as CEO of that State, to protect the citizens of her State."

(H/t Memeo)

Dynamic Tea Party Duo together in Columbia

From Eric Dondero:

Republican sweetheart Sarah Palin made a swing through South Carolina on Friday in support of libertarian-leaning State Rep. Nikki Haley for Governor. Haley early on, showed an economic libertarian streak as a budget cutter in line with Gov. Mark Sanford. (Haley had been a staunch supporter of Sanford in his earlier campaigns.)

Haley has been particularly critical of some of her GOP primary opponents for their past support of bail-outs and the introduction of new revenue sources such as VAT. In response, she's caught criticism herself for her strident libertarian views.

From GreenvilleOn-line:

Greenville public affairs consultant Chip Felkel said Haley, as the Republican with the least name recognition and smallest campaign bank account, may be trying to earn free media exposure and stir up her base, the “Sanford-libertarian wing of the party.”

Palin for her part, told the story of how she herself ran against 4 men of the "ole' boy network," emphasizing tax cuts and fiscal conservatism.

From WCIV-TV Columbia:

Columbia, SC - More than a thousand supporters stood State House (web | news) to hear Sarah Palin endorse Nikki Haley to be the next governor of South Carolina. Palin called Haley a fighter and a winner and also compared the republican candidate for governor to herself. Palin's rally was the end of a busy day for Nikky Haley as she crisscrossed the state.

Halley also has the support of the economic libertarian Club For Growth, and notably Erick Erickson of RedStatewho wrote back in August:

I would say that libertarians and conservatives both need the GOP and need each other. They are not always going to agree. There will be fights over the drug war, marriage, etc. But at the end of the day, both conservatives and libertarians are, or at least must be, committed to smaller government.

I bring this up to point out Nikki Haley. She’s unapologetically pro-life, but she is first and foremost known as a fiscal conservative. She is the type of candidate conservatives claim they want. She is also the type of candidate libertarians claim to want.

A second libertarian Republican is in the race: Lt. Governor Andre Bauer. He is running a race, "against government entitlements."

From The State:

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is seeking those who oppose big government entitlements; Attorney General Henry McMaster is a former S.C. GOP chairman and is also opposing the health care law supported by President Barack Obama; Lexington state Rep. Nikki Haley is courting Tea Party activists who want to trim government spending and clean out the good ol' boy network.

Bauer supported such drastic cuts that he was labeled a "Social Darwinist," and garnered national media attention for controversial anti-welfare remarks at a candidate forum.

It is not yet known if the "Sanford/libertarian wing," will rally behind Halley or end up with Bauer. The most recent polls found Bauer in 2nd place to McMaster, with Halley behind in 4th place.

Halley has also picked up the endorsement of Jenny Sanford, former wife of the Governor.

The Republican Liberty Caucus has not made an endorsment in this race.

From the Editor: As with nearly all endorsements, this website follows the lead of the RLC. But we hope for the best for either Ms. Halley or Lt. Gov. Bauer.

LR FOLLOW-UP

Before a House Committee last week, Attorney General Eric Holder could not utter the words "Islamic Terrorism," in response to repeated questions from Republican members whether Islam could have been a partial motivator for Times Square bomber Faisal Shazhad.

On Fox News, Friday (via The Hill), Congressman Peter King of New York said the following:

"An attorney general who eight and a half years after Sept. 11 does not realize our enemy is radical Islam is either so politically correct or so out of touch that he doesn't deserve to be attorney general. I mean, this is why he wants to have the terror trials of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Lower Manhattan — he just doesn't get it."

Note - King was a guest on LR's "Libertarian Politics Live," in 2008.

by Eric Dondero

He's at it again. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's raising the hopes of libertarians by promising what's being called in the media "severe" cuts to Welfare and other bloated State Government programs.

From the SacBee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked lawmakers Friday to eliminate the state's welfare program starting in October and dramatically scale back in-home care for the elderly and disabled as part of his May budget revision to close a $19.1 billion deficit.

The Republican governor also proposed cuts to state worker compensation. Besides asking for a 5 percent pay cut, 5 percent payroll cap and 5 percent increased pension contribution, Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting one day per month of pay in exchange for leave credit.

We've heard this all before from Arnold. Last year he promised the same "dramatic" cuts, and then caved to the Democrat-controlled legislature.

More likely, the consumate dealer is just doing a bit of positioning ahead of negotiations with his Democrat buddies.

Let's hope the the next Governor, be it Meg Whitman or Steve Poizner, has a bit more of Chris Christie's backbone, and less of Schwarzenegger's jelly belly.

(H/t Memeo)

Fanatically Jeffersonian

Jordan Mason, a 25-year old Navy Veteran and current student at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, is running for the City Council of Rapid City. He was recently featured in The Rapid City Journal:

Mason, a 2003 graduate of Rapid City Central High School, has been thinking about running for public office ever since he returned to Rapid City in 2007, after four years in the U.S. Navy. He served on the USS Klakring, stationed out of the Jacksonville, Fla., area and saw ports in Europe and South America. He is a year away from earning an interdisciplinary studies degree at the School of Mines and, once again, is spending a lot of time at Devereaux Library to maintain his 3.8 grade point average. He also works a part-time job as a custodian to help pay bills.

His views are decidedly Constitutionalist. Continuing:

If Mason could have dinner with any historical figure, Thomas Jefferson would be at the top of his list. "I follow after the heart of Thomas Jefferson," Mason said.

A self-described conservative, Mason said many people who know of his libertarian leanings might be surprised to learn that he is a registered Republican. "I am a hard-core constitutionalist and will fight for those rights, no matter what it takes," he said.

Jordan Mason Facebook.

LR FOLLOW-UP

From Eric Dondero:

More and more news websites and blogs are commenting on the new movie Robin Hood and the connection to Tea Party/libertarian views.

From Jared Keller, The Atlantic, The Wire "Is Robin Hood a Tea Partier?":

Robin Hood the Libertarian The New York Times' A.O. Scott concurs, declaring Russell Crowe's Robin Hood a medieval libertarian rather than a proto-socialist. "This Robin is no socialist bandit practicing freelance wealth redistribution, but rather a manly libertarian rebel striking out against high taxes and a big government scheme to trample the ancient liberties of property owners and provincial nobles. Don’t tread on him!" In contrast to O'Sullivan's analysis, Scott stops short at declaring Robin Hood an avatar for the Tea Party movement. "So is 'Robin Hood' one big medieval tea party? Kind of, though that description makes the movie sound both more fun and more provocative than it actually is. The film’s politics, in any case, are more implicit than overt, so that the filmmakers can plausibly deny any particular topical agenda," notes Scott.

I watched the film on premiere night Friday. Libertarian and Anti-Tax themes are explicit in at least two scenes.

Federal Deficit chart from 1901 to present. It aint pretty! See comparisons of current deficit with that of World War 2 below.  Read the full article here.