The time is right for Libertarians to play a key role in the country's political future, Jim Gray, the party's vice presidential nominee, told a gathering in Thousand Oaks this week.

Gray, a retired Superior Court judge from Orange County, was chosen last month as the running mate for the party's presidential nominee, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

Speaking to about 40 people at Mimi's Cafe in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday at an event hosted by the Libertarian Party of Ventura County, Gray described the political climate as "a perfect storm."

"One of the real strengths that we have is we are not Republicans and we are not Democrats, and the people of our country are going to understand because today they are so polarized," Gray said.

"I'm not naive. I understand the odds," he said. "But we are going to run to win."

Praising Johnson as "a man of wisdom, a man of action and a man of courage," Gray outlined their platform: bringing prosperity, equal opportunity and liberty back to the United States. If elected, they will seek change in the economy, jobs and education.

Gray pledged that a Libertarian administration would reduce federal government spending by 43 percent and pass a balanced budget.

To stimulate job growth, officials would repeal the income tax and abolish the IRS. That would make U.S. goods more competitive and help bring manufacturing jobs back to America, he said.

"Imagine if we would be able to make business decisions for business reasons instead of tax reasons," he said. "Imagine making personal decisions for personal reasons instead of tax reasons."

A consumption or "fair" tax would replace the income tax, Gray said.

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Libertarian Party's VP nominee calls for change

UPDATED 5:35 P.M.

Behold Reason.tvs latest look at the workings of local government here, whose headline summarizes the free minds and free markets point of view nicely: Capital Bikeshare: Tax $$$ for Rich, Educated, White Riders.

Lets break this down. First: Are Bikeshare riders rich, educated and white? No, yes and yes. To quote the systems newly released rider survey: Compared to all commuters in the region, [Bikeshare users] are, on average, considerably younger, more likely to be male and Caucasian, highly educated, and slightly less affluent. (This, mind you, was a self-selecting Web survey of registered members, meaning most folks using a short-term pass were excluded.)

Second: Does Capital Bikeshare use tax dollars? Sure does. An April U.S. News and World Report article noted that the D.C. government has incurred capital expenses of $7 million and operating expenses of about $2.5 million since its late 2010 debut. User fees and other system revenue cover nearly all of the operating costs. The capital costs to build stations and buy bikes and so forth have been paid for largely through federal grants.

But so what? Taxpayers subsidize every mode of transportation in some measure, whether by building sidewalks or roads or mass transit systems. Bikeshare comes at a fraction of the cost, say, of the new $300 million 11th Street Bridge project, to put things in perspective. And as its 2 million-plus rides attest, its filling a demand, regardless of its riders demographics.

Reason gets good mileage out of the fact that a portion of the funding came from a federal program meant to address the unique transportation challenges faced by welfare recipients and low-income persons seeking to obtain and maintain employment. Juxtaposed with the elite demographics of the Bikeshare system at large but without investigating where and how that particular money has been spent, thats meant to paint Bikeshare as a boondoggle. Truth is, that particular grant totaled $1.3 million and was awarded to Montgomery County under the federal Job Access and Reverse Commute program. The bulk of D.C.s funding has come from another federal program, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, whose aims to support surface transportation projects and other related efforts that contribute air quality improvements and provide congestion relief are pretty solidly in keeping with Bikeshares benefits.

So why, as Reason puts it, are affluent, educated, and employed whites riding taxpayer-subsidized bikes? The red-herring issue of user demographics aside, its an odd polemic for lovers of freedom and limited government to undertake. Compared to the bulk of government transportation spending, Bikeshares proven to be relatively cheap, effective and extremely popular.

Creeping socialism it aint.

UPDATE, 5:35 P.M.: Just to add this point the Reason critique might hold more water if the Bikeshare program had been targeted to serve the poor/the uneducated/minorities. The MoCo grant aside, thats not how Bikeshares been sold. Rather its been about reducing car rides, encouraging cycling more generally and giving residents another transit option. Choices are great, arent they?

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Another libertarian critique of Capital Bikeshare

By WILLIAM MARCH | The Tampa Tribune Published: June 19, 2012 Updated: June 20, 2012 - 6:15 AM

Libertarian presidential candidate Ron Paul is planning his activities at the Republican National Convention in Tampa with an eye to making sure his supporters are part of the mainstream GOP process and not a disruptive force, a top campaign official said Tuesday.

Partly for that reason, Paul intends to hold his own rally the Sunday before the convention and avoid a three-day Paul Festival to be held at the state fairgrounds even though the event is intended to celebrate his 77th birthday.

A third libertarian-oriented event also is being planned to precede the convention. Competition or overlap among the three is likely.

The third event, called Freedom Festival, will be held at the Fantasy of Flight aviation attraction off Interstate 4 near Lakeland and will feature another libertarian candidate, former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, who has some political views markedly different from Paul's.

In an interview Tuesday, Paul campaign chairman Jesse Benton said the Texas congressman wants his backers "to be a constructive part of a coalition" and "influence the party by showing our strength in numbers" during the convention.

Last month, Paul sent a message to the RNC that he doesn't intend to disrupt the highly scripted process, typical for political conventions, of declaring Mitt Romney the Republican nominee.

At the convention, "We want to celebrate the success of the campaign and set the proper tone of decorum and respect for our delegates," Benton said. "We want to get ready to participate in the convention in a positive and constructive manner."

Benton said Paul will avoid events where his campaign doesn't set the tone and message. The event at the fairgrounds is being held by Paul supporters who aren't affiliated with the campaign.

They're likely to be disappointed at his absence, however.

Continued here:

Ron Paul plans his own RNC event to calm the waters

By AARON LeCLAIR/lbedit7@laramieboomerang.com Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Libertarian Richard Brubaker said he would advocate for the gradual reduction of the federal government and create jobs for the middle class if he is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives this fall.

Brubaker, 59, a truck driver from Riverton, is challenging incumbent Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis for Wyomings lone seat in the House.

The Libertarian concept is something we need to start looking at, he said. We have to stop thinking with our hearts and start thinking with our heads. The heart is not a very good thinking organ.

As the Wyoming Libertarian Partys sole candidate, Brubaker will face Lummis and Democrat Chris Henrichsen of Casper in the general election on Nov. 6.

Brubaker said one of the reasons he chose to run for the House is to work on the gradual reduction of the federal government. He admits that reducing the size of the federal government will not happen overnight.

Its a direction versus something that needs to instantaneously take place, he said. Its going to be up to the next generation, maybe the ones not even voting yet, to figure out all these solutions. I just want to get it started in a direction that we do find solutions.

One way to begin reducing the size of the federal government is to start with high-end government officials, Brubaker said.

We need to start looking at cutting on the top end far more than on the bottom and leave the middle alone, he said. The working class people are already stressed and stretched to the limit.

Another way to reduce the size of the federal government is the budget. If he is elected to the House, Brubaker said he would vote for a federal budget that is no more than 45 percent of estimated revenues.

Link:

Brubaker challenges Lummis

Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson, left, is given a T-shirt by Groundswell Cannabis Boutique co-owner Don Novak on Monday. (Stephen Mitchell, The Denver Post)

Presidential hopeful Gary Johnson's message to voters is that he's better on civil-libertarian issues than Democrat Barack Obama and better on dollars-and-cents issues than Republican Mitt Romney.

In the West, where several states will be crucial in determining who wins in November, Johnson, running on the Libertarian ticket, is an attractive conveyer of that message.

The erstwhile Republican served two terms as governor of New Mexico, a state where he's polling at 12 percent.

He's a strong advocate of state's rights.

And as an added edge in Colorado, he has raced eight times in the Leadville Trail 100 mountain-bike race and has a long string of extreme-athlete bona fides.

Johnson's strengths introduce an interesting dynamic: If the presidential race in Colorado is as close as some pundits predict, Johnson could end up being compared with third-party candidates Ralph Nader in 2000 and Ross Perot in 1992, viewed as spoilers in those presidential races.

Which party would likely benefit from a Johnson surge?

During a campaign swing through Colorado where he marched in the gay-rights PrideFest on Sunday and spoke in favor of a ballot measure to regulate marijuana like alcohol Monday Johnson downplayed such speculation.

"I've never viewed myself as a spoiler because I believe I'm going to take equally from both sides," Johnson said just before a news conference at a Denver medical-marijuana business.

Link:

Presidential hopeful Gary Johnson, Libertarian from New Mexico, attempts to woo voters

BOISE (AP) Libertarian-leaning delegates made a show of force at the last two state Republican conventions, where raucous Ron Paul acolytes pushing limited government stamped their image on Idaho's dominant political party.

The confab's 2012 edition, in Twin Falls from Thursday to Saturday at the College of Southern Idaho, will be the latest opportunity to measure the GOP's pulse during a presidential-election year and judge whether Idaho's tea-party tide will rise further or if it's on the ebb.

In the 2008 Sandpoint convention, as well as the 2010 edition in Idaho Falls, mainstream Republicans rolled their eyes as libertarians added planks to the party platform the GOP's guiding document urging the Federal Reserve's abolition, the gold standard's resurrection, support for "nullifying" federal laws and abandoning popular elections of U.S. senators.

Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, who got on the wrong side of libertarians during the 2011 Idaho Legislature by citing constitutional concerns with a bill seeking to nullify President Obama's health care overhaul, said the tone in Twin Falls will depend on who shows up.

"If you have individuals with more libertarian leanings there as delegates, you'll probably see more of what we have had in the last couple of conventions," said Davis, R-Idaho Falls. "I am hopeful that more conservative than libertarian principals will be the standard in the party platform, but that's the purpose of the convention."

The party will also elect a new chairman, with Norm Semanko, a lobbyist, stepping down.

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, who lost a fight with in 2008 for his top choice, Kirk Sullivan, when Semanko won the delegates' vote, appears to have avoided a similar defeat this time around. He's given his blessing to the two candidates, charter-school activist Gayann DeMordaunt and Elmore County GOP Chairman Barry Peterson.

In the 2008 and 2010 conventions, libertarians' surging influence on Idaho's GOP coincided with the rise of tea-party disenchantment across America with government, particularly the federal variety in Washington, D.C.

More recent developments in Idaho might suggest a resurgence of party "regulars," said Gary Moncrief, professor of political science at Boise State University.

In the March 6 "Super Tuesday" caucus, for instance, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney trounced Paul, the Texas congressman, to win all of Idaho's 32 presidential delegates. And moderate Republican incumbents like Sen. Shawn Keough of Sandpoint and Rep. George Eskridge of Dover easily beat tea-party foes in the May 15 primary.

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GOP convention will check tea-party pulse

DENVER (AP) -- Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson is visiting a Denver medical marijuana center and plans to endorse a Colorado initiative to regulate pot like alcohol.

The former New Mexico governor is expected to visit the dispensary Monday afternoon with medical marijuana industry representatives and Sensible Colorado. The group is backing the initiative known as Amendment 64.

Johnson is expected to announce his support for the initiative and talk about how Colorado has regulated the medical marijuana industry.

Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 2000.

(COPYRIGHT 2011 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

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Libertarian candidate to visit Denver dispensary

Posted at: 06/18/2012 9:16 PM By: The Associated Press

DENVER (AP) - Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson is reiterating his support for a Colorado initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol. The former New Mexico governor visited a Denver medical marijuana dispensary Monday and said he supports the initiative known as Amendment 64. Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 2000. The proposed amendment would allow people who are at least 21 to possess limited amounts of marijuana and for marijuana sales to be taxed. However marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Johnson says that if he's elected president, medical marijuana businesses that are operating within state and local laws wouldn't have to worry about efforts by federal prosecutors to shut them down.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Excerpt from:

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson visits Denver dispensary

POSTED: 9:16 pm MDT June 18, 2012

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Libertarian Candidate Visits Denver Pot Dispensary

DENVERLibertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson is reiterating his support for a Colorado initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol.

The former New Mexico governor visited a Denver medical marijuana dispensary Monday and said he supports the initiative known as Amendment 64.

Colorado voters approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 2000. The proposed amendment would allow people who are at least 21 to possess limited amounts of marijuana and for marijuana sales to be taxed.

However marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Johnson says that if he's elected president, medical marijuana businesses that are operating within state and local laws wouldn't have to worry about efforts by federal prosecutors to shut them down.

The rest is here:

Libertarian candidate visits Denver dispensary

Republican Party of Iowa activists on Saturday approved a lengthy party platform encompassing 27 separate policy areas, some of which featured dozens of specific positions.

Continued here:

Bedrock conservatism, libertarian streak seen in GOP platform planks

Majors is a longtime D.C. resident, and a recent convert to tea party causes. (Bruce Majors) Members of Congress all across the country have them, so why not Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D)? Im talking about tea party challengers here.

Two years ago, Norton faced a Republican anti-abortion extremist but this year it appears she will not have GOP competition. She may, however, have a Libertarian Party opponent should Bruce Majors collect enough signatures to make the ballot.

Majors, who picked up nominating petitions Friday, earned a measure of notoriety in 2010, when he shared a D.C. visitors guide with tea party activists attending a Glenn Beck-hosted rally here.

Among the advice therein: If you are on the subway stay on the Red line between Union Station and Shady Grove, Maryland. If you are on the Blue or Orange line do not go past Eastern Market (Capitol Hill) toward the Potomac Avenue stop and beyond; stay in NW DC and points in Virginia. Do not use the Green line or the Yellow line. These rules are even more important at night.

Needless to say, many District residents disagreed with his suggestions that vast swaths of the city are too dangerous to roam.

The guide, he told the Daily Beast, was intended for people from Shreveport, Louisiana, who are in town for 36 hours. At the time, he embraced tea party causes and said his aspiration was to be the gay, slightly more libertarian Ann Coulter.

Today, Majors is aspiring to make a statement about District government by seeking to unseat Norton, now in her 11th term.

Theres so much money [in the District government] it just breeds corruption, he said. I think really the only solution to that is to have really a clean sweep. Hes also supporting term limits and more generally, more responsible spending.

Now, you might note, Majors is talking about issues within the District government, not Congress. So why run for Congress and not, say, D.C. Council?

We have a citys thats essentially a one-party state, and [Norton] is part of that one party, he said. She is part of the party that overlooks its own corrupt members. She is part of the system that turns a blind eye toward official corruption.

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Bruce Majors, tea party figure, launches delegate run

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Texas college student John Ramsey stands out in a new campaign finance world order filled with big names like Republican casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Democratic Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg.

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Wealthy young libertarian puts his inheritance behind a PAC to influence elections

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In Republican Mitt Romney's bid for the White House, there are the obvious obstacles: namely a sitting president, Democrat Barack Obama, and his massive campaign organization. And then there are the less predictable hurdles - such as Gary Johnson, a self-effacing former New Mexico governor who could complicate Romney's efforts to challenge Obama in New Mexico, Colorado and ...

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Could Libertarian Johnson hurt Romney in the West?

In a segment Tuesday on CNN’s ‘Starting Point’ with Christine Romans, former wrestler and governor Jesse Ventura urged voters to consider Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson — but CNN edited that piece of the interview out of the internet coverage of the story.

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Jesse Ventura wants you to vote for Gary Johnson; CNN edits it out

SAN ANGELO, Texas The Libertarian Party of Tom Green County will have a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Hidalgo's West, 3108 Sherwood Way.

Local delegates to the recent Texas Libertarian Party State Convention will share the latest news from the Texas Libertarian Party.

For more information, call 325-650-2738.

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Local Libertarian Party meeting scheduled

12-06-2012 12:40 Welcome to Ask a Libertarian 2012 with Reason's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch. They are the authors of the book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, coming out in paperback later this month. Pre-order: On June 12, 2012 Gillespie and Welch used short, rapid-fire videos to answer dozens of reader questions submitted via email, Twitter, Facebook, and Reason.com. In this episode, they answer the question: "Why would any sensible Libertarian support abandoning Afghanistan to the Taliban and eventually to Al-Qaeda?" Produced by Meredith Bragg, Jim Epstein, Josh Swain, and Tracy Oppenheimer with help from Katie Hooks. To watch answers from 2011's Ask a Libertarian series, go here:

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Why would any sensible Libertarian support abandoning Afghanistan to the Taliban? - Video

12-06-2012 12:40 Welcome to Ask a Libertarian 2012 with Reason's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch. They are the authors of the book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, coming out in paperback later this month. Pre-order: On June 12, 2012 Gillespie and Welch used short, rapid-fire videos to answer dozens of reader questions submitted via email, Twitter, Facebook, and Reason.com. In this episode, they answer the question: "What happened to your declaration that the 'libertarian moment' was upon us?" Produced by Meredith Bragg, Jim Epstein, Josh Swain, and Tracy Oppenheimer with help from Katie Hooks. To watch answers from 2011's Ask a Libertarian series, go here:

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What happened to the "libertarian moment"? - Video

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate for president is coming to Freedom Festival 2012 on Friday, Aug. 24. He’ll speak at “a special VIP” event at the festival, a three-day gathering at Fantasy of Flight in Lakeland that’s the brainchild of Ron Paul supporters. The three-day fest will celebrate “liberty, freedom and the Constitution,” but [...]

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Gary Johnson, Mr. Libertarian, to speak at Freedom Festival 2012

12-06-2012 11:44 Welcome to Ask a Libertarian 2012 with Reason's Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch. They are the authors of the book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong With America, coming out in paperback later this month. Pre-order: On June 12, 2012 Gillespie and Welch used short, rapid-fire videos to answer dozens of reader questions submitted via email, Twitter, Facebook, and Reason.com. In this episode, they answer the question: "What is the libertarian solution to crony capitalism? And, if it is possible to abolish crony capitalism, how do people prevent it from coming back?" Produced by Meredith Bragg, Jim Epstein, Josh Swain, and Tracy Oppenheimer with help from Katie Hooks. To watch answers from 2011's Ask a Libertarian series, go here:

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What is the libertarian solution to crony capitalism? - Video