From Eric Dondero:

Dan Halloran is an elected City Councilman for New York. He represents a northern portion of Queens. His district includes 166,000 constituents.

Halloran was elected in November of 2009 on both the Libertarian Party and Republican Party lines. He is a longtime member of the Republican Liberty Caucus and the Libertarian Party. Indeed, he is the former State Chair for the RLC. In 2009 he attended the RLC National Convention held in Jacksonville, FL.

Halloran came to St. Louis to express his gratitude to Libertarian Party members for their support for his election in '09. He greeted LP members and attended a luncheon.

Asked by a convention delegate what his future holds, Halloran said he plans to run for reelection in two years. However, he also hinted at a possible congressional run sometime after that.

Note - technically Halloran is not the highest elected official for the Libertarian Party. That distinction goes to Ed Coleman, City Councilman for Indianapolis. Coleman's district is At-large, and thus he represents over 500,000 constituents. Coleman and Halloran met at the convention and jokingly argued as to who was the Top Libertarian in the U.S. Halloran conceded the title to Coleman.

The Dutch government is condemning Israel's defensive action against the Hamas/Al Qaeda terrorist vessel that entered its waters. However, one Dutch politician is standing against the tide.

From the Dutch News, June 1:

MPs from across the political spectrum, even those traditionally supportive of Israel, have said they were shocked by Israel's actions.

However, PVV MP Geert Wilders said it is 'cheap' to attack Israel. 'I am certainly not going to make a cheap attack on Israel by howling in the woods with the rest of the wolves,' he told tv show Nova.

Israel was fully justified in entering the ships to see if they were also carrying weapons, he said.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was quoted in Politico hammering the administration for pulling away from Israel.

From Politico:

"We have to ask if the Obama administration remains committed to the state of Israel and the right of Israel to exist and defend herself. The Obama administration, through its word and its actions, has been sending the world mixed signals at best."

She continued:

"It appears that from the time the Obama administration came into office they have been stepping away from Israel..."

Former LPIN Chair Mark Rutherford was elected Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee on Sunday, at the National Convention of the Libertarian Party in St. Louis, MO.
Rutherford will serve a two-year term, and is an additional Hoosier voice helping to lead and direct the national Party, the other being Rebecca Sink-Burris.
This interview was conducted [...]

Editor’s Note: If you can help make phone calls in opposition of this proposition, we can tip the polls against this bill before it spreads! Click here to find out how Hoosier libertarians can make a difference.
WASHINGTON – Mark Hinkle, newly elected chair of the National Libertarian Party, and former chair of the Libertarian [...]

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Rahm Emanuel
Finally, Rahm and I agree on something! Unfortunately, we’re going to part ways on the solution to putting the Deepwater Horizon crisis to good use. The Obama administration and the left will argue that the Federal Government needs to interfere more in the operations [...]

At a town hall meeting in Robinsville, NJ, Governor Christie, a self-proclaimed "Bruce Springsteen fanatic," quoted another classic rock group:

"This is not about teachers... my argument is not with the teachers of New Jersey. My argument is with the Union... who collects $730 a year in mandatory dues. And if you don't want to join the Union, here's your option. You can be out. You pay 85% of that $730 to be out of the Union.

It's like the Hotel California, you know. You can check in any time you like, but you can never leave."

(laughter)

See the full video at YouTube.

Libertarian Party of Indiana leader, candidate, and frequent LPIN.org blogger Rex Bell Rex Bell has won the National Libertarian Party’s Thomas Paine Award for his literary efforts in communicating libertarian ideas.
The Thomas Paine award honors individuals within the Libertarian Party who have excelled in the area of communications. Hoosier Eric Schansberg won this award [...]

Parties on the Right favored over Parties on the Left

From Eric Dondero:

A clear majority of poll respondents In Michigan favor the Tea Party. WXYZ ABC TV Detroit – Detroit Free Press, contracted with Lansing-based Epic MRA. Over 600 Michiganders were surveyed.

According to WXYZ:

When asked if they support the Tea Party movement, 4 in 10 voters say yes. Among political parties, 65 percent of Democrats oppose the Tea Party, 72 percent of Republicans support it, and Independents are split.

Here are the actual numbers:

Based on what you know or have heard or read about the Tea Party movement, do you support the Tea Party movement and what it stands for, or oppose it?

40% Support
12% Neither support or oppose Tea Party movement
33% Oppose
15% Undecided/Don’t know/Refused

Libertarian Party way above Green Party in support

Another interesting poll finding:

Thinking about the following political parties and groups that are getting involved in political issues these days, which group best reflects your views?

36% The Democratic Party
24% The Republican Party
17% The Tea Party movement
3% The Green Party
8% The Libertarian Party
4% Some other group
8% Undecided/Don’t know/Refused

Though, not being reported as such, Parties on the Right have a clear advantage over those on the Left. Republican, Libertarian and Tea Party equals 49% support. Parties on the Left: Green Party and Democratic Party equals 39%.

Clearly, this is a good sign for Michigan Republicans heading into November. There is no Tea Party political Party in Michigan. Taken together, TP-GOP support comes to 41% over Dems' 24%. The Libertarian Party is fielding a number of candidates for statewide and local offices. Though, the vast majority of LP supporters tend to break Republican in elections.

A recent sampling of Republican vs. Democrat match-ups show the GOP comfortably ahead in the Governors race. Epic/MRA Via Hedgehog:

Pete Hoekstra (R) 47%
Virg Bernero (D) 34%

Rick Snyder (R) 51%
Virg Bernero (D) 28%

Pete Hoekstra (R) 47%
Andy Dillon (D) 35%

Rick Snyder (R) 50%
Andy Dillon (D) 31%

(H/t IPR)

by Eric Dondero

And now it comes full circle. The very man who allied with Democrats and the liberal media to get libertarian Republican Governor Mark Sanford ousted from office, State Senator Jake Knotts, has now viciously attacked Sanford's hand-picked successor State Rep. Nikki Haley.

In a radio interview yesterday, Knotts said the following via our friend Stacy over at TheOtherMcCain.com:

“We already got one raghead in the White House, we don’t need a raghead in the governor’s mansion.” – South Carolina state Sen. Jake Knotts

Ironically, Haley is of Sikh descent and not a Muslim.

The remarks were made on the freewheeling internet radio show "Pub Politics."

The South Carolina GOP immediately called on Knotts to apologize:

“The South Carolina Republican Party strongly condemns any use of racial or religious slurs,” -- Karen Floyd, State Party Chairwoman

Knotts has said he is sorry for the slur. But a firestorm of media and on-line coverage has already taken off, and no doubt calls for his own resignation will soon be forthcoming.

Knotts is the same Senator who famously quipped on MSNBCduring the Sanford affair, "Lies, lies, lies... that's all we have are lies from the Governor."

What's at issue here? With most things in life, follow the money.

Ace at the almighty Ace of Spades blog, has finally had enough of it all. After being an extreme skeptic on Nikki Halley, this morning he formally endorsed her after Knott's remarks.

That's it -- I wholeheartedly endorse Nikki Haley, if only because it will make monsters cry.

However, he also adds a most excellent analysis.

Now, you might ask, what on earth would provoke a large fraction of South Carolina's political class to lose its minds and begin suicide-bombing a single candidate?

Commenters were discussing that last night. Let them put you some information:

Vic: That is one thing that the Sanford detractors try to hang around his neck. That he constantly fought with the SC legislature and "nothing" got done.

Of course that was going from the Dem controlled MFM media here which favors big government. The SC legislature is nominally Republican, but a large portion of them are "converted FDR Democrats" so it is really a Dem controlled legislature.

They believe in "tax and spend" just like Obama. Look at the last major battle with Sanford, a 50 cent a pack tax increase on cigs. He vetoed it and they overrode the veto. That has been the normal thing for the last 8 years.

Obama style tax and spend Democrats-turned-Republican porkers in the legislature, best exemplified by a massive increase on the tax on cirgarettes that a libertarian Governor fiercely opposed.

And Nikki Haley, strongly backed by Mark and Jenny Sanford, not to mention libertarian-leaning Republican Sarah Palin, promises to carry on with Sanford-style fiscal conservatism.

There you have it folks. Real live libertarian elected officials have the tendency to turn regular politicians absolutely bonkers.

Libertarian Party nominee for Governor of New York Warren Redlich took some shots at his Republican opponents for having supported Democrats in past elections.

In a press release Redlich's campaign stated:

Unlike Lazio, Levy and Paladino, Redlich has not supported any major Democrats in recent years.

Lazio, as a lobbyist, contributed over $100K to Democratic campaigns. Levy supported Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the 2008 election. Paladino gave $1000 to Chuck Schumer in 2009, and $4600 to Clinton's presidential run.

Redlich attended the NY State Republican Party convention over the weekend. Attorney and small town councilman Redlich is is a longtime Republican. He is also seeking the Republican nomination.

From Eric Dondero:

In the 1970s, and well into the 1980s, the Libertarian Defense Caucus was an active group within the Libertarian Party seeking to move the LP towards a more Pro-Defense/Pro-Military stance. There have been one or two attempts since, to re-organize the group. Ryan Christiano of New Jersey started a blog for the LDC. However, he soon got disenchanted with the stridency of the antiwar activists within the Party. Christiano abandoned the LP altogether and joined the Republican Party.

The LDC has been dormant ever since.

This weekend the Libertarian Party held its bi-annual national convention in St. Louis. Longtime Libertarian Party of Washington State member Kevin Bjornson (US Coast Guard Veteran) and an original LDC member from the 1970s was in attendance. Bjornson, myself (US Navy Vet) and Alaska Libertarian Party delegate, and candidate for US Senate David Haase (US Army Vet) met at the Salon on the 2nd floor of the Marriot Renassiance Hotel near the convention floor. We were joined by Libertarian Party of Maine State Chairman Shawn Levasseur (photo - right). Towards the end of the meeting Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Chairman and Seabrook Town Selectman Brandon Kelley (US Army Vet) came over to lend his support. After the meeting Texas candidate for Congress, a Libertarian who is also seeking Republican support Jim Prindle (Disabled US Army Vet, Photo - Far Right) joined the group.

Members in attendance immeditely voted Bjornson Chairman. His tenure will last til the next convention in 2 years. Haase was elected Vice-Chairman. I offered to serve as Secretary/Webmaster, and was voted in for that capacity.

Earlier, Bjornson had spoken with Sam Sloan of the New York LP. And although he had to catch a flight and was unable to attend, Sloan confirmed he wished to be a member of the group, and was enthusiastic that finally a Pro-Defense caucus was being formed in the LP.

Haase expressed to the others in attendance that although he was staunchly pro-military:

"We have a lot of antiwar people and I don't want to alienate them. They have a number of good ideas. Like Korea. We don't have to occupy them."

Haase continued:

"I'm glad to see some opposition to the make love not war crowd. That's my biggest problem with the Libertarian Party. We wouldn't have liberty without war."

Bjornson took an even harder stance:

"We need to have a military that's profitible..."

He went on to explain his views that we need to gain profits from our ventures overseas, including oil.

Bjornson has a unique perspective on foreign policy; one surely to ruffle some feathers among the non-interventionist crowd. He believes that since America liberated Iraq and Afghanistan, American companies like Haliburton and Exxon, should be given ownership of oil reserves and other natural resources in those Nations. He sees this as the only "true libertarian stance."

Haase, Kelly, Levasseur and others did not necessarily agree with this view.

Bjornson resolved, and other members agreed, that support for the War in Afghanistan would be a top priority for the LDC in the near future.

The official website of the Libertarian Defense Caucus:

DefendLiberty.net

DavidforAlaska.com

JimPrindleforCongress.com

"Republican with libertarian instincts"

From Eric Dondero:

In the 1990s, Bret Schundler, Mayor of Jersey City, was one of the rising stars of the Republican Party. A big supporter of school choice, and educational reform, Schundler was touted for higher office. Unfortunately he lost the Governor's race to the now infamous Jim McGreevy (came out of the closet as gay, and left his wife and kids).

When Chris Christie assumed the governorship he immediately appointed Schundler the State Education Commissioner.

Schundler is beginning to make waves. From NJ.com this morning:

Bret Schundler says he is a great believer in educational accountability, willing to take on the statewide teachers’ union to establish a system that links teacher job security and pay to student learning.

But there are limits to the education commissioner’s commitment to accountability.

And those limits are based, not on union pushback, but on his own ideology. A former Democrat but now a self-described "Republican with libertarian instincts," he doesn’t want to see too much regulation of private schools that receive public money.

Schundler is following the Christie playbook of reduced spending to balance the budget. Later in the piece:

Schundler, unsurprisingly, backs his governor on the cuts in school aid. He expects the issue to come before the state Supreme Court. He said he is prepared to argue to the court that schools can be thorough and efficient — as required by the state constitution — with the amount of money the state will provide.

"There is ample evidence that what we’re providing is sufficient so that a thorough education can be provided," said Schundler. He said the state will provide the court with examples of schools that work effectively even with reduced funds.

From Eric Dondero:

Sarah Palin is continuing her streak of endorsing fiery Tea Party-oriented libertarian-conservative women in GOP primaries.

Earlier today she tweated last minute:

Mississippi-please vote!My family&I are rooting for Angela McGlowan;race may go to a run-off election,but hopefully Angela wraps it up today...

Rooting for you Angela! Mississippi will be well served when you win! – Sarah Palin

McGlowan is locked in a tough 3-way battle in the GOP primary for MS Congressional District 1.

McGlowan is best known as a Fox News contributor. But she is also the author of "Bamboozled." Although a social conservative in many areas, staunchly pro-life, and a stalwart Christian Conservative, McGlowan also has a business background with Mississippi's Casino Gambling industry.

The winner of the race will go on to face endangered Democrat incumbent Rep. Travis Childers.

UPDATE!

McGlowan lost, finishing in 3rd place with 16% of the vote.

The Libertarian Party of Indiana will have a large presence at the State’s largest gun and knife show, the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Paul Morrell (Rush County Chair), Jerry Titus (Howard County Chair), and Tim Maguire (Marion County Chair) have collaborated [...]

The Joe the Plumber District - Marcy Kaptur incumbent Democrat

Toledo, Ohio is home to Joe the Plumber, and also home to the quixotic and radical ultra-liberal Democrat Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Already a highly endangered incumbent, the race for her seat just got more interesting. Kaptur was a "yea" vote on ObamaCare, which has infuriated local Toledoens.

Jeremy Swartz was promising an agressive campaign for the US Congress on the Libertarian ticket. The Libertarian Party of Ohio is one of the best organzied and most active affiliates in the Nation.

Now, due to family concerns Swartz has had to drop out. In his press release announcing his withdrawal, he vowed to support the candidacy of his Republican opponent Rich Iott over the Democrat incumbent.

If no LP replacement, he'll back the Republican over Kaptur

From SwartforOhio.com:

A vast majority of the politicians in Washington DC (our current Congresswoman included) are no longer serving the best interests of the people, yet time and time again we continue to re-elect them and then do little and/or rarely complain the entire time they are there and when election time rolls around, again we send them back.

After careful consideration and deliberation, I met with my family and with deep regret have come to the decision to withdraw my candidacy as the Libertarian Nominee for the 9th District Congressional race effective immediately, due to a personal family emergency which recently arose and will require a substantial amount of my time.

Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Election Laws, the Libertarian Party of Ohio is legally allowed to name a successor to run in my place. If they (the Libertarian Party of Ohio) so choose, I recommend Joseph Jaffe (L) to run in my place for the 9th District Congressional seat. If a Libertarian successor should not be named, I will cast my vote to end tyranny in the United States by voting for Rich Iott (R) on November 2,, 2010.

Interestingly, Iott initially ran as a "Tea Party" Independent. But was then convinced by local Republican leaders to run on the GOP ticket.

From Iott's campaign website:

I believe that less government is good government and that the Constitution clearly defines the limited role of the federal government.
I believe in States’ Rights and that most laws and regulations should be made at the levels closest to the people which they affect.

I believe the primary mission of our government at the national level is to protect our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and that a strong national defense is key to that mission.

I am a fiscal conservative and I believe in personal responsibility.

Joe the Plumber once considered running for this seat. Wurzelbacher backed Iott's primary opponent, a local police chief.

Ironically, Swartz also faced an opponent in an unusual Libertarian Party primary.

"Para una nueva generación de Nuevo México. Juntos, podemos hacer de Nuevo México fuerte, próspero y libre de corrupción" -- Susana Martinez

From Eric Dondero:

It wasn't the Democrat Party that gave its very first nomination for Governor to an Hispanic female.

Doña Ana County Prosecutor Susan Martinez easily beat back 4 Republican primary foes to win the nomination last night. She won with a plurality of 51%. He closest opponent ended with 31%.

Martinez was heavily backed by Sarah Palin. She came to New Mexico to campaign for her in the final two weeks. She had been behind in 4th place before the Palin endorsement.

Her election marks an historic first. Never in the history of the United States, has a female Hispanic won a major party nomination for Governor.

From our friends at HipHopRepublican:

“Congratulations to all the New Mexican Republican candidates who won their primaries, and especially to Susana Martinez, who today becomes the first Hispanic woman nominated for Governor by either of the major parties in the United States. Republicans everywhere can be proud of Martinez’s landmark achievement and the major national significance of her nomination by the Republican Party to be the next Governor of New Mexico.” -- Michael Steele, Chairman, Republican National Committee

Tough as nails on Border Security

Martinez is a Jan Brewer type Republican on border security. She made it the top issue of her campaign website:

With violence in Mexico reaching unprecedented levels, we must do everything within our power to protect against that crime and violence crossing over the border.

While other candidates talk about border security, Susana Martinez is the only one with actual experience taking on the issue. Martinez’s office prosecutes over 600 cases related to border security every year and works with various law enforcement agencies to secure convictions against members of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels. Martinez understands first-hand the threat these criminals pose to our state and will make securing the border a top priority.

The first place Martinez will start is by seeking to repeal the law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Similarly, Martinez opposes providing illegal immigrants with free tuition through taxpayer-funded lottery scholarships.

Martinez now goes on to face Democrat Diana Desch in the general. Recent polls showed the race tight, but with Martinez ahead by 5 to 6 points.

From Eric Dondero:

Tom Mullins soundly defeated liberal Republican Adam Kokesh for the Republican nomination for Congress (Farmington, northern NM). The results; 72% to 28%. The race received national media attention from the leftwing blogosphere for Kokesh's radical Anti-War views.

Mullins is an engineer from Farmington. He describes himself as a "Ronald Reagan Republican." He is also a fan of Sarah Palin and a local organizer for the New Mexico Tea Party.

Mullins accused Kokesh, who ran an agressive campaign, of being nothing more than an "internet celebrity." He shot back at Kokesh:

"We are not the world’s policeman. We have a volunteer military. Our military men and women deserve support from our elected officials and all members of the American public."

From the Cassy Fiano blog:

He’s running as a Republican in the primary, which is interesting considering his many affiliations with Marxist and liberal organizations, like CODEPINK, A.N.S.W.E.R., and of course, the Iraq Veterans Against the War. He’s a liar and a phony who has been arrested multiple times and encouraged soldiers in Germany to go AWOL.

Kokesh was a Marine but was kicked out with a General Discharge (a disgrace for military personnel).

Mullins for his part got in some hot water a couple months back with the liberal media for defending gun rights and appearing to defend militias.

From the New Mexico Independent:

“Janet Napolitano and the Federal Government are after the militia now. Don’t fall for the media spin accusing Americans with guns as the problem. When you disarm the American people that will be tyranny. We are all citizen soldiers and we will protect our nation when our government fails us.”

He added:

“Owning a gun is not a crime. Training with guns in the woods is not a crime.”

Mullins now goes on to face incumbent Democrat Rep. Ben Lujan, who is considered very vulnerable in the district which stretches across conservative northern New Mexico.

Adam Kokesh far left in photo at antiwar rally.