MOVEMENT NEWS

From Eric Dondero:

A hearty congratulations is in order. Dave Nalle, National Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus has just been appointed Communications Director for the Travis County (Austin) Republican Party.

Readers of Libertarian Republican are aware that Dave is a friend and often contributor to this blog.

He will now have his hands full dealing with the difficult Austin media, including the Republican-skeptical Austin American-Statesman, while at the same time running a national political organization, and taking care of a loving wife and two daughters at the same time.

We wish our friend Dave all the best.

New Resource for Libertarian Republicans and Tea Partiers

There's a new place to find out all information about your congressional official: PeepGov.com.

PeepGov is a simple, real time way for everyone to track and follow their congressional leaders. The only thing you need to know is your zip code and you can learn about what your elected official is doing, what they believe in and what people are saying about them as they happen.

On your congressman’s profile, PeepGov allows you to see information sorted by news, blog, video, twitter, and the legislation they vote on. It gives you the links to the Congressman’s website as well as their facebook® and twitter® pages. Also, PeepGov is able to show you who the most talked about members in congress are and how they are trending.

With the ever-changing political landscape, PeepGov.com can help to easily understand if your congressman shares the same ideals and principals that you have.

From 53% last year to 60% today

Rasmussen has a new survey out which suggest support for capitalism over socialism getting stronger among Americans nationwide. One demographic group still lagging for free enterprise are the under 30 crowd.

From Rasmussen:

Sixty percent (60%) of U.S. adults nationwide say that capitalism is better than socialism. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 18% disagree, while 21% are not sure.

Adults under 30 are closely divided on the question. While Republicans and unaffiliated voters overwhelmingly say that capitalism is better, just 43% of Democrats agree. Twenty-four percent (24%) of Democrats say socialism is better.

Last year at this time, among all adults, only 53% said capitalism was better.

Delegates to the annual Libertarian Party of Indiana State Convention have nominated Mike Wherry as their 2010 candidate for Secretary of State.
The SOS race is crucial to the LP in that Wherry will need to achieve a minimum of 2% in order to retain automatic ballot access for Libertarians through 2014.
Wherry was interviewed briefly immediately [...]

by Michael W. Dean, Libertarian Punk

I LOVE livin’ in the Cowboy State.

In a debate on Thursday night of Wyoming Gubernatorial Republican candidates Matt Mead, Rita Meyer and Ron Micheli (candidate Simpson didn’t bother showing up) and Libertarian Party candidate Mike Wheeler, they all tried to out-do each other on how anti-Fed each one is.

This is a nice contrast. In my former state, California, the candidates generally praise Washington DC and talk about how if elected (or re-elected), they will enact more programs and entitlements. In Wyoming the candidates talk about calling out the Wyoming National Guard against the federal government (RLC-endorsed candidate Rita Meyer), and taking federal land in Wyoming away from the Feds (RLC-endorsed candidate Ron Micheli). Statist Matt Mead even talked boldly about “securing the nation’s borders.” (Not really a bold issue for a non-border state gov candidate, but hey…more conservative than some RINOs would try to get away with.)

I love it. So far Wyoming has no Democrat announced for the November election, and the Republicans are fighting on a platform of who hates the Feds more. I find it refreshing.

Editor's Note - Dean is Coordinator of the Wyoming Republican Liberty Caucus. The WY RLC recently held a meeting at the public library and 8 interested individuals showed up. They are also planning to have an information table at an upcoming Gun Show in Casper.

The National Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which represents the libertarian wing of the GOP, met in conference call and voted to endorse two high profile candidates for US Senate.

INDIANA

According to RLC Board Member Aaron Bitterman of Wisconson, and Metro-DC:

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D) decided to retire this year, leaving Democrats to hope that Blue Dog Brad Ellsworth can win statewide. Because of where Ellsworth is from in the state and the political climate, Republicans in Indiana would be best served to select former Congressman John Hostettler to face him in the upcoming May primary.

Hostettler favors the dissolution of the Department of Education, and voted against the No Child Left Behind Act because he believes education is a state matter. He also voted against most federal health care bills with the view that health care is a private or state matter. He maintains that many federal environmental laws and regulations infringed on individual property rights. He is active in promoting issues of freedom of religion and expression. He supported repeal of the estate tax, capital gains tax, and marriage tax penalty. Hostettler was recently endorsed by Congressman Ron Paul, and his supporters are having a MoneyBomb tomorrow.

He’s not a perfect candidate, as he opposes a Balanced Budget Amendment and term limits, supports a closed border, and is too conservative on most hot-button social issues (but doesn’t usually believe the federal government should be involved).

PENNSYLVANIA

More from Bitterman:

The Republican Liberty Caucus also endorsed Pat Toomey for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. Toomey’s Republican primary opponent is Peg Luksik, who is affiliated with the far-right [social conservative wing] of the Republican Party. His general election opponent will likely be Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Spector.

Pat Toomey is a former Congressman who upheld his term limits pledge in 1998 to only serve three terms. While in Congress, Toomey voted to reduce the capital gains tax, to eliminate the estate tax, to cut small business taxes and to eliminate the marriage penalty. He publicly opposed the stimulus package passed in 2009 and supports a Balanced Budget Amendment.

Toomey takes a libertarian position on Roe v. Wade, believing it should be overturned and returned to the states.

Pat Toomey would be a competent and pro-liberty Senator for Pennsylvania.

http://www.rlc.org

Press would rather demonize Tea Partiers

From Pamela Geller:

If you suffered through Sunday's morning news shows on the alphabet networks, David Gregory, particularly pompous and moronic, posited yet again that the real threat to America is the threat of one man, one terror attack -- well over a decade ago, Timothy McVeigh. The 15,000 Islamic attacks across the world since 911 are "fringe." Lord knows, nudnik Napolitano's bowels are all in an uproar over the threat of McVeigh.

Last weekend was the terrible anniversary of the Oklahoma Federal building bombing. Worse still is the Democrats' exploitation of OKC to demonize patriots, tea partiers, senior citizens and great Americans working to save this great nation from the scourge of the party of treason and, worst of all, the cover-up of the OKC Islamic connection.

Hussein-al-Husseini, an Iraqi soldier in Saddam Hussein's Army, sat beside Timothy McVeigh in the Ryder truck financed by Ramzi Youseff (Khalid Sheik Muhammad's nephew). The Oklahoma City bombing, 15 years ago, was the first heinous Islamic terror attack on American soil.

See the Chairman's Report "The Oklahoma City Bombing: Was there a Foreign Connection" by Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Chairman, 2007, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee. Excerpt:

Committee Chairman's Report, Cong. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)

There is serious, yet in some cases circumstantial, evidence that suggests a possible Middle Eastern connection to the Oklahoma City bombing (named “OKBOMB” by federal investigators):

For example, of all the cities in the world, convicted terrorist Ramzi Yousef and Terry Nichols were in Cebu City in the Philippines at the same time three months before the Oklahoma City bombing. Yousef was the perpetrator of the first World Trade Center attack as well as the mastermind behind the planning of other high-profile attacks on Americans. Furthermore, Ramzi Yousef’s phone records, from the months before he detonated the first World Trade Center bomb in early 1993, show calls placed to the Filipina neighbor and close friend of Terry Nichols’ in-laws in Queens, New York. The opportunity for interaction between American terrorist, Nichols, and al-Qaeda terrorist,Yousef, is evident.

One indicator that this terrorist act had broader implications came directly from Abdul Hakim Murad, Yousef’s roommate, childhood friend, and fellow convicted terrorist. On the day of the bombing, Murad claimed responsibility for this terrorist act from his jail cell in New York. He bragged to his prison guards, verbally and in writing, that the bombing of the Murrah federal building was the work of the “Liberation Army.” His confession was similar to the one Yousef had made two years earlier in the immediate aftermath of the first attempt to destroy the Word Trade Center. Hours after he drove a Ryder truck into the garage of the north tower of the World Trade Center and detonated the deadly bomb, Yousef called the FBI from a pay phone in Newark International Airport and boasted that the “Liberation Army” had conducted the attack. He then boarded a plane and escaped, ending up in Manila, Philippines.

Note: the Oklahoma City Bombing followed a similar pattern to the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center —a rental truck loaded with ammonium-based explosives, using similar detonation devices, based on the strategy of driving a vehicle into or near a target.

Another possibility of Islamic terrorist involvement in the Oklahoma City bombing was pursued by Jayna Davis, a local Oklahoma City television reporter. Davis did extensive research in the immediate and long term aftermath of the crime and concluded that a small group of recent Iraqi émigrés living in the Oklahoma City area helped McVeigh bomb the Murrah building. She documented multiple witnesses who placed Timothy McVeigh with a foreign-looking person (and/or persons) in the days leading up to, as well as the day of, the Oklahoma City bombing. Her witnesses offer substantial support to the theory of a Middle Eastern connection and relate directly to the existence of John Doe Two. The FBI, much to the frustration of some of its own investigators, discarded the possibility of the existence of John Doe Two, two months into the investigation.

Editor's Note - Pamela Geller's blog Atlas Shrugs is one of the top libertarian sites with tens of thousands of visitors a day. She is a friend of this site, and we're proud to have her on our blog roll. Please add her site to your daily favorites.

Ross Perot was interviewed about the Tea Party, by the Associated Press at an appearance for Veterans in Kansas City. He had some generally positive remarks on the movement. but offered, "Time will tell how effective it is..."

However, his comments on the economy are also drawing great attention. Perot defended wealthy Americans as job creators.

From AP:

The tea party movement generally unites on the fiscally conservative principles of small government, lower taxes and less spending — also Perot's ideals.

Perot said it would be wrong to increase taxes to increase the size of government. Perot recommended lowering taxes on the wealthy to stimulate job creation.

Note - many of Ross Perot's earliest supporters in his 1992 campaign for president were members of the Libertarian Party, particularly in Florida, where his campaign was launched. In 2008, his campaign manager from 1992, Russ Verney served as campaign manager for Libertarian Bob Barr for President.

From Eric Dondero:

The New York Libertarian Party will holds it statewide convention this weekend in Albany at the Hilton Garden Inn. At issue is the nomination of their slate of candidates for state offices, most notably governor.

Warren Redlich, a local town councilman, looks to be the favorite. Kristin Davis, Manhattan Madam, is his main challenger. Efforts have been made by various Libertarian Party officials within the last two weeks, both on the state level and nationally to work out a compromise whereby Redlich would seek the AG's spot allowing Davis and an as-of-yet un-named celebrity candidate as her running mate. Redlich had previously indicated an interest in that position, and he is an attorney. But Libertarian Republican has learned, that talks have broken down.

The Campaign Manager for Davis, Roger Stone and Redlich have had fiery conversations. At main issue allowing candidates seeking the nomination to send out a mailing to delegates using the state party list.

Additionally, Redlich has accused Stone of having dual loyalties, also supportive of rival Republican candidate for Governor, Tea Party-affiliated Carl Paladino of Buffalo. Stone has been critical of Redlich's tone, and also charging that some associates of Redlich are restricting new delegates from participating in the convention.

Ironically, both Stone and Redlich have strong Republican affiliations. Stone is a well-known top GOP strategist who has managed numerous campaigns for over two decades. He has long been described in the media going back to the 1980s as from the "libertarian wing" of the GOP. His former wife is Republicans for Choice President, and two-time Republican Liberty Caucus convention speaker Anne Stone. Redlich was first elected to the Guiderland Town Council as a Republican. In addition to the Libertarian nomination, he is currently seeking the Republican nomination for Governor, as well. He is challenging former Congressman Rick Lazio, Suffolk County Commissioner Steve Levy, and ironically, Carl Paladino for that nomination.

No word yet from the Davis camp if she will bow out, still seek the nomination at the convention, or launch a separate independent Libertarian bid for Governor.

Libertarian Republican hopes to have more news as the situation develops.

Statement from the Editor: This blog has been, and remains supportive of both candidates, and wishes the best for the Libertarian Party of NY, for Kristin Davis, for Warren Redlich, and the overall libertarian movement in the Empire State.

Fiscally Conservative/Socially Tolerant

Republican Nominating Convention, April 18, Boston. Charlie Baker for Governor/Richard Tisei for Lt. Governor.

Attention Libertarians from around the State!  Join libertarian advocates from across Indiana for some casual libertarian fun!
April is the month of Libertarian Conventions, and Indianapolis Libertarians will be helping kick-off our state convention with food, drinks and merriment.
Visiting libertarians will get to see our “After-Hours” in action, and local libertarians will get a chance to [...]

Idaho Rep. Tom Trail - It's a "fairly libertarian" thing to do

The Maryland Senate recently passed a medical marijuana bill thanks to the advocacy of a Republican State Senator. Now Idaho is joining the fray.

From Stephen C. Webster of True Slant:

The first rumblings of the Plan can be heard in Boise, where Republican legislator Tom Trail (R-Moscow) is leading the “compassionate conservative” charge to legalize medical marijuana.

Expect this to become a trend among libertarian-minded statehouse members. Trail is just the beginning of elected Republicans...

Rep. Trail was a guest speaker at an unlikely event for Republicans over the weekend; a Pro-Marijuana Rally. From The Argonaut Univ. of Idaho:

This year’s speaker lineup also has a special addition. Rep. Tom Trail from the Idaho House of Representatives will announce his proposal to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the state of Idaho, making it the 15th state in the nation to do so.
Trail became interested in the proposal almost three years ago when several patients approached him and said medical marijuana was the only way to relieve their pain.

“The local doctor in Moscow prescribed medical marijuana, and the patients got it across the border in Washington,” Trail said. “… it became apparent that medical marijuana seemed to be the only thing that would help relieve pain. So I thought somebody should move ahead and try to make it legal.”

The patients had also used morphine, a legal substance often necessary for pain management, but Trail said it can ruin the kidneys over time.

“I’ve got case studies from all over the state of people needing medical marijuana for their pain, but they’re afraid of being arrested,” Trail said.

He said it would cost half a million dollars to get a ballot initiative in Idaho, so the legislative process is a better option. He has talked with numerous doctors, patients, law enforcement officers, legislators, representatives and the Dept. of Health and Welfare, as they would be the agency responsible for administering the proposal. Now he will speak at Hemp Fest and other events throughout Idaho to educate the public and gain support.

“The (Moscow) community is generally very supportive … I’ve gotten e-mails from all over the state and phone calls in support,” Trail said.

In a conservative state such as Idaho, proposals of this nature are often denied. But Trail said it’s important to remember it is a bipartisan issue. He said states like New Jersey and Maryland had Republican leadership and the same legislation passed with large bipartisan support.

“It presents a fairly libertarian and conservative point of view,” Trail said. “If we are successful, that would be a surprise to many. It is controversial, no question about it. There are folks out there who see things in black and white, good and evil.”

Note - additionally, Libertarian Republican State Senator Bob Hedlund of Weymouth, Massachusetts is a longtime advocate of medicinal marijuana, and has spoken to numerous NORML rallies over the years.

This legal jargon may sound intimidating, but it amounts to less than 15 minutes of filling out simple forms to place you on the Indiana ballot as a Libertarian. We want you to know exactly when and where to file so you can get and stay on the ballot. We have many experienced party members [...]

NEW FROM NICK GILLESPIE, REASON

Gillespie talks of:

1. The tax revenue and law enforcement savings.

2. It's going to happen anyway, so why delay the inevitable?

3. Keep Your Laws Off Our Bodies.

http://www.reason.com

by Eric Dondero

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are longtime self-proclaimed "libertarians." Indeed, Parker is actually a registered Libertarian Party member. They are friends of Reason Magazine. And they have used explicit libertarian themes in numerous episodes.

In the early 2000s, a movement was born out of their series, called "South Park Republicans." They are described as center-right Republicans, mostly suburban fans of the show, with moderate libertarian-leanings. There was even a book released by author Brian C. Anderson called "South Park Conservatives."

And now, like European Free Speech advocating Cartoonists, they have been specifically targeted with a serious Death Threat from a major Islamic Website.

From FoxNews.com "'South Park' Creators Could Face Retribution for Depicting Muhammad, Website Warns" :

A radical Islamic website is warning the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution for depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit during an episode broadcast on Comedy Central last week.

RevolutionMuslim.com posted the warning following the 200th episode of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "South Park," which included a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad disguised in a bear suit. The Web posting also included a graphic photo of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered in 2004 after making a documentary on violence against Muslim women.

"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," the posting reads. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."

Reaching by phone early Tuesday, Abu Talhah al Amrikee, the author of the post, said he wrote the entry to "raise awareness." He said the grisly photograph of van Gogh was meant to "explain the severity" of what Parker and Stone did by mocking Muhammad.

"It's not a threat, but it really is a likely outcome," al Amrikee said,

Ironically, both Parker and Stone were guest speakers at a conference in Amsterdam in 2006 on the topic of Free Speech Rights, sponsored by Reason. Editor Nick Gillespie said at the time:

One of the reasons we were interested in having a conference in Amsterdam is that it’s not only the birthplace of tolerance but the site of one of the most brutal crimes related to free speech in recent memory: the 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who was stabbed to death in the street after making a 10-minute film critical of Islam’s treatment of women.

Parker commented to Reason in a resulting interview, Dec. 2006 isue:

This is what happened. I was on my honeymoon in Disney World. I turned on the television, and there were thousands of rioting Muslims, and the caption said, “Muslims enraged over cartoon.” And I said, “Oh, shit. What did we do?”

We actually did an episode five years ago with Muhammad in it. It was an episode called “Super Best Friends,” and Muhammad had super powers and turned himself into a beaver and then killed Abraham Lincoln. I thought, “They finally just saw it, and they’re all pissed off.” But no, it was those other cartoons that they were mad about.

Reached for a comment, Gillespie told Libertarian Republican yesterday:

To say that semi-veiled death threats against the creators of a cartoon show that spoofed Mohammed demonstrates the need for an Islamic reformation is self-evident. The threats, especially the invocation of the brutal murder of Theo van Gogh by a religious nutbar, should shame all serious Muslims the same way the pope's behavior in sexual-abuse scandals shames true Catholics. Whether religious or secular, ideologies that try to suppress dissent and free expression through violence always lose, and always make themselves more abjectly pathetic on the road to the dustbin of history.

Editor's Note - Michael W. Dean contributed to this story.

From Eric Dondero:

It's a very slender lead, but a lead none-the-less. Frank Guinta is a longtime friend of New Hampshire libertarians. In fact, there's also a rumor that he was once a dues-paying member of the Libertarian Party. He is the immediate former Mayor of Manchester. He built up a reputation of being out of the ordinary, even a bit quirky. He never compromised on taxes and budgetary matters, and in the process made a few enemies. He's also a diehard Tea Party devotee, and has spoken at numerous rallies.

Now, the very latest poll has him taking the lead over increasingly unpopular, and ultra-liberal incumbent Carol Shea-Porter. (The polling data also has moderate-to-conservative Republican, and former Representative for CD2 Charlie Bass with a comfortable lead, over the incumbent Dem; another GOP pick-up.)

From PPP (via Hedgehog):

US HOUSE – NEW HAMPSHIRE – CD1 (PPP)
Frank Guinta (R) 46%
Carol Shea-Porter (D-inc) 45%

US HOUSE – NEW HAMPSHIRE – CD2 (PPP)
Charlie Bass (R) 47%
Katrina Swett (D) 32%

A victory in the CD1 race for Libertarian and Conservative Republicans will be especially sweet. Carol Shea-Porter is a particularly socialist and thoroughly unlikable figure. She has gone out of her way to antagonize the Right, particularly at Town Hall meetings.

In fact, the polling data finds her unfavorables to be very high, right at 50%, with favorables at 41%. Unfavorables that high are almost the kiss of death for any incumbent. Still, Guinta has the problem that nobody outside of Manchester knows who he is, with a 52% "no opinion."

If you're in New England, this is one race where you'll most assuredly want to donate your time and money.

TeamGuinta.com

Just Another wing of the Welfare-State Left

by Eric Dondero

Interesting take on things you find in the foreign press. They often twist themselves in such knots to explain "Far Right" phenomenon that they more often than not, stumble right upon the truth.

Searchlight is what you might call a Southern Poverty Law Center like publication in Europe. Graeme Atkinson is like the Mark Potok of Europe. He's the "expert" Euro-press most often go too to describe the "rise of the Right," as Potok is all over MSNBC, CNN and other far left media in the US talking of the "violent threat" posed by the Tea Parties.

But Mr. Atkinson has let the proverbial Ole' English cat out of the bag. In an interview with one of Europe's most respected on-line journals the EU Observer, Atkinson fumbles. He inadvertently links the so-called "Far Right" with Euro-Socialists. And he manages to - albeit unknowingly - de-link them with Free Enterprise advocates.

Too much Free Market Capitalism to blame for Rise of Fascists

From Eu Observer:

"The frustration I have with the sudden burst of media coverage is that for most of the time, the far-right phenomenon is not treated seriously," complains Graeme Atkinson, the European editor of the UK's anti-fascist monthly, Searchlight. "They're treated as cranks, so papers don't write about them, don't notice them. And then suddenly something like this happens and they think the sky is falling."

"I don't go for either picture. It's not that the crisis has suddenly caused this. This is a phenomenon that goes back much further than the last two years ... Of course it exacerbates the situation - it would be surprising if the crisis did not result in some increased support for the far-right. But it's a long-term phenomenon that needs monitoring and countering. It's no reason to panic and then forget about it once the next big news item happens."

Mr Atkinson actually lays the bulk of the blame on the centre-left establishment in Europe: "Social democrats everywhere have abandoned their traditional constituency. This is the vacuum the far right are filling."

As socialist and labour parties have, pace Tony Blair, embraced business, backed privatisation and instituted social spending cuts, he argues, extremist ideas provide an easy answer to the thousands that feel disoriented by the slings and arrows of the free market.

So, because of the fact that the UK Labour Party has moved Right on Capitalism, and have abandoned the much adored Dickensian Working Class, the Working Class has turned to National Socialism.

And now for the coup de grâce (Continuing):

The Perspective Institute, a Budapest polling firm, demographically backs this analyis, noting already in an analysis after last year's European elections in which the party scored 14.8 percent that left-wing voters were en masse turning toward Jobbik: "The Hungarian extreme right doesn't primarily recruit its supporters from the centre-right but instead from the leftist camp disappointed with the governmental performance of MSZP [the Socialists]. Jobbik, in certain cases, succeeded in doubling its nationwide share of the votes in cities that had been Socialist strongholds."

Euro-Fascists hate the Libertarian Right

Jobbick much like Hitler's National Socialist Workers Party in the 1930s, doesn't "recruit its supporters from the centre-right but instead from the leftist camp" who are disgruntled because the liberals in power are not sufficiently Pro-Government Welfare State.

Wouldn't it follow that the "Far Right" would then be categorized as Capitalist Free Marketeers, with all the varied Socialist interests groups lumped on the Left? The most prominent Exemplars of the Pro-Free Market Euro-Right of course, would be Boris Johnson and Daniel Hannan of the libertarian wing of the British Tories, Nigel Farage and the UK Independence Party, Geert Wilders and the Party of Freedom in the Netherlands, sometimes free marketeer Nikolas Sarkozy, and Hungary's own "Center-Rightists" Fidesz.

This is why, for example, we see the great animosity which exists between the working class-centered British Nationalist Party and Farage's pro-liberty/pro-sovereignty UK Independence. And it also explains why libertarian Wilders is written off by Euro-Fascists as a "Zionist" and "pawn of the Jews."

Why the gross mislabeling of Jobbick and other Euro-Fascist groups as "Rightwing"? They have absolutely nothing to do with Pro-Capitalist Right. And as a matter of fact, are even furious at the Left, for not being Leftist enough.

Spokesman for the libertarian wing of the Tories

Tory Libertarian Boris Johnson made some strong predictions for the outcome of upcoming UK elections.

From the London Telegraph, "Nick Clegg to win the General Election? Has someone put something in the water supply?" April 19:

Will this amazing and ludicrous burst of Cleggophilia keep the Tories from government? My bet remains quite safe. I am certain that the Tories will win, and that the current fantasy of a Liberal Democrat resurgence is the biggest load of media-driven nonsense since the funeral of Diana.

I can't think of anything worse for this country than some great ghastly soggy Lib-Lab coalition, dripping with piety and political correctness and unable to take the decisions we need for fear of offending the vast hordes of public sector special interest groups they collectively represent.

That is why the current madness cannot last. The Lib Dems are everywhere today, like the orange spores of an exploded puffball. Next week they will be gone with the wind.

Boris Johnson is often described as too "libertarian" for the Tories. (See UK Independent)

PARTY FOR FREEDOM

Libertarian Right Member of Parliament and leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders has been accused by a Muslim extremist and Iranian-linked news agency of being a tool of "Zionists."

From the Ahlul-Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir):

Scandalous Dutch politician Geert Wilders in an interview with radio station “Galya-IDF” openly declared love for Israel, calling it an outpost of the West in the face of Islam.

According to Ahlul Bayt (A) News Agency – ABNA.ir – “There is one Islam – a totalitarian, fascist – and if we do not awaken in the near future, Europe will become Evroaraviey” – quoted Wilders Sursorinfo.

Wilders said he has always been committed to Israel, where he lived for several years as a volunteer in a moshav (agricultural settlement of the special).

Broadcasting mainly in Farsi, but an additional 6 languages, Ahlul-Bayt describes itself:

ABNA has been established to defend the followers of Ahlulbayt (as) against oppressions in the arena of broadcasting news; however, it has always emphasized the main Islamic ideals and principles. Among the most important principles observed by ABNA is showing respect for followers of other schools of thought and struggling for promotion of unity among Muslims worldwide.

Wilders has had countless threats on his life by Muslim extremist groups since the release of his film Fitna in 2008. He travels with an array of body guards. His predecessors and friends Pym Fortuyn, Dutch Presidential candidate in 2003, and the film maker Theo van Gogh were both assasinated by Mulsim-linked extremists.

And he was actually Born in the USA!

by James Fryar, Australia

Gary Johnson was the governor of New Mexico for two terms and seems to be shaping up for a run at the presidency. His site Gary Johnson for America seems to indicate this as well as a number of hot rumours doing the rounds.

While the usual suspects, or at least the previous ones are lining up again this guy seems to be making a low key effort at this stage. While he is a Republican a look into his attitude on issues seems to indicate that he would also be a great candidate for the Libertarian Party were he so inclined.

He is for example a supporter of limited government with a solid track record to prove it. He states that "every law passed is a little bite out of freedom," and that removing government regulation unleashes the forces of the free market that raise our living standards. As a Governor he vetoed 750 bills and over 1,000 line items.

He also wants to reduce the entitlement system, which is unsustainable, have a strong defense force less thinly spread, backs Ron Paul’s efforts for accountability at the Federal reserve, and opposes the health care debacle that has just been passed.

From his website:

Gary opposes any government attempt to take over the health care system. He believes that the costs of health care are out of control and that free market-based reform needs to be enacted to return health care to fiscal solvency. Gary supports a system in which each individual privately manages his or her own health care, free from government control and interference; he believes that by allowing more competition in the health care industry, supply can be increased and costs lowered.

Other issues are reforming immigration, competition in education, ending the drug war, move the responsibility on abortion and marriage to the states, free trade and is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment.

Any guy who can climb Mt. Everest with a broken leg has the mental toughness for the job.

(And we thought Todd Palin was tough.)

Jim Fryar is an oil rig worker in southern Australia, an outback adventurer, strident individualist and a longtime member of the Australia Libertarian Society.