Being Libertarian | In Case You Missed It: Augustus Invictus, Education, Rwanda Being Libertarian Invictus went on to cite a number of reasons why he left, including baseless attacks by fellow libertarians. Over the course of his campaign he was called a devil worshiper, a genocidal maniac, a fascist neo-Nazi hate monger, a white supremacist, and ... |
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In Case You Missed It: Augustus Invictus, Education, Rwanda - Being Libertarian
State Rep. Jerry Long found agreement on Thursday with local Libertarians on his opposition to the recent tax increase and FOID cards, but he encountered differences over marijuana laws.
Long, R-Streator, took questions from the Illinois Valley Libertarian Party at the Prairie Lakes Country Club near Marseilles.
He said conservative Republicans like himself are close philosophically to Libertarians, which favor less government in the economy and social affairs.
Last week, Long voted against the state budget that included an income tax increase. He said Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan did not budge "one inch" in his negotiations with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Rauner, meanwhile, offered to support a temporary tax increase with structural economic reforms, yet Madigan got his way, Long said. That proves again Madigan controls Illinois, Long said.
"Michael Madigan is the problem in Illinois. He drove Illinois into the hole," Long said.
Temporarily, he said, the tax increase will bring more revenue to the state. Long-term, though, it will drive more and more people out of Illinois, reducing the state's tax base, he said.
"A lot of people can't pack up and leave. Farmers can't pack up. How can you pack up your acres and leave?" he said.
On another issue, Long said he supported laws to decriminalize marijuana below half an ounce of marijuana, assessing a small fine in those cases. When people have more than that amount, he said, they're likely distributing.
"No one has ever overdosed on marijuana," one Libertarian said.
The local party's chairwoman, Jenae Wise, pushed Long to support marijuana legalization.
"It would bring so much revenue. That is undeniable," she said.
Long asked, "You don't feel marijuana is the gateway to other drugs?"
The Libertarians said they didn't.
Long said he would be happy to revisit the issue.
"We'll talk about it a little bit later," he said.
Sunday car sales: Long said he was open to allowing car sales on Sundays. State law requires car dealerships be closed on Sundays, a law that dealers convinced the Legislature to support decades ago.
Fireworks: Long said he wouldn't mind legalizing fireworks.
FOID cards: Long said he is pushing a bill to ban the cards, which have long been required of gun owners. But he said Madigan and the Democrats prevented the legislation from going anywhere. "The purpose was to curb crime. It hasn't done that. It gives the state strength over individuals," Long said.
Pensions: Long said the state needs to keep the pension promises it has made to government workers. But he said the state needed to find a way to curb pension spending.
Politics: More Republicans need to be elected, Long said. That's the only way to reduce Madigan's power, he said.
Excerpt from:
For the fourth election cycle in a row, the Libertarian Party of Arkansas has been officially recognized as a new political party. It needed 10,000 signatures to be able to put its candidates on the 2018 ballot. The Arkansas Secretary of States office has certified that 12,749 out of 15,108 signatures were determined valid.
The party had 90 days to collect signatures. Libertarians submitted them on June 12th. In a statement, LPA Treasurer Stephen Wait said it came at a cost of over $25,000 in addition a lot of volunteer hours.
Political parties in Arkansas need to garner at least 3-percent of the vote in either the governors race or a presidential election to retain automatic ballot access for the next election. In 2016, Presidential candidate Gary Jonson garnered 2.6 percent and in 2014 gubernatorial hopeful Frank Gilbert received 1.9 percent support.
Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson has declared he will run for the states top office again in 2018. No Democrats have announced at this juncture. Libertarian Mark West is seeking his partys nomination. West took in 23.7 percent of the 2016 vote for the U.S. House seat for District 1 in east Arkansas.
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Libertarian Party of Arkansas Gets 2018 Ballot Access | KUAR - KUAR
Policy leaders are pressing the government to ensure workers have paid time off. Whether government has any businesses dictating what benefits must be included in the employment packages of Americans is rarely considered. The libertarian perspective is all but entirely absent in the discussion. That needs to change.
Our federal government has limited responsibilities, and micromanaging leave practices isn't one of them. Even the best-intentioned policies have unintended consequences that backfire on those they are supposed to help. We need to call out policymakers who use the excuse of a safety net to justify any new rules and regulations that needlessly restrict options for all Americans.
That's the predictable tactic employed by the Left, which is pushing extensive paid leave programs with increasing success. San Francisco's city council created a city-wide paid leave mandate on top of California's state paid leave program. Washington, DC just created an even more generous program.
Liberal women's groups and progressive activists regularly promote social media memes charging the United States is alone in the world in failing to guarantee paid time off for workers. They imply this deficiency is latent sexism or a lack of compassion for workers, women, and children.
But some on the Right are also embracing this logic. The American Enterprise Instituteconsidered a free-market organizationjust released a joint report with the more liberal Brookings Institution, entitled "Paid Family and Medical Leave: An Issue Whose Time Has Come." The authors noted they'd disagreed about the particulars of the best policy solution, but "unanimously agreed that some form of paid parental leave should be offered to help workers at the time of birth, adoption, or fostering of a child."
They outline a "compromise plan" to provide eligible workers with 70 percent of their wages for eight weeks of gender-neutral paid parental leave. This new federal entitlement program would be funded by a dedicated payroll tax and cuts to other spending.
AEI's report came just after the release of the President's budget outline, which included funding to expand the state-based Unemployment Insurance system with the goal of providing workers with a similar benefit.
There is pushback against sweeping new government entitlements. The Independent Women's Forum (where I work) argues that policymakers should instead seek policy reforms that help workers while minimizing economic disruption. Allowing workers to save tax-free for when they need time off for work is one such idea.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) could also serve as a model to provide a financial boost to lower-income workers who lack paid leave benefits. The IWF argues that any government intervention ought to be need-based, rather than a mandated entitlement program that would effectively do to our compensation system what ObamaCare did to health insurance.
The public likes the idea of government doing something to make sure new parents have a benefit that lets them spend more time at home with their children. But often overlooked is that the money has to come from somewhere. Businesses forced to pay more for benefits have less for increased wages.
Mandates that make employees more expensive offer less incentive for businesses to hire more and more highly skilled employees (that's bad news for lower-wage workers). Employers may avoid hiring those most likely to use benefits, particularly women. A government one-size-fits-all paid leave program would also discourage voluntary alternative work arrangements like job-sharing and telecommuting that benefit employers and employees.
Allowing the government to dictate what must be in our employment contracts is another chip off the block of basic liberty and self-determination. It becomes illegal for an employer to offer a job that doesn't fit the government rule. As an employee, you can't choose to take a greater share of your compensation as take-home pay; you can't decide to save on your own for time away from work in the future; government has decided how this must be handled.
There is also the matter of fairness. A paid leave mandate creates winners and losers. People with families and children will receive the benefits, while those who cannot or choose not to have children will pay for benefits they are far less likely to use.
That doesn't mean that companies shouldn't offer leave benefits. Rather we should allow employers to create a variety of work relationships that appeal to their employees' unique needs. Some workers will gravitate to businesses offering more robust benefits. Others may prefer companies that compensate with higher pay. Enabling people to act on their preferences is what the marketplace is all about.
The United States is a Constitutional Republic with a federal government that is supposed to have limited powers used for very specific purposes. Micromanaging employment contracts or taxing some citizens to give money to others shouldn't be among those powers.
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Libertarians' Lost Voice in the Paid Leave Debate - Reason.com - Reason
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Larry Sharpe, the 2nd place runner-up 2016 vice presidential candidate, announced that he was running for Governor of New York in 2018. He did this as a birthday announcement and confirmed he was running as a member of the Libertarian Party, instead of Republican like some libertarians have done, such as Ron Paul and recently Austin Petersen.
In the live stream, he said that he wanted his campaign to be a model for future Libertarian campaigns and stressed that he was in it to win.
I will run as a Libertarian and Libertarian only. I will show the nation that you can win as a Libertarian, that you can run a campaign as a Libertarian, and you can be taken seriously as a Libertarian, he said.
Sharpe is a relative newcomer to the Libertarian Party, having risen from obscurity to almost snatching the vice presidential nominee spot from Bill Weld.
Elliot Axellman, the chairman of the Queens, New York Libertarian Party, wrote last month about Larry Sharpes qualifications:
He is exceptionally kindhearted, a fantastic speaker, and bi-racial. He is experienced and patient and possesses a scholarly type of wisdom; yet he is also young, energetic, and cool enough to easily relate to nearly every type of millennial. Sharpe is a strong advocate in the battle to end drugprohibition, arguing that it is no more effective than alcohol prohibition was, and imprisoning people for smoking it should have stopped decades ago.
Sharpe faces an uphill battle in a state that has elected Democrats to the governorship since 2008. However, he is helped that Cuomo approval rating has dropped recently to 46 percent according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
Only Cuomo and Sharpe have announced their intentions to run for governor. No Republicans or Democrats have entered the race yet, as of this publication.
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Larry Sharpe Announces Run For NY Governorship As a Libertarian - The Libertarian Republic
There is so very little about the devastating moments after learning about our daughters murder that I remember clearly. Our brains have this amazing capacity for protecting us by limiting the amount of information that we can take in at one time. For nearly six months after the shooting, I asked myself and those around me daily, Did this really happen?
Thats what I thought about on Monday when I learned that Roger Stone, a political strategist, was attacking the parents of Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee staffer whose murder has attracted the interest of conspiracy theorists. Does anyone else thinks it's odd that Seth Rich's parents have no interest in finding out who killed their son ? #payoff? he asked on Twitter. I thought of their grief, and remembered my own.
Our 6-year-old daughter Ana Grace was murdered in the nations worst elementary school mass shooting on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. Our son survived. Yet despite hearing from first responders, planning a funeral, and lowering a tiny white coffin into the ground, the idea that we would have to spend the rest of our lives without her was too difficult to accept. I heard her, saw her, and felt her for weeks afterward. I stood in a check-out line at a Target girls section with an arm full of clothing for a boy and a girl the following spring.
A Mother's Fear Post-Sandy Hook
There was just no way I could fathom the amount of pain, the amount of missing, the amount of grief that flooded our world (and continues to) since Anas loss. As the five-year mark of the tragedy approaches, we still struggle. We have done amazing things. We have started a foundation. We have made the world more beautiful and more safe. We have raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity. We have raised awareness and provide funding for programs that reduce social isolation and promote community and connection to reduce violence. Our focus is schools. Our focus is raising our surviving son. Our focus is staying married and healthy and beating dismal odds. And yet for our family, the shock that this is your life for the rest of your life? It never fully goes away.
This level of shock/denial isn't uncommon or even remotely something we should pathologize. In the familiar Kbler-Ross grief stages, denial is the beginning of the journey and acceptance is the final destination. But grief is not linear, nor can it be neatly packaged or compartmentalized into logical phases. Grief is a loopy road full of U-turns and nosedives. Grief is messy and unpredictable. I have often said, Somewhere on the continuum between overwhelmed and overcomingthat is where a griever lives at all times.
I am finally willing to accept that Ana was brutally taken from us. I am willing to accept that my husband and I have joined a large but mostly marginalized tribe called bereaved parents. But I am not willing to accept that we live in an America that normalizes the abuse of bereaved parents who lose their loved ones to tragedy.
Culturally, we have much to understand about grief and providing support to victims. But we are now asking survivors of high-profile tragedy to withstand not only their loss, but flagrant and intentional harm after it.
This harm comes in the form of attacks on parents by conspiracy theorists. My own experience with them has taught me that they come in a few varieties:
Conspiracy theorists have been around for a long time. They shouldn't be confused with those who simply engage in healthy questioning of government, of people, or of ideas. Questioning is necessary and good. The sting of cruelty of those in the second category fades over time. You learn to pick them out and perhaps even feel sorry for them. It is wrong and awful but you come to realize that they are even more miserable than you are. And our local police have been amazing in their response to all of this.
But the third category is where you come in, Roger Stone. You intentionally use your platform to espouse theories debunked by law enforcement and that a bereaved family has expressly asked you to stop promoting.
Your actions have real consequences for those of us grieving. Your continued exploitation of these types of events result in targeted attacks by other hoaxers. Your continued attacks make it nearly impossible for us to heal. It is our job to handle the business of surviving child lossforging a path on a planet with an incomplete family. It should not be our job to deal with the likes of the bullshit you put out.
You identify as a libertarian, conservative, rabble rouser and I counter that you are none of what you describe. There is nothing libertarian about attacking bereaved parents. There is nothing conservative about suggesting that Seth Richs family was paid off. There is no amount of money in the world that would be enough to take part in anything like this.
Be careful when you mess with the bereaved. We are starting to speak out and stand up for each other. Hear the rally cry of a small but fearless group of hurting people reminding you that this isn't funny. This is real.
You are not a rabble rouser. You are irresponsible. You are cruel. You are a bully. You are careless in word and deed. And I will not normalize this. We will not normalize this. None of us should.
Original post:
An Open Letter to Roger Stone From a Sandy Hook Mother - The ... - The Atlantic
PHOENIX -- A federal judge has rebuffed a bid by the Libertarian Party to kill an Arizona law even its sponsors concede was designed to make it harder for minor party candidates to get on the general election ballot.
Judge David Campbell acknowledged Monday the 2015 law sharply increases the number of signatures that Libertarian candidates need to qualify for ballot status. In some cases, the difference is more than 20 times the old requirement.
The result was that only one Libertarian candidate qualified for the ballot in 2016, and none made it to the general election. By contrast, there were 25 in 2004, 19 in 2008 and 18 in 2012.
But Campbell said the new hurdle is not unconstitutionally burdensome. And the judge accepted the arguments that the higher signature requirements ensure that candidates who reach the November ballot have some threshold of support.
But Libertarian Party Chairman Michael Kielsky said the judge ignored not just the higher burden but the games that the Republican-controlled legislature played in making 2015 the change for their own political purposes.
The Republicans set out to get the Libertarians off the ballot and the Republicans succeeded, Kielsky said. And now, Judge Campbell has said, Thats OK.
Kielsky is not just spouting party rhetoric.
In pushing for the change, GOP lawmakers made no secret they do not want Libertarian Party candidates in the race, contending that a vote for a Libertarian is a vote that would otherwise go to a Republican. As proof, some cited the 2012 congressional race.
Republican Jonathan Paton lost the CD 1 race to Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick by 9,180 votes. But Libertarian Kim Allen picked up 15,227 votes -- votes that Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, argued during floor debate likely would have gone to Paton.
And in CD 9, Democrats Kyrsten Sinema defeated Republican Vernon Parker by 10,251 votes, with Libertarian Powell Gammill tallying 16,620.
And if the point was lost, Mesnard made the issue more personal for colleagues, warning them that they, too, could find themselves aced out of a seat if they dont change the signature requirements.
I cant believe we wouldnt see the benefit of this, he said during a floor speech.
The way the legislature accomplished this was to change the rules.
Prior to 2015, would-be candidates qualified for the ballot by getting the signatures of one-half of one percent of all party members within a given area. So for a Republican seeking statewide office, that translated out to 5,660 signatures.
The new formula changed that to one-quarter of a percent -- but for all people who could sign a candidates petition. That adds political independents, who outnumber Democrats and are running neck-in-neck with Republicans, to the equation.
Under the new formula, a Republican statewide candidate in 2016 needed 5,790 signatures.
But the effect on minor parties is more profound,
Using that pre-2016 formula, a Libertarian could run for statewide office with petitions bearing just 134 names, one-half percent of all those registered with the party. But the new formula, which takes into account all the independents, required a Libertarian trying to get on a statewide ballot to get 3,023 signatures.
To put that in perspective that is closed to 12 percent of all registered Libertarians. By contrast, the statewide burden for a GOP candidate, based on the number of registered Republicans, remains close to that one-half of one percent of all adherents.
Its B.S., Kielsky said. Its completely perverse.
But Campbell said there is nothing unconstitutional about the higher requirement to limit the field to bona fide candidates who had some chance of actually winning.
If a candidate was not required to show any threshold of support through votes or petition signatures, she could win her primary and reach the general ballot with no significant modicum of support at all, Campbell continued. And in the case of Libertarians, who often run unopposed in their partys primary, a candidate could win a spot on the general election ballot with only one vote in such a primary.
Anyway, the judge said, Libertarian candidates can now seek out support to get on the ballot from independents, a pool totaling more than one million voters in Arizona.
Kielsky said that misses the point.
That means we have to appeal to things that the independents care about -- but not necessarily the Libertarians care about -- to be a Libertarian candidate, he said. The distinction of being a Libertarian is diluted, if not lost.
And Kielsky called the requirement for a modicum of support a red herring. He said if Libertarians were not picking up significant votes, the GOP-controlled legislature would not have changed the law to keep them off the ballot.
On Twitter: @azcapmedia
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Judge upholds law stifling Libertarian ballot presence | The Verde ... - Verde Independent
For the fourth consecutive election cycle, the Libertarian Party of Arkansas has been declared a "new political party."
Secretary of State Mark Martin's office certified in a letter Monday that the party collected enough valid signatures to qualify for ballot access statewide.
The state Libertarian Party has never met a threshold set in Arkansas law to automatically retain ballot access -- as have the state Republican and Democratic parties -- and avoid a petition process.
Michael Pakko, chair of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas, would like to see the state's process change.
"As far as ballot access goes, we really haven't made much progress there," he said. "I think the weakest part of the whole system of ballot access is it's limited to one single office. If you don't get 3 percent of the vote at the top of the ticket, then you're not a political party."
In Arkansas, a party needs to obtain 3 percent of the total votes cast for the office of governor or nominees for presidential electors at the first general election after certification to retain ballot access.
In 2016, the party's candidate, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, received 2.6 percent of the vote in Arkansas. In 2012, he received 1.5 percent of the vote.
So last month, the party submitted more than 15,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office to become a "new political party." The office's certification means that at least 10,000 were valid -- the requirement for starting any new political party.
Pakko said collecting the signatures through paid canvassers cost about $30,000 this year.
Nationally, the Libertarian party now has ballot access in 38 states. Among states bordering Arkansas, the party currently lacks access only in Tennessee, according to the national party's website.
Pakko said the national party had automatic ballot access in 35 states immediately after the 2016 election, but it failed to meet various requirements in 15 others, including Arkansas.
Libertarians won recognition as an official Arkansas political party for the first time in 2011 after collecting more than 16,000 signatures.
Now that the party is certified, Pakko said its attention will shift to recruiting candidates. The party plans to hold a convention in late February.
"We are a party that believes in limited government, that individuals should have the right to live their lives the way they see fit without interference of government -- so long as you're not imposing on someone else," Pakko said. "It's a very live-and-let-live approach to government. If people believe in that kind of outlook, well, we welcome them to join the Libertarian party."
Mark West, a pastor in Batesville, announced last month that he is running for governor as a Libertarian next year.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Wickline of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 07/12/2017
The rest is here:
Libertarians earn spots on '18 ballot, urge better access - Arkansas Online
Its not surprising that the number of registered Democrats in the state of Louisiana has decreased over the past 16 years. A new analysis from JMC Analytics shows that there has been a significant decrease in the number of registered white Democrats while the number of registered white Republicans has risen.
In 2001, when President George W. Bush took office, white Democrats made up 35% of the registered voters, but today that number has fallen to 18%. Over the same period, the number of Republicans increased from 22% to 30% and Independents increased 8%.
From 2001 to today, black voters in the state rose from 29% to 31%, but Hispanic and Asian voters, combined, increased 66%.
Today, Democrats account for 44% of the voters in the state of Louisiana, while Republicans account for 30% and Independents 26%.
But how many registered Republicans and Democrats are true Republicans or Democrats? There are Democrats that oppose new gun control legislation and Republican that support same-sex marriage. Does support for gun rights define a voter as a Repubican? Does support of same-sex marriage render a voter a Democrat?
The world of political issues is complicated and seemingly not as clear cut as it was in the past. Hypocrisy reins supreme with both Democrats and Republicans. Perhaps the Independents are more respected for having views that seem to conflict with the strict Republican and Democratic Party ideology.
Many people find security in belonging to a group that helps define who they are. Many how identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats do not agree with the strict definition of what it means to be Republican or Democrat, but they gain a stronger sense of identity by adhering allegiance to one party or the other.
The majority of voters in the state of Louisiana, as well as the majority of voters across America, are not truly Republican or Democrat. And these are the voters that decide the outcome of elections.
Look at the breakdown of registered voters in Louisiana 44% are Democrats, 30% are Republicans and 26% are Independents. Based on the breakdown of voters, in a two-candidate race, a Republican or a Democrat would need the support of Independents to win an election.
During the campaign, Donald Trumps appeal stretched beyond the base of the Republican Party. Now as president, Trump appears to be pandering more to his base, which will not be strong enough for reelection in 2020.
On my radio show, I have always emphasized the importance of a candidate projecting an image more moderate than the core of either party. George W. Bush brilliantly used the slogan, Compassionate Conservative to win. Barack Obama presented a more moderate, or populist, position during his two campaigns. Once in office, candidates tend to feed their base voters. That changes toward reelection time. There are those who will vote for the Republican or the Democrat no matter what circumstances surround a campaign, but it is the moderates and the Independents that determine an elections outcome.
In a world where Americans are so quick to label each other -conservative, liberal or whatever - we should all be honest about the reality that most are not as politically pure as the image of either party.
And thats the reason we should not be so quick to label or judge each other.
See the article here:
Scoot: Are you Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian? - WWL First News (blog)
PHOENIX A federal judge has rebuffed a bid by the Libertarian Party to kill an Arizona law even its sponsors concede was designed to make it harder for minor party candidates to get on the general election ballot.
Judge David Campbell acknowledged Monday the 2015 law sharply increases the number of signatures that Libertarian candidates need to qualify for ballot status. In some cases, the difference is more than 20 times the old requirement.
The result was that only one Libertarian candidate qualified for the ballot in 2016, and none made it to the general election. By contrast, there were 25 in 2004, 19 in 2008 and 18 in 2012.
But Campbell said the new hurdle is not unconstitutionally burdensome. And the judge accepted the arguments that the higher signature requirements ensure that candidates who reach the November ballot have some threshold of support.
But Libertarian Party Chairman Michael Kielsky said the judge ignored not just the higher burden but the games that the Republican-controlled legislature played in making 2015 the change for their own political purposes.
The Republicans set out to get the Libertarians off the ballot and the Republicans succeeded, Kielsky said. And now, Judge Campbell has said, That's OK.
Kielsky is not just spouting party rhetoric.
In pushing for the change, GOP lawmakers made no secret they do not want Libertarian Party candidates in the race, contending that a vote for a Libertarian is a vote that would otherwise go to a Republican. As proof, some cited the 2012 congressional race.
Republican Jonathan Paton lost the CD 1 race to Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick by 9,180 votes. But Libertarian Kim Allen picked up 15,227 votes votes that Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, argued during floor debate likely would have gone to Paton.
And in CD 9, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema defeated Republican Vernon Parker by 10,251 votes, with Libertarian Powell Gammill tallying 16,620.
And if the point was lost, Mesnard made the issue more personal for colleagues, warning them that they, too, could find themselves aced out of a seat if they don't change the signature requirements.
I can't believe we wouldn't see the benefit of this, he said during a floor speech.
The way the legislature accomplished this was to change the rules.
Prior to 2015, would-be candidates qualified for the ballot by getting the signatures of one-half of one percent of all party members within a given area. So for a Republican seeking statewide office, that translated out to 5,660 signatures.
The new formula changed that to one-quarter of a percent but for all people who could sign a candidate's petition. That adds political independents, who outnumber Democrats and are running neck-in-neck with Republicans, to the equation.
Under the new formula, a Republican statewide candidate in 2016 needed 5,790 signatures.
But the effect on minor parties is more profound,
Using that pre-2016 formula, a Libertarian could run for statewide office with petitions bearing just 134 names, one-half percent of all those registered with the party. But the new formula, which takes into account all the independents, required a Libertarian trying to get on a statewide ballot to get 3,023 signatures.
To put that in perspective, that is closed to 12 percent of all registered Libertarians. By contrast, the statewide burden for a GOP candidate, based on the number of registered Republicans, remains close to that one-half of one percent of all adherents.
It's B.S., Kielsky said. It's completely perverse.
But Campbell said there is nothing unconstitutional about the higher requirement to limit the field to bona fide candidates who had some chance of actually winning.
If a candidate was not required to show any threshold of support through votes or petition signatures, she could win her primary and reach the general ballot with no significant modicum of support at all, Campbell continued. And in the case of Libertarians, who often run unopposed in their party's primary, a candidate could win a spot on the general election ballot with only one vote in such a primary.
Anyway, the judge said, Libertarian candidates can now seek out support to get on the ballot from independents, a pool totaling more than one million voters in Arizona.
Kielsky said that misses the point.
That means we have to appeal to things that the independents care about but not necessarily the Libertarians care about to be a Libertarian candidate, he said. The distinction of being a Libertarian is diluted, if not lost.
And Kielsky called the requirement for a modicum of support a red herring. He said if Libertarians were not picking up significant votes, the GOP-controlled legislature would not have changed the law to keep them off the ballot.
Read the original here:
Law requiring more signatures for Libertarian candidates remains - Arizona Daily Sun
Cliff Hyra has a ready answer for anyone who thinks being governor is not an entry-level job: Roughly one-fourth of the country's current governors started their political careers that way. One of them, in fact, serves as governor of Virginia. (Whether Terry McAuliffe qualifies as an argument for gubernatorial neophytes or against them is an open question.)
Wisely, Hyrathe Libertarian Party's candidate for governor of Virginia this yeardoes not bring up another example of a novice: Donald Trump, who holds the most important elected position in the world without any prior political experience. Trump's approval ratings in Virginia continue to dangle below 40 percent.
But Trump does neuter arguments Libertarians often confront, such as the notion that people will not vote for a political outsider. And the criticism that Libertarian candidates are ill-prepared for officea stereotype Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson reinforced last year with his infamous Aleppo Moment. That was embarrassing, but Trump makes Johnson look like a walking encyclopedia.
The Trump era also confounds other received wisdom, such as the supposed immutability of ideological groups. A recent Cato Institute study on "The 5 Types of Trump Voters" finds that almost 20 percent hold essentially progressive views on economic and social issues. Some of the fiercest Trump critics, on the other hand, are traditional conservatives of the National Review variety. "Never-Trump Republicans" make up a significant segment of the political populace.
This has led to a fair amount of speculation about a potential re-alignment of America's political parties. Libertarians, who generally sound like Republicans on economics and Democrats on social issues, should be able to benefit from such a realignment by forming a coalition from both parties who favor limited government across a broad swath of issues.
Nice theory, anyway. It hasn't worked out so well in practice. ("Just like libertarianism itself!" cackle Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show balcony.) Even in elections where Libertarians have had a chance to break into the big leagues because the two major-party candidates turned off so many voters, they have come up short.
It happened last year, when Johnsona former Republican and two-time governorreceived only 3 percent of the vote. And it happened four years ago, when Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Robert Sarvis won 6.5 percent of the vote for governor of Virginia against McAuliffe and the GOP's Ken Cuccinelli.
If Libertarians can't break 10 percent (or even five) in elections like those, it's hard to see how they can make a bigger splash any other time. Which isn't to say the party is doomed to irrelevance. New Hampshire now has three sitting Libertarians in the state legislature. And even candidates who have no chance of winning can still make an impact by steering public discourse down different avenues. Just ask Bernie Sanders.
Yet Sanders was no neophyte. He was an established politician offering an alternative to dissatisfied party loyalists. Virginians already have had two of those this year: Tom Perriello on the left and Corey Stewart on the right. Periello carried the Sanders flag in the Democratic primary and got trounced. Stewart, a Trumpian to the core, carried the Confederate flag in the GOP primary and almost won.
That is bad news for the Virginia GOP, but it could be worse news for Hyrawho, on his campaign website, describes himself as "socially inclusive." In his acceptance speech at the Libertarian Party nominating event, Hyra also stressed the virtues of "unlimted freedom and"please note"respect."
Social inclusion and respect were not exactly high among Stewart's campaign themes. And Republicans who are turned off by the Stewart wing of the party can simply vote for their establishment nominee, Ed Gillespie.
Still, Hyra is performing a signal service simply by running. Like Sarvis before him, he is palpably smart, with an undergrad degree in aerospace engineering and a career as an intellectual-property lawyer.
He is straight-laced, which can only do good for the Libertarian Party's image. And he thinks people are tired of partisan rancor, and therefore might be open to someone who focuses on "ideas, not teams or tribal affiliation." He is "not an ideologue by an means," he says. "Incrementalism is sort of my calling card... I don't worry about privatizing the roads." If a policy works, then "we should be open to it."
Hyra has crafted a platform tailored to promote innovation and economic growth: End the state's BPOL tax, which applies to the first dollar of business revenue, rather than the first dollar of profit. Repeal certain occupational licensing requirements. Cut personal income taxes. Expand charter schools. Repeal the Certificate of Public Need regime in health care. Legalize marijuana. Roll back regulations that hinder the growth of the food and beverage industry.
And focus on respect. "Respect is at the heart of libertarianism," he said in an interview on Wednesday: Just because you think someone else is wrong doesn't mean you should impose your will on them. It's important, Hyra says, to have "respect for people no matter how different they are."
That's a message Virginians probably respect in turn. Whether the regard translates into votes, however, could be a different story.
This column originally appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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Can Libertarian Cliff Hyra Make a Dent in the Virginia Governor's ... - Reason
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By Zach Foster
At least 7 Cuban Libertarian Party members and activists were arrested over the weekend. Among those arrested were the national president Caridad Ramirez, national spokesman Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand, and Alexis Muoz Jimenez, the regional president for Camaguey province.
This mass arrest was carried out in order to keep the Cuban Libertarians both in Camaguey province and the Havana federal district from attending the trial of imprisoned libertarian activists Ubaldo Herrera and Manuel Velazquez.
Caridad and many other activists awoke to find the police surrounding the private home which serves as headquarters for the Cuban Libertarian Party and the Mises-Mambi Institute. The police were also surrounding the headquarters in Camaguey province, arresting anyone who left the buildings or tried to approach. Nelson and Alexis were arrested in Camaguey last weekend, and the local libertarians regrouped with other dissidents and led a protest in front of the local police station. The two men were freed shortly after, and the authorities likely wanted to nip any further shows of strength in the bud.
All 7 people detained were arrested specifically for attempting to attend the trial of Ubaldo Herrera and Manuel Velazquez. Ubaldo and Manuel were arrested by State Security and the National Revolutionary Police under the false charge of attempted assault of a police officer. They have been languishing in conditions unfit for humanity at the Melena del Sur labor prison. Their trial began today with the stakes being at least 1 charge of distributing enemy propaganda, and a hard labor prison sentence of up to 7 years.
In addition to Caridad, Nelson, and Alexis being arrested, the Cuban political police came after several other key members. They arrested Yanet Padrn, the partys secretary and youngest member,Eduardo Ramos Balaguer, who appeared in a recent viral video testifying that his brother was being held hostage in the prison system for ransom, member Israel Reyes Montero,Miguel Lopez Santos, who appeared protesting against Cubas deployment of troops to Venezuela in a photo that went viral yesterday; and an elderly member named Rosa who was also in the image protesting.
As of the early evening of July 7, 5 of the 7 detained libertarians were released. Miguel Lopez Santos and Israel Reyes Montero are still in custody in Havana. These 7 Mises-Mambi Institute activists, like Ubaldo and Manuel, are being persecuted for preaching the wrong ideas. You can report this abuse of civil liberties, and the ongoing human rights violations at Melena del Sur, to Amnesty International on Twitter (tweet to @AIMexico AND @amnistiaespana). You can also send a more detailed report on Facebook to @AmnistiaAmericas, and protest directly to the Cuban governments ministry of foreign relations @CubaMINREX.
Despite what these Libertarians in Cuba are up against, the Mises-Mambi Institute will be publishing a brand-new Spanish translation of Rothbards work later this summer. Itll be the first of a line of unique and original books from the Mises-Mambi Institute, which the Cuban Libertarian activists will distribute throughout the island. Cubas Libertarians are proudly continuing the work of Murray Rothbard and Ron Paul, right under Raul Castros nose.
Alexis Muoz JimenezCaridad RamirezCuban Libertarian PartyEduardo Ramos BalaguerIsrael Reyes MonteroManuel VelazquezMiguel Lopez SantosNelson Rodriguez ChartrandUbaldo HerreraYanet Padrn
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Cuban Libertarians Detained Again! - The Libertarian Republic
Chris Powell, active in the OKLP since 2000 including a term as chairman, is seeking the state's highest office.
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma Libertarian Partys most successful candidate to date, Chris Powell, is seeking the nomination for Governor.
Powell, of Bethany, received over 89,000 votes running for county office in 2016, besting Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnsons statewide total of 83,481. He will formally announce at the State Capitol on July 8.
Powell, active in the OKLP since 2000 including a term as chairman, contrasts his greater depth of political experience as compared to the other Libertarian candidates for the states highest office. In regard to those seeking the Republican and Democrat nominations, Powell said, My life is far more representative of the vast majority of Oklahomans than that of the members of the political establishment in those other two parties. I understand the daily problems of regular people in ways those politicians never can.
Powell said he intends to focus on empowering local school boards and teachers, elimination of special interest tax credits, state agency consolidation, criminal justice reform, and working to reduce divisions in the Legislature, all of which will he says will help address ongoing state budget problems.
Each vote I get on Nov. 6, 2018 will be a clear message to every elected state official to put aside partisan differences and enact real solutions for our state, said Powell.
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Powell enters race for Libertarian gubernatorial nomination - Miami News Record
By Charles Ashby Sunday, July 9, 2017
When the Colorado Legislature proposed and the governor later signed a bill limiting law enforcements use of civil asset forfeiture laws, police, prosecutors and even some county commissioners hit the roof.
They all said they needed the ability to keep such assets to help them fight crime.
Now, a former Libertarian Party presidential candidate who lives in Littleton wants to take that idea one step further.
Steve Kerbel, who vied to be his partys presidential nominee last year, submitted a proposed ballot measure Thursday that would prevent any Colorado governmental entity from the state on down from keeping any money they collect from fines or penalties.
Kerbels thinking is that most of those fines are not intended to dissuade people from doing bad things, but as a means to enrich governments or pad their ever-shrinking budgets.
Im not saying that every fine is for self-enrichment, but what I am saying is that we have given the government the privilege to enforce laws, and they have abused their authority, Kerbel said.
The goal here is to bring forth judicious enforcement based on the real intent of the law, rather than just taking advantage of the letter of the law.
His proposal, which if approved would be on the 2018 ballot, would not limit or do away with fines, but redirect them.
Instead of the fining agency keeping that money, it first would go to reimburse a victim for any financial losses.
If there is no victim, such as in a speeding incident, the money would go to a charity of the fine payers choice.
That way, the fines and penalties that various courts and governments assess could still be used as a deterrent. They just cant be used to fund a government agency, Kerbel said.
Its really destroyed the entire law and order purpose and perception, he said. Removing that credibility from the actions of government is damaging. With this law, the deterrent remains. The fines are still payable, but the government just cant have them.
Kerbel said what hes really trying to do is to remove a conflict of interest that governments have put upon themselves.
That conflict is inherent in any government agency trying to enforce a law, and then financially benefiting from it.
Sometimes, Kerbel says, a local governments only motivation in assessing fines and penalties is as a major funding mechanism for themselves.
He points to a small town in Colorado called Mountain View, a town in the Denver metropolitan area that is only six blocks long and two blocks wide.
It gets more than 50 percent of its revenues from traffic violations, Kerbel said.
Its highway robbery. They are openly and obviously manipulating the system.
Even though his measure still has a long way to go to qualify for the ballot, Kerbel said hes already been approached by people in other states and even Australia about the idea.
People are fed up with this pure abuse of authority, Kerbel said.
And its become more transparent as the years go by. As that transparency increases, people become even more fed up.
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Libertarian wants end to governments' ability to profit from fines - Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Theres already plenty of articles about how libertarians shouldnt be as divided as we are and how the infighting will prevent us from making progress, but theres a specific item that I wanted to address in regards to this division between different factions of libertarians.
It has been highlighted to me most recently by the current dispute between some Anarchyball editor, and Jared Howe, and recent debates between anarchists and minarchists. These debates always seem to be end in hurt feelings, or plain ad hominem attacks.
Open borders supporters call closed border supporters fascists, while the latter calls the former communists. Anarchists claim that minarchists need to open their eyes and stop being sheep, while minarchists claim that anarchists are idealists with no real answers.
These are great topics for debate, but libertarians cant let these differences in ideas stop them from the ultimate goal: liberty that consists of individualism, natural rights and property rights.
So, allow me to ask some questions:
Is society at the point yet where it matters if our ideologies lean towards some form of state, or none at all?
Is the welfare state small enough where debating between open or closed borders is relevant?
Are property rights even remotely existent in todays society?
By asking these questions, I am not saying that libertarians shouldnt be having these debates, but it shouldnt become a point of division. Discussions in the theoretical realm of each persons perfect libertarian society can assist in bettering the ideals and maybe converting some to other factions within libertarianism, but the butthurt and shunning needs to cease.
The goals of liberty lovers are so overlapping at this point, because of the massive, intrusive government currently in place, that we should be working together to strip away the power of the state in general.
An anarchist society, minarchist society, or a constitutionalist society will not happen overnight. Libertarians need to think of the long-game, which currently should be about decreasing the amount of regulations, eliminating victimless crime laws, and chipping away at the statist mindset of the general population.
So, lets all fight to end silly regulations within our communities. Lets fight to have marijuana legalized nationwide. Lets fight to create or fund alternatives to government services to demonstrate the inefficiency of the state.
Let us fight for these things and not fight with each other. Until the time comes when it truly matters to debate the amount of government society should have, we should unite.
Thomas Jefferson once said, I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend, and while I may sincerely disagree with anarchists, classical liberals and conservatarians, I still consider each of these liberty-minded individuals a companion and a comrade (and not in the Stalin sense).
The end goal is liberty, and while everyone is going to have a different definition of it, the current predicament in the country should be enough for libertarians to put their differences aside to make some change.
* Luke Henderson is a composer, economics enthusiast and educator in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a budding Libertarian, joining the party in 2016, and has contributed to Being Libertarian and The Libertarian Vindicator, in addition to being an editor for the Libertarian Coalition.
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Getting Butthurt in Debates Shouldn't Prevent Libertarians From Working Together - Being Libertarian
As of July 7, 2017, there is a new party in the Classic City. The Libertarian Party of Athens hosted its inaugural meeting from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Zombie Coffee and Donuts.
The newly formed party will function as a local affiliate of the Georgia Libertarian Party, and will focus on supporting local libertarian candidates as well as spreading the partys message throughout the community. Approximately 20 people were in attendance at the event, in addition to local event coordinators and state party officials.
Slated to begin at the 7:00 p.m., the meeting did not start in earnest until about 7:20 p.m., as officials set up boxes of donuts for the attendees and allowed people to trickle in, making small talk about their personal Libertarian ideologies.
April Brown, the newly elected chairwoman of the Athens affiliate, hosted the meeting in conjunction with Nathan Wilson, the executive director of the state party.
The two were joined by Ted Metz, chairman of the state party, Ryan Graham, the partys field development director, and David Bright, a personal friend of Browns who aided her in coordinating the meeting.
The meeting had a comprehensive agenda, with topics ranging from future activism and pillars of the organization, to specific bylaws of the organization, detailing the requirements and responsibilities attached to membership.
According to Brown, her plans to start a Libertarian party affiliate began after the election, when Graham approached her online about a Facebook page she ran titled Libertarians of Jackson County, where Brown then resided.
Nothing really came of it, you know we would share memes, but after the election it just kind of went dead, Brown said.Ryan approached me on Facebook and said, Hey, Im from the state party, would you be interested in starting an affiliate in Jackson County or maybe in Athens since its a larger city? and I was like, Actually, I just moved to Athens.
Brown said the state party was instrumental in setting up the meeting, drumming up interest and guiding her through the process of starting the Athens affiliate. Wilson said local affiliates such as these are equally instrumental to expanding the state party and the Libertarian platform in Georgia.
Affiliates are the lifeblood of the state party, Wilson said. They provide the eyes and ears and local stuff ... the affiliates supply us with candidates, with information, whats going on; we literally cannot do anything without them.
All Libertarian affiliates decide on three main pillars of focus for their activism, championing issues such as marijuana legalization or the Fourth Amendment on a local level. While these interests were discussed, nothing was set in stone for the local platform aside from the core libertarian values of small government and expanded personal freedoms.
The major order of business handled at the meeting was the election of officers. The three essential positions in the organization were filled in the unopposed election of Brown to chairwoman, Chris Nekvinda to vice chairman and Bobby Dominy to secretary.
Once regular meeting times, bylaws and membership numbers are established, Brown said the party will begin an extensive outreach plan, aiming to work with large local events such as LGBTQ pride events, AthFest, farmers markets and many others to coordinate volunteer work and tabling to spread the word of the Libertarian party while helping the community.
Once established, the partys main goal will be the promotion of Libertarian candidates to local offices as well as working with the state party for larger elections.
Any statewide race we are going to have in 2018, well have a candidate filling in that slot. No one is going to unchallenged in those seats, Wilson said.
The Libertarian Party of Athens, now having elected its officers and filled out the appropriate paperwork, awaits approval at the monthly meeting of the state party, after which point it will begin operating as an official affiliate of the Libertarian party of Georgia in Athens. Though the road ahead to the 2018 elections is long, The Libertarian Party of Athens is ready to bring Libertarianisms core message to the Athens community.
We want to get the government out of your private life and out of your pockets, Brown said.
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Libertarian Party of Athens holds inaugural meeting - Red and Black
The Oklahoma Libertarian Partys most successful candidate to date, Chris Powell, is seeking the nomination for Governor. Powell, of Bethany, received more than 89,000 votes running for county office in 2016, besting Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnsons statewide total of 83,481.
Powell will formally announce at the State Capitol at 1 p.m. July 8.
Powell, active in the OKLP since 2000 including a term as chairman, contrasts his greater depth of political experience as compared to the other Libertarian candidates for the states highest office. In regard to those seeking the Republican and Democrat nominations, Powell says, My life is far more representative of the vast majority of Oklahomans than that of the members of the political establishment in those other two parties. I understand the daily problems of regular people in ways those politicians never can.
Powell intends to focus on empowering local school boards and teachers, elimination of special interest tax credits, state agency consolidation, criminal justice reform, and working to reduce divisions in the Legislature, all of which will help address the ongoing budget problems.
He said, Each vote I get on Nov. 6, 2018, will be a clear message to every elected state official to put aside partisan differences and enact real solutions for our state.
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Powell enters race for Libertarian Party gubernatorial nomination - Edmond Sun
Joanna Andreasson.The dominant narrative in the U.S. foreign policy establishment and mainstream media casts Putin as the implacable enemy of the Western liberal orderan autocratic leader at home who wants to weaken democracy abroad, using information warfare and covert activities to subvert liberal values and to promote Russia-friendly politicians and movements around the world.
In this narrative, President Donald Trump is like the French nationalist Marine Le Pen, whose failed presidential campaign this year relied heavily on loans from Russian banks with Kremlin ties: a witting or unwitting instrument of subversion, useful to Putin either as an ideological ally or as an incompetent who will strengthen Russia's hand by destabilizing American democracy.
At its extremes, the Russian subversion narrative relies on a great deal of conspiratorial thinking. It also far too easily absolves the Western political establishment of responsibility for its failures, from the defeat of European Union supporters in England's Brexit vote to Hillary Clinton's loss in last November's election. Putin makes a convenient boogeyman.
Nonetheless, there is a real Russian effort to counter Americanplus NATO and E.U.influence by supporting authoritarian nationalist movements and groups, such as Le Pen's National Front, Hungary's quasi-fascist Jobbik Party, and Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn. Today's Russia is no longer just a moderately authoritarian corrupt regime trying to maintain its regional influence. Cloaked in the mantle of religious and nationalist values, the Kremlin positions itself as a defender of tradition and sovereignty against the godless progressivism and the migrant hordes overtaking the West, writes Cathy Young.
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Russia's Global Anti-Libertarian Crusade: New at Reason - Reason (blog)
Libertarian Cliff Hyra formally kicked off his campaign for governor Thursday, saying he would work to exempt the first $60,000 of household income from state income taxes, legalize marijuana and pardon people imprisoned solely for using drugs.
Hyra, 34, a lawyer who was raised in Northern Virginia and lives in Mechanicsville, called for an inclusive and innovative Virginia and for a state government that has respect for all Virginians, no matter their beliefs or their backgrounds.
Hyra, who is making his first bid for elective office, says his mother is a Democrat and his father is a Republican. He says he considered himself a Democrat until he went to college and that he has been a Libertarian for most of his adult life.
I feel strongly about empowering people to make their own choices, he said, because I care about other people and about our community and I fear the corrosive effects of a government that thinks that it knows whats best for everybody and is prepared to force everyone to act accordingly.
He made his announcement in bustling downtown Richmond at the corner of West Broad and North Jefferson streets. Hyra sometimes had to raise his voice to be heard above the din of passing buses and construction equipment working on the bus rapid transit project.
On taxes, Hyra would exempt the first $60,000 of household income. On his campaign website, he says he would avoid the massive marriage penalty by allowing individuals to exempt $30,000. Taxable income above that would be taxed at a flat 5.75 percent.
He says the average household would pay no state income tax and would have a savings of $3,000 per year.
During an interview Wednesday at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Hyra said preliminary calculations indicate his plan would cost somewhere between $3 billion and $4 billion.
We have some work to square that, with the states finances, he said.
He said state revenues are projected to rise and that freezing growth of government will take us part of the way there.
He said he also is looking at recommendations by a panel headed by former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder which in 2002 made a series of suggestions about slimming state government.
He also wants to look at state-owned real estate that is sitting vacant or is underutilized and could be made more efficient. In addition, he said he wants to accrue savings through reforms in the criminal justice system.
Ed Gillespie, the Republican nominee for governor, is emphasizing an across-the-board tax cut as the centerpiece of his agenda.
Gillespies proposal centers on a 10 percent cut to the individual income tax rate, phased in over three years. For the states highest income bracket which covers income above $17,000 the rate would drop from 5.75 percent to 5.15 percent.
Gillespies campaign says his plan, once fully implemented, would save a typical Virginia family nearly $1,300 a year, a figure based on average household income of $135,000.
Using the median household income of $69,945, the savings would be $674, according to the Gillespie campaign.
As for the drug issue, Hyra said Thursday that Were spending too much money enforcing the counterproductive prohibition on marijuana use.
He said that as governor he would push to legalize marijuana and until legalization becomes possible I would order that enforcement of the marijuana prohibition is given the lowest possible priority.
He said he would pardon those in prison solely for their use of drugs.
In 2016, according to the Virginia State Police, contributing law enforcement agencies reported 39,666 drug-related arrests in Virginia and marijuana accounted for 58.7 percent of the arrests.
Those figures do not distinguish between simple possession and distribution or manufacturing.
Hyra said he favors putting marijuana on the same level as tobacco and alcohol, which he said would let the business grow and generate tax revenue and improve lives of Virginians.
Hyra also called for the establishment of more charter schools, saying: I want to put choice and competition into the education system here in Virginia.
Nine public charter schools are operating in Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Education. Three are in Richmond the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, the Richmond Career Education and Employment Academy and the Metropolitan Preparatory Academy.
On health care, Hyra wants to leverage the power of choice and competition to improve access and decrease costs.
He said he wants to eliminate Virginias Certificate of Public Need program, which requires anyone who wishes to build a new hospital or imaging facility go through an application process with the state.
He is against two proposed natural gas pipelines, seeing them as the federal government taking private property to benefit private companies.
Hyra grew up in Falls Church and in the Springfield section of Fairfax County. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in aerospace engineering and from George Mason Universitys law school.
Hyra started an intellectual property law practice in 2008. He joined Symbus Law Group as a partner in 2012 and specializes in patent and trademark law.
He and his wife, Stephanie, have three young children and are expecting a fourth in August. In 2015, they moved to Mechanicsville, Hyras wifes hometown.
In the 2013 race for governor in which Democrat Terry McAuliffe edged Republican Ken Cuccinelli Libertarian Robert Sarvis received 6.5 percent of the tally, garnering more than 146,000 votes.
Hyra asserted that hes proposing more substance than Gillespie or Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, the Democratic nominee.
I want to push actual ideas, he said, adding: I think if you want actual change, you should support me.
Hyra stressed that he wants to run a civil campaign.
In the interview Wednesday at The Times-Dispatch, he said with a laugh: If I didnt respect people who disagree with me, I would not respect hardly anyone.
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Libertarian candidate for governor of Virginia calls for tax cut ... - Richmond.com
TUPELO Mayor Jason Shelton will provide a keynote address this Saturday at a political event in Biloxi hosted by the state Libertarian Party.
Shelton is a Democrat and will join a roster of speakers that otherwise tilts Republican and Libertarian.
At least some deological diversity is precisely the point of the gathering, which is dubbed Loungin with Libertarians.
Promotional material for the event describes it as a venue for Libertarians and adherents of other political viewpoints to interact and network.
This is the fifth such Loungin event. It will be held at the White House Hotel in Biloxi.
Shelton himself is an advocate of a more collaborative and less ideologically blinkered political discourse. He has criticized the major U.S. political parties as a preoccupation with partisan advantage to the neglect of a functioning government.
With that in view, Shelton is happy to consider his appearance at a Libertarian event as en effort to help leverage his elected officer to broker a different kind of political environment.
I do feel a personal responsibility to do what I can to make it better, Shelton said in a recent interview with the Daily Journal. As mayor of Tupelo, you have a pretty high profile job.
Shelton himself is comfortable in a bi-partisan environment. He has twice now been comfortably elected as a Democrat in a traditionally Republican city and maintains a strong working relationship with a City Council under the control of a Republican supermajority.
Though he hasnt ruled out a run for higher office, Shelton has avoided strongly ideological fights during his tenure in office and has focused instead on what he calls good government.
Other speakers at the Saturday Libertarian event include a Republican member of the Biloxi City Council and the independent mayor of McLain. A member of the state Libertarian Partys executive committee will also deliver remarks. Other guests expected to attend include the newly-elected Republican mayor of Ocean Springs who identifies as largely Libertarian in outlook.
Libertarians generally align themselves with the Republican Party because of their strong support of a minimal federal government, low regulation and light taxation.
The party typically differs from traditional Republican stances, however, on foreign policy and national security issues as well as civil liberties and drug policy.
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Shelton to keynote Libertarian event on coast | Local News ... - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal