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The Libertarian Republic –

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Right wing nutbag Pat Dollard is blaming the death of Chris Kyle on libertarians. There's a whole lotta crazy going on. Dollard, the man who famously tweeted that it's "time for Americans to start slaughtering Muslims in the streets," said on his blog...

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The Libertarian Republic -

For Rand Paul, a rude awakening to the rigors of a national campaign

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Rand Pauls plan to get himself elected president relies on two long-shot bets coming true.

So far, neither one seems to be going well.

Pauls first wager is that his libertarian-ish ideas will manage to attract Republicans mad about regulation and Democrats mad about government spying forming an entirely new American voting bloc. The leave-me-alone coalition, Paul calls it.

The second bet is a bet on Paul himself a wager that hes an unusually talented politician persuasive enough to build a coalition out of groups that have never viewed themselves as allies.

This week, Pauls ideas put him at the middle of a national controversy when he applied his trademark libertarian, skeptical thinking to the question of childhood vaccines. They should be largely voluntary, Paul said, as a matter of freedom. He also said he had heard of children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.

At times, he has seemed uninterested in or unprepared for the basic tasks of being a national politician.

For instance, this week he shushed a female interviewer on national TV. After his vaccine comments drew angry reactions, he accused the media of misconstruing his remarks about vaccines and mental disorders.

I did not say vaccines caused disorders, just that they were temporally related, Paul said in a statement. I did not allege causation.

Paul could not be reached for comment for this article, and e-mails seeking comment from aides at his political action committee, RANDPAC, were not returned. A spokesman for Pauls Senate office, when asked whether Paul could comment about his missteps this week, wrote back with a one-word message.

Seriously? spokesman Brian Darling wrote.

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For Rand Paul, a rude awakening to the rigors of a national campaign

Libertarianism Is on the Verge of a Political Breakout

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TIME Ideas politics Libertarianism Is on the Verge of a Political Breakout Bill ClarkCQ-Roll Call,Inc./Getty Images Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks during the news conference to unveil the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act (FAIR Act), legislation to "protect the rights of property owners and restore the Fifth Amendment's role in civil forfeiture proceedings" on Jan. 27, 2015.

David Boaz is executive vice president of the Cato Institute and author of 'The Libertarian Mind.'

Rand Pauls leadership in the Senate on the budget, regulation, privacy, criminal justice, and foreign policy and his likely presidential campaign are generating new attention for libertarian ideas.

Libertarianism is hot, headlined the Washington Post in 2013. From an almost-forgotten part of American political culture, libertarianism has grown into a respected and much-discussed political faction and a compelling set of ideas that challenge the conventional wisdom. Tens of millions of Americans are fiscally conservative, socially tolerant, and skeptical of American military intervention.

The growth of the libertarian movement is a product of two factors: the spread of libertarian ideas and sentiments, and the expansion of government during the Bush and Obama administrations, particularly the civil liberties abuses after 9/11 and the bailouts and out-of-control spending after the financial crisis. As one journalist noted in 2009, The Obama administration brought with it ambitions of a resurgence of FDR and LBJs active-state liberalism. And with it, Obama has revived the enduring American challenge to the state.

That libertarian revival manifested itself in several ways. Sales of books like Atlas Shrugged and The Road to Serfdom soared. Tea party rallies against taxes, debt, bailouts, and Obamacare drew a million or more people to hundreds of protests. Crony capitalism became a target for people across the political spectrum. Marijuana legalization and marriage equality made rapid progress. More people than ever told Gallup in 2013 that the federal government has too much power.

In studies that David Kirby and I have published at the Cato Institute on the libertarian vote, we have found that only 2 to 4 percent of Americans say that theyre libertarian when asked. But 15 to 20 percent 30 to 40 million Americans hold libertarian views on a range of questions. The latest Gallup Governance Survey finds 24 percent of respondents falling into the libertarian quadrant, matching the number of conservatives and liberals and up from 17 percent in 2004 and 23 percent in 2008. And when asked in a Zogby poll if they would define themselves as fiscally conservative and socially liberal, also known as libertarian, fully 44 percent of respondents 100 million Americans accept the label. Those voters are not locked into either party, and politicians trying to attract the elusive swing vote should take a look at those who lean libertarian.

In two presidential campaigns, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) attracted hundreds of thousands of followers to his combination of antiwar, anti-spending, and sound-money (End the Fed) ideas, and showed them that these views were libertarian. Two national student organizations Students for Liberty and Young Americans for Liberty now take libertarian ideas to thousands of college campuses in the United States and well beyond.

Now his son, Rand Paul (R-KY), is generating headlines about the GOPs libertarian wing and questions about libertarian ideas.

MORE Shhhh, Rand Paul: A Guide for Politicians on How Not to Talk to Women

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Libertarianism Is on the Verge of a Political Breakout

How Rand Paul bombed at Koch brothers gathering

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Some of the most influential players in big-money conservative politics gathered late last month to discuss governments role in society, but their focus kept shifting to a less weighty topic: Rand Pauls outfit.

The Kentucky senator and prospective GOP presidential candidate whose libertarian politics mesh with those of the billionaire megadonor brothers Charles and David Koch appeared at the annual winter meeting of the Koch donor network wearing a boxy blue blazer, faded jeans and cowboy boots.

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Some attendees commented that Pauls appearance was cavalier, said Frayda Levin, a Paul supporter and major donor who attended the conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage, California. It was organized by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, the nonprofit hub that oversees the Koch network. This is an older crowd and much more establishment crowd. They are used to a Romney. They are used to a Jeb Bush, Levin said.

Jeans might work for a younger audience, said another attendee, but these are old bulls who put on a tie every day to go to the office.

The sartorial criticisms hint at a potentially more serious challenge for Paul securing the backing of enough big-money donors to be competitive in a crowded Republican primary that could include prolific fundraisers such as Jeb Bush and Chris Christie.

During a Sunday afternoon speech at the Koch forum , Paul drew skepticism among some donors by touting tax breaks as a means of spurring economic growth in blighted inner cities. That stance is anathema to the brand of small-government conservatism espoused by the industrialist brothers and many of their networks donors, who object to marketplace interference. Even Levin admitted she was a bit surprised. But hes just exploring ideas right now. People didnt quite understand where he was coming from.

Donors were further put off by Pauls performance later that evening in a forum for prospective GOP presidential candidates that also featured Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. At times slouching in a cushy arm chair, Paul, with his legs crossed, gave rambling answers that contrasted sharply with other participants.

At one point, he opposed eliminating tax benefits to the oil and gas industry from which Koch Industries, the brothers multi-national conglomerate, benefits but which the brothers philosophically oppose. Paul seemed less prepared than Rubio, who gave detailed answers and was by far the most sharply turned out of the trio (pressed Navy blue suit, crisp white shirt, red tie and American flag lapel pin). Cruz, tieless in a light blue shirt and tan sports coat, laced his remarks with one-liners.

The next day, when 100 donors participated in an informal straw poll conducted by veteran consultant Frank Luntz, Paul finished dead last. Rubio came in first, followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who stopped by the conference, but could not make it for the panel.

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How Rand Paul bombed at Koch brothers gathering

Yelling at People Is Kinda Boring: Kennedy on Her New Show and the State of Cable News

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Following the cancellation of Fox Business Networks The Independents, its libertarian host Kennedy re-emerged Monday with an eponymous nightly show on the same network. The show promises a quirky blend of politics, sports, music (Kennedys a former MTV VJ), and allusions to hilarious nights of binge-drinking with other political pundits.

Kennedy sat down with Mediaite for a quick Q&A on what she learned from her first political show experience, what she hopes Kennedy will accomplish, and why libertarianism is growing considerably, especially on cable news.

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Since Mediaites readership is full of people who religiously watch cable news, explain to them why your new show is awesome and they should watch it.

Its awesome because its got a lot of lively interesting conversation, and its liberty-minded. Its whatever your favorite things were about the 90s we concentrate them all in one place.

So basically its a big melting pot of Gen-X sentiment and libertarianism is awesome? So its not just a bunch of people who are gold hoarders [a popular libertarian stereotype]?

Uh, I love gold hoarders. I love survivalists. But you dont have to hoard gold to love the show. Thats the nice thing about it. If you hoard gold, youll be delighted. And if youre a fan of other precious metals or paper currency, youll be equally happy. If your moms best friends love shiny things, theyll be right at home.

The new show has a similar vibe to E!s The Soup, mostly because you riff on all these things happening in the news, with a deadpan sort of mockery. Is that intentional?

Well, there was no Soup discussion when we were putting the show together, but I do love Joel McHale. Ive been a fan of his for a long time. I love his delivery, I adore his acting. I think hes really good. But what weve been trying to do is be true to ourselves and let the rest follow.

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Yelling at People Is Kinda Boring: Kennedy on Her New Show and the State of Cable News

Why is Deflation So Bad? What Peter Schiff’s Austrian, Libertarian Refuse To Understand. – Video

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Why is Deflation So Bad? What Peter Schiff #39;s Austrian, Libertarian Refuse To Understand.
Any question why Peter Schiff #39;s, Ron Paul (Koch monkeys) Austrian, Libertarian voodoo Economics can never EVER get anything right? Why Every single prediction such as Dollar collapse, Hyper...

By: Minethis1

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Why is Deflation So Bad? What Peter Schiff's Austrian, Libertarian Refuse To Understand. - Video

Libertarians: Minority party registration law unfair

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The attorney for the Libertarian Party is asking a federal appeals court to overturn legislation he argued makes it harder to register to vote as a member of a minority political party.

Attorney David Hardy said limiting the checkboxes on voter-registration forms to just Republicans and Democrats is a self-re-enforcing cycle on the part of the two predominant parties.

A person registering to vote is essentially told that there are two real political parties, and some unnamed other ones, Hardy said in his opening brief to a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which conducted a special hearing Thursday at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

The Arizona Libertarian Party, along with the Green Party, sued Arizonas then-Secretary of State Ken Bennett in December 2011 after the Legislature passed an amendment to an election statute, changing how voters could identify their party of choice.

The paper registration form created under the 2011 amendment offers an option of other, with what Hardy calls a tiny line to fill out voters party preference for those registering as anything other than Republican or Democrat.

Prior to that, the form provided a blank write-in for all party preferences.

Attorney Robert Ellman, representing the state, argued limiting the options to mainstream parties improves the efficiency and accuracy of voter-registration processing and encourages political stability through a healthy two-party system.

Having checkboxes for the two largest political parties will ease the process of reading and counting a substantial number of forms, he said. On the voters part, checking a box is marginally easier than writing the partys name, he added.

According to the states voter registration report, during the 2014 general election, about 1.1 million Arizonans registered as Republicans and about 940,000 as Democrats. About 27,000 people registered as Libertarians.

A figure for the Green Party could not be determined, as the party was dropped from the ballot in November 2013, not having met the legal minimum requirement for the number of people who elected to register as party members.

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Libertarians: Minority party registration law unfair

Libertarians argue registration law unfair

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The attorney for the Libertarian Party is asking a federal appeals court to overturn legislation he argued makes it harder to register to vote as a member of a minority political party.

Attorney David Hardy said limiting the checkboxes on voter-registration forms to just Republicans and Democrats is a self-re-enforcing cycle on the part of the two predominant parties.

A person registering to vote is essentially told that there are two real political parties, and some unnamed other ones, Hardy said in his opening brief to a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which conducted a special hearing Thursday at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

The Arizona Libertarian Party, along with the Green Party, sued Arizonas then-Secretary of State Ken Bennett in December 2011 after the Legislature passed an amendment to an election statute, changing how voters could identify their party of choice.

The paper registration form created under the 2011 amendment offers an option of other, with what Hardy calls a tiny line to fill out voters party preference for those registering as anything other than Republican or Democrat.

Prior to that, the form provided a blank write-in for all party preferences.

Attorney Robert Ellman, representing the state, argued limiting the options to mainstream parties improves the efficiency and accuracy of voter-registration processing and encourages political stability through a healthy two-party system.

Having checkboxes for the two largest political parties will ease the process of reading and counting a substantial number of forms, he said. On the voters part, checking a box is marginally easier than writing the partys name, he added.

According to the states voter registration report, during the 2014 general election, about 1.1 million Arizonans registered as Republicans and about 940,000 as Democrats. About 27,000 people registered as Libertarians.

A figure for the Green Party could not be determined, as the party was dropped from the ballot in November 2013, not having met the legal minimum requirement for the number of people who elected to register as party members.

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Libertarians argue registration law unfair

Bloomberg the Company

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This morning, Politico's Ken Vogel and Tarini Parti reported that KentuckySenator Rand Paul had underperformed at the past week's Koch brothers showcase. (More officially, it was a gathering of the donors who supported the Koch network of pressure groups, and who finally saw returns in 2014.) Many, including Bloomberg Politics' Michael Bender and Julie Bykowicz, had reported that Florida Senator Marco Rubio did himself the most good. Vogel and Parti reported on a "straw poll" that determined the extent of Paul's problem, conducted by Frank Luntz in a breakout session.

"Kentucky Sen. Rand Paulwho received the least enthusiastic response from donors during a Sunday nightforum of prospective candidatesthat also featured Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruzfinished last in Luntzs poll," they reported.

That was how a source recalled it, but Luntz disagreed.

Anybody who thinks they're loyal, faithful Republicans have not talked to them for more than three minutes.

Joe Scarborough

"It wasn't a poll," wrote Luntz over e-mail. "It was a random question. It doesn't deserve any attention. It was only to a few people."

Luntz just asked some donors who showed up to his session who'd impressed them most. Yet the "few" apparently amounted to more than 100 people; in the wake of the event, not many people are following Luntz's distinction between an actual focus group and a quick read of the room. It doesn't change the basic truth that Paul did not blow away the donors, despite a steady campaign to portray himself as the natural choice of libertarians.

Should he be? Like Paul, the Kochs are forever surprising political observers who don't know how to classify libertarians."Anybody who thinks they're loyal, faithful Republicans have not talked to them for more than three minutes," said Joe Scarborough of the Kochs after speaking at the conference. "They have no use for these people who want to go out and have these bloody battles on social issues...they don't want the federal government in your pocketbook. They also don't want them in your bedroom. I think they're like most Americans."

http://youtu.be/A4rQuB4FZlc

That's exactly the way Paul presents himself. If he failed to impress the Koch summit, there are two reasons. One is that he didn't chew into the questions the way that Rubio or Cruz did. On foreign policy, Paul made a defense of free trade, saying that"opening up China made us less likely to go to war," and that opening up Cuba worked because "we tried isolationism for 50 years." He got into a long dialogue about taxes that was unlikely to excite anybody. He made a pitch for his idea of blocking big government contractors from lobbying, which, according to people like Scarborough, sounded like a hit against the "crony capitalism" the Kochs opposed.

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Bloomberg the Company

Libertarian Group Aims to Influence Immigration, Climate-Change Policies

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Libertarians are known more for their provocative ideas than their ability to get those ideas enacted into law.

A new Washington-based think tank is trying to change that. The Niskanen Center was launched last year with the aim of influencing policy fights, not just authoring headline-grabbing proposals that go nowhere in Congress.

Our metric for success is that we have indeed been able to move legislation, said Jerry Taylor, president of the Niskanen Center who previously worked at the Cato Institute, another libertarian think tank.

The group comes online at a fascinating time for the libertarian movement. Debates over marijuana legalization, government surveillance and stricter oversight of the Federal Reserve all draw heavily on the libertarian ethos of personal freedom and minimal government intrusion in daily life.

These small-government, free-market absolutists have high hopes for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, if the Republican launches an expected presidential bid later this year, given his stance on the Fed, surveillance and personal freedoms.

That said, candidates who run as libertarians tend to fair poorly in most high-profile campaigns. Libertarian Senate candidates averagedjust 2.5% of the vote in 2014, according to a study by the University of Minnesotas Humphrey School of Public Affairs. The high-water mark was 4.3%, set by a candidate in the wildly unpredictable Kansas Senate race.

Mr. Taylor, acknowledging those limitations, isnt setting out with the goal of eliminating multiple federal agencies or the Fed. Instead, the group wants to add its voice to the push to ease the countrys immigration laws and push lawmakers to cut weapons systems and other Pentagon programs it judges as outdated.

Down the road, Mr. Taylor said the Niskanen Center will cultivate ideas for reforming the countrys entitlement programs and beefing up civil-liberties protections in the Patriot Act.

One of the groups most provocative proposals centers on an issue rarely viewed as a Republican priority: climate change. The Niskanen Center advocates a tax on carbon emissions that would replace existing environmental regulations.Prominent conservatives have long advocated a carbon tax as a way to let the market determine the cost of burning fossil fuels, but using it as a bargaining chip to limit environmental regulators is relatively new.Mr. Taylor admits this proposal faces little prospect of becoming law in the next Congress, but he said it will help set the stage for the environmental debate in the 2016 presidential race.

The Center was named after the lateBill Niskanen, a former Cato chairman who served in the Reagan administration and once left Ford Motor Co. to protest its support of trade protection. Mr. Taylor said they picked the name because Mr. Niskanen was both principled and pragmatic.

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Libertarian Group Aims to Influence Immigration, Climate-Change Policies

Rand Paul's libertarian foreign policy has GOP rivals comparing him to Obama

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When Republicans still gleeful over their November election wins accused President Obama of waging an unauthorized war against the Islamic State, Sen. Rand Paul marched to a different beat and introduced legislation to give congressional consent to the latest front in the war on terrorism.

When Mr. Obama surprised the world over the holidays by warming relations with the Castro regime, most Republicans howled about communist appeasement. But Mr. Paul declared that he supported normalizing relations with Cuba.

When the Democratic president gave a defiant State of the Union address last week filled with veto threats and unilateral policy actions, Republican congressional leaders accused Mr. Obama of conducting an imperial presidency. But Mr. Paul said he wanted to find ways to work with Mr. Obama.

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And when Mr. Paul found himself on a California stage a few days ago with several Republican presidential rivals advocating for additional sanctions on Iran, the Kentucky Republican argued against slamming Tehran to the ground and for giving the president more time to persuade Iran to put the brakes on its nuclear enrichment program in return for relief from sanctions that have crippled its economy.

I think diplomacy is better than war, and we should give diplomacy a chance, the senator declared.

To Mr. Paul, son of former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and a favorite of the Republican Partys libertarian and anti-war factions, his positions seemed perfectly consistent with his view that political conflict and military intervention too often have been first solutions when they should be last resorts.

SEE ALSO: Rand Paul reintroduces fathers Audit the Fed legislation

His rivals for the presidential nomination see things differently and say Mr. Paul sounds like an Obama apologist.

I am a little cautious, I would say, perhaps skeptical about negotiating with someone who has openly said he wants to force all of us to either be like him or die, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said of Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, snapping back at Mr. Pauls position Sunday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

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Rand Paul's libertarian foreign policy has GOP rivals comparing him to Obama


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