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Colorado Republican Senate candidate Jane Norton passes the first critical libertarian test

Ahead in latest polls over incumbent Democrat Bennet

Former Lt. Governor Jane Norton is likely to be the Republican nominee for US Senate going up against incumbent (appointed Democrat) Senator Michael Bennet. And she appears well-positioned to win the GOP a pick-up. From Hedgehog:

US SENATE – COLORADO (Rasmussen)
Jane Norton (R) 48%
Michael Bennet (D) 39%

But is she someone that libertarian Republicans, and maybe even Libertarians could support?

The always skeptical hardline libertarian/Ayn Randian Ross Kaminsky (photo) of Rossputin; Life, Liberty and Happiness blog out of Colorado recently met with Norton.

From his Blog, "Getting to know Jane Norton, so far, so good" Feb. 5:

While I’m not yet ready to make an endorsement in the Republican primary race to challenge Michael “Who?” Bennet in the US Senate race in November, my first meeting with Jane Norton (on Tuesday morning over coffee for Lt. Governor Norton and hot chocolate for me) was certainly a positive – dare I say surprisingly good ?

Maybe not for outright Drug Legalization, but definitely Pro-Taxpayer, Pro-Tea Party, and Pro-Gun

On the absolute lithmus test issue for Colorado libertarians:

she mentioned more than once that she is a strong supporter of TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights)

On taxpayer issues in general:

I asked Jane Norton what she thought of the Tea Party movement. She said that she thought it was perhaps the most exciting political development of her lifetime and that it is exactly what the country needs.

She seemed entirely sincere in her description of what the Tea Party movement means to her... I found her generally pro-liberty, pro-limited government, and consistent.

Norton has been accused of being a bit too moderate a conservative, for her past support of John McCain for President. Her response:

She said that she supported John McCain because she believed that our national security and the role of Commander-in-Chief was (and is) so critically important during this time of (semi-permanent) war, but that she thinks McCain was dead wrong on his immigration/amnesty position and his support of cap-and-trade.

Other matters:

when we spoke about gun rights, she knew that the Heller case was called the Heller case... I think she’s tougher and more philosophically well-grounded than her nice (possibly too-nice) persona might make one think.

On social issues... I think it’s safe to say that Jane Norton is not a libertarian like I am; she is certainly not pro-choice, likely not for drug legalization, etc. But nobody’s perfect and, to be frank, it’s hard for me to worry a lot about drug legalization while Democrats are destroying capitalism.

Editor's Comment - Coffee for the mainstream Republican, and Hot Chocolate for the Libertarian? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Kristin Davis: Personal Freedom candidate for New York Governor

LR EXCLUSIVE!

From Eric Dondero:

Libertarian Republican had a chance to interview Republican political consultant Roger Stone last night, about the current campaign he is coordinating - Kristin Davis for New York Governor. Ms Davis, of course, is the famed New York City Madame who ran an escort service for high-level Manhattan clients. One of her clients was ex-NY Governor Eliot Spitzer.

She is now running a serious, hard-hitting campaign for Spitzer's former office.

Stone informed LR that Davis's campaign will be well-funded. They already plan to spend over $400,000 on ballot status. She will be running on the Personal Freedom Party line, however, she's also hoping to win the nomination of the Libertarian Party.

According to Stone, Davis says she absolutely adores the Libertarian Party folks and is well over 80% in agreement with the Party platform. However, she's also concerned that some purists may be a little less welcoming of her candidacy. Additionally, she is a little uncomfortable with the complicatedness of the LP's nominating process and requirements for the ballot line position.

Breaking News: Stone informed LR that Davis will be attending the upcoming Libertarian Party of New York convention in two weeks.

Stone also stressed that Davis plans very much to reach out to Republicans, and although she will not be listed on the ballot "technically" as a GOPer, she feels in many ways to be a Republican at heart. In fact, in a recent interview with Philly.com she used the term "Libertarian Republican," to describe her political affilation and beliefs.

Davis said she views herself as a Libertarian/Republican, but she's old-school conservative - lower taxes, less government - not morally conservative.

Although, her top issues are Personal Freedom stances, such as Marijuana legalization, Prostitution, and Gay Rights, Fiscal Conservatism is very high on her agenda. She has a balanced budget plan in the works which promises not to raise property taxes or state income tax rates.

She is also a fan of the pro-capitalist writings of Ayn Rand, and a devotee' of economists Frederich Hayek, Ludvig von Mises and Milton Friedman.

Above all, Stone was adament that Kristin Davis is a serious candidate for Governor, and that they are fully planning to run a well-funded and agressive campaign to win.

We will be regularly covering Kristin's campaign here at LR. Early next week there might be a big announcement from her campaign that you will hear about first right here! In the meantime visit KristinDavis2010.com to learn more, volunteer or make a contribution.

Editor's Note - Kristin is a regular reader of Libertarian Republican blog, and through her spokesman she wishes to express her gratitude to fellow Libertarian Republicans across the country for their support.

Kirk questions Giannoulias ties to Chicago Crime Boss Michael "Jaws" Giorango

The issue of Democrat Senate candidate Alex Giannoulias and his bank dealings with alleged crime figures, is not going away. If anything Giannoulias is creating more questions, by his refusal to be forthcoming on the issue with the Chicago media.

In contention is a major loan Giannoulias personally oversaw as Vice President of Broadway Bank (owned by his father). The $15 bill loan was made to well-known Chicago crime boss Michael "Jaws" Giorango. He was also a Giannoulias family friend. The funds were used in illegal criminal enterprises.

Some background from a 2006 article in the Illinois Times, "Democrat candidate's defense of mobster could derail campaign":

Michael “Jaws” Giorango was apparently a member of the old Chicago Heights mob operation. Years ago he was convicted twice on bookmaking charges. One of the bookmaking operations he worked for, according to the Chicago Tribune, used “threats of bombings, beatings and robbery to collect unpaid debts.”

Chicago Tribune political editor John Kass opined "Giannoulias fails to end bank controversy" March 3:

On this media day, Giannoulias, the Illinois state treasurer and current Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in November, had a job to do:

Put to rest nagging questions about the bank and loans he approved for some earthy types, including Michael "Jaws" Giorango, the convicted Outfit bookie and protector of a national prostitution circuit.

He did address the issues. But he didn't exactly put them to rest. He failed.

If anything, he may have made things worse by offering answers that only supporters would characterize, optimistically, as "evolving.

Meanwhile, Republican Senate nominee Mark Kirk is calling on his opponent to come clean.

From WLS Chicago, March 1:

"Ya know, it's one thing to issue a loan to someone and say in the first year the recipient repaid the loan. But in the case of Michael "Jaws" Giorango, the recipient failed to pay the loan. And it's loans like that are imperiling the Broadway bank, made under Alexi Giannoulias' signature when he was an officer of the bank."

Polls show the race very tight, Giannoulias up by two, within the margin of error.

Somalia a "Libertarian Paradise"; Haiti a "Republican Paradise" according to Michael Moore

From Eric Dondero:

Remember this video from Spring of last year? This was Pre-Tea Party, still in the bloom of the early Obama administration. Quite hilarious, (and well-produced) if entirely inaccurate.

Now, Michael Moore is echoing the same theme, but using another impoverished Nation. And this time the blame is placed on out-of-control "Republicanism," as a substitute for unbridled libertarian deregulation.

From Brent Baker at NewsBusters:

Filmmaker Michael Moore, appearing on Friday night’s Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO to plug the DVD release of his Capitalism: A Love Story screed, cited the 250,000 killed in Haiti, which he snidely described as an unregulated “Republican’s paradise.

"in Haiti, where there are no building codes, no regulations -- a Republican’s paradise -- a quarter of a million people died."

See the video at EyeBlast