Third Party Watch

Dear Fellow Libertarians,

On April 19th, the Libertarians for Justice Caucus officially launched its new website – www.LibertariansforJustice.org.

Presidential Candidates, Mary Ruwart, Mike Gravel, Michael Jingozian, Daniel Imperato and Steve Kubby have already signed the pledge.

These Candidates have all been invited to speak at our Opening Night Celebration at the Libertarian Party National Convention on Thursday, May 22nd. Plan to arrive in Denver on Thursday to attend this FREE event for delegates!

Many of the State Chairs have also shown their support by signing the pledge. Add your name to the list today.

If you are a Candidate for the Libertarian National Committee please e-mail me to have your name added to our website. We will be posting the names of the national candidates that have signed the pledge soon.

Please visit our website to watch our short (5 minute) video, sign the Justice Pledge, and help bring justice to the terrorists. Look for your favorite candidate’s name to see if they support seeking justice.

Below is a letter that is circulating on the internet explaining a little about Libertarians for Justice.

Thanks for your help. The victims have waited too long for justice.

If you’d like to discuss the issue, visit our booth at the convention, or email me or phone us (contact information is on our website).

In liberty seeking Justice for all,

Beth Duensing
www.LibertariansforJustice.org – because Truth is not enough!

by Steve Kubby

Dear fellow Libertarians,

I’ve got a secret that I want to share with you. Some of you may find it a startling revelation. Some of you may find it disappointing. Still others may read things into it that you shouldn’t. So I’ll have a little bit of explaining to do. But it’s been bothering me, and I need to tell someone, so here goes:

I am not an anarchist.

Really. I’m not.

It’s not that I have anything against anarchists. Some of my best friends are anarchists. Some of my staunchest political supporters are anarchists. Some of the Libertarian Party’s strongest leaders and most dedicated activists are anarchists, and I’m happy to find them to my left and right in our ranks.

But I’m not an anarchist.

Like Henry David Thoreau, I believe that “that government is best which governs least,” but I don’t follow him down that road to its end—“that government is best which governs not at all.”

On the contrary, I believe that government can, and should, and MUST, exist, and that it should exist in the service of one very necessary function.

I believe that the purpose of government, properly construed, is to secure the just rights of all who come under its jurisdiction. In the Declaration of Independence—which also asserts that function, and no other, as proper to government—those rights are defined as the right to life, the right to liberty, and the right to pursuit of happiness.

I believe that in proper implementation, that sole legitimate function of government dovetails with what libertarians call “the non-aggression principle”—the idea that all of us should be free to live our lives as we see fit until and unless we initiate force against others, abrogating their right to do likewise. It is to secure that right against criminals and invaders that government must exist.

I believe that our nation’s founding fathers framed the Constitution of the United States with that function in mind, and that whatever their failures of construction, or our failures of implementation, that Constitution still represents the pinnacle of human achievement in seeking to build a sound, sane, FREE society.

Is the Constitution imperfect? Certainly. Is it all too often set aside in favor of the current popular mood? Absolutely. Has government as we know it exceeded its authority under, and perverted the purposes of, the Constitution? No doubt about it.

Nonetheless, I am seeking the presidency of the United States—an office which, if I am elected to it, will require me to swear an oath to faithfully execute those laws which conform to the Constitution and to protect and defend the Constitution. If I am elected to that office, have no doubt: I will swear that oath and I will live up to that oath.

All that said, it is my belief that recent arguments in our party about “anarchists” versus “minarchists” miss the point entirely.

From the Root for America campaign:

Libertarian Presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root will be traveling to New York for a Libertarian Presidential debate on Fox Business Channel on Friday May 16th. Former United States Senator Mike Gravel has agreed to debate Root. Former Congressman Barr has also been invited by Fox. Root will appear on other major media while in New York. Details to follow.

For anyone interested in finding room or rideshare arrangements for the Denver LP convention, we now have a board set up at LastFreeVoice.com

Post your requests here.

You can also use the board to, e.g., sponsor someone else to travel to the convention to support your favorite presidential and LNC candidates and platform proposals. That is, someone with money and no time can pay for someone with time and no money to go in their stead.

More about the convention itself here.

source

Posted by The Nader Team on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 02:01:00 PM

Eric Alterman Theresa Amato Patrick Buchanan Barry Commoner Phil Donahue Todd Gitlin William Greider Greg Kafoury Carl Mayer Ralph Nader Lawrence O’Donnell

What do these people have in common?

They all have pretty strong views about whether or not the two corporate controlled parties in America should be challenged.

And if so, how.

And they all have starring roles in a fascinating new documentary that questions two party corporate control in America.

The documentary was put together by Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan – the makers of the movie An Unreasonable Man.

We’ve broken it up into five parts – Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five.

Take a peek.

(By the way, in case you haven’t seen it, here’s a video promoting our West Coast tour, which starts Friday. Check it out. And hope to see you on the road.)

Greens introduce a plan for environmental action for a Green President’s first 100 days in office

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

An environmental program for Green presidential candidates—and a challenge to Democrats and Republicans

WASHINGTON, DC—The Green Party’s Eco-Action Committee has announced a set of recommendations for environmental actions for the first 100 days of a Green presidency.

Titled “First 100 Days: Energy and Environmental Policy” and posted online, the recommended executive orders and legislation are addressed to the Green Party’s national candidates. Jesse Johnson, Cynthia McKinney, Kent Mespllay, and Kat Swift are the four contenders for the Green presidential nomination; Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry is seeking the vice-presidential nomination.

The Green Party of the United States will hold its 2008 National Nominating Convention in Chicago, Illinois, July 10-13 (http://www.greenparty2008.org).

“We’re not only sending the ‘First 100 Days’ list to Green candidates. The Green Eco-Action recommendations are a challenge to all presidential candidates, regardless of party, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain—with a plea to set aside their promises to corporate contributors for the sake of our children’s lives and our planet’s future,” said Wes Rolley, co-chair of the Eco-Action Committee.

“The Green Party’s concrete proposals stand in sharp contrast to those who would base their election on such short term ideas as a gasoline tax holiday, which they would have to pay for with more borrowing from oil rich sheikdoms,” Mr. Rolley added.

The Eco-Action recommendations also provide guidance on major environmental issues for Green candidates for Congress and other offices.

Summary of major recommendations:

From Townhall:

There’s scant prospect of any viable third party, however, when potential fringe contenders have an air of “round-up-the-usual suspects”—Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Mike Gravel, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin. Soaring turnout in primaries shows no mass desertion from the two-party system, and the Gallup Poll of under-30 voters notes a scant 8%—unchanged from four years ago—who consider themselves “independents.”

It’s alright that Medved doesn’t like third party candidates. I doubt any of them like Medved very much, either.

Libertarian debate on this site has turned pretty nasty (even for libertarian debate) of late. Perhaps it’s time that both (all) sides take a step back and enjoy a shared laugh for a moment. J.R. provides us with some examples of how logos don’t alway turn out like planned—and they are somewhat germane to the topic at hand, too.

Some people may find some of the graphics below the fold to be a bit offensive. Read the rest of this entry »

The title was lifted to show how a Reason Facebook-promoted event is currently being billed. Here are the details provided:

A debate on the libertarian vote in 2008

Event Host: Reason magazine
Type: Music/Arts – Jam Session
Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Time: 4:30pm – 8:00pm
Location: Reason
Street:1747 Connecticut Ave NW
City/Town: Washington, DC

Description: As the Republicans settled on John McCain to carry their banner into the fall, three things happened. First, former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr, a Libertarian Party member since 2006, announced a bid for the party’s presidential nomination. Then Mike Gravel, the iconoclastic former senator from Alaska, left the Democratic race to fight for the Libertarian nod. Finally, as the GOP’s primaries wrapped up, Rep. Ron Paul notched 1 million votes—just as his book “The Revolution” became a nationwide bestseller.

Paul has rebuffed multiple requests to run as a third party candidate, so what will happen to his supporters, donors, and voters? Why did Gravel and Barr join the Libertarian Party? Why do both of them want to see their former parties defeated at the ballot boxes? Hear them both in a wide-ranging debate at Reason magazine’s D.C. HQ.

Other details and speakers TBA.

From David Weigel at Reason:

I saw Ron Paul on Wednesday, at a signing event for The Revolution, and he told me he won’t endorse Baldwin or Barr. He’ll kinda-sorta endorse both. He won’t stop them from using photos of him or talking about his campaign.

“Chuck was in my office today to say hello,” Paul said. “but I haven’t said anything about supporting either one of them. I support both of them in what they’re doing, and I encourage them, but that’s all.”

“Maybe you’ll endorse McCain and surprise everybody,” asked one of the people walking out of the event with us. “That would surprise me, too!” said Paul. But this is actually a sticking point in the Paul campaign: Some people in his circle want him to swing his weight behind McCain once the primaries are over. At the moment, they’re being overruled.

From the Libertarian Party:

In a statement issued today by Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis, the Libertarian Party is urging the President to veto any housing bill sent to his desk that creates bailouts for the housing industry at the taxpayers’ expense:

“Republicans and Democrats have come together to create a bipartisan measure that puts the American taxpayer on the line for risky loans and poor decisions. No person should be asked to pay for his neighbor’s foolish choice to take on a mortgage he couldn’t afford, or for a lender that makes a risky loan. What happened to individual responsibility? President Bush should veto any sort of legislation that seeks to manipulate the housing market with taxpayer-subsidized bailouts, or any sort of bill that prevents buyers and lenders from taking responsibility for their decisions. The housing market should be a free market, where everybody faces the responsibility for the decisions they make without hanging the taxpayer out to dry. A second mortgage should not mean helping to take on your neighbor’s.”

It appears Chuck Baldwin’s website just went live, although it certainly isn’t fully fleshed out yet.

Chuck Baldwin is obviously relying heavily upon a candidacy which portrays him as a surrogate for Ron Paul. His main page says he is “continueing the Revolution”. Baldwin’s site also features a quote from his acceptance speech at the Constitution Party National Convention:

“It will not just be conservatives or liberals, Republicans or Democrats, people of faith or unbelievers that restore America. It will be individuals from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and all political persuasions who love liberty enough to fight to maintain it.”

by David Nolan

Here, for everyone’s amusement, are plausible (OK, semi-plausible) scenarios outlining how each of the six leading contenders COULD win the LP nomination for President at the upcoming national convention in Denver. Some, obviously, are more plausible than others. Consider this speculative fiction, nothing more.

BOB BARR – Announces on May 12 that he’s really in the race. Takes fairly hard-line Libertarian stands on the issues, apologizes for past misdeeds. Receives significant coverage as a result. Places first on the first ballot with nearly 30% of the vote, crushing Wayne Root, who runs third, close behind Ruwart. Nearly half of Root’s supporters migrate to Barr on the second ballot, along with a smattering of others, bringing Barr’s total to more than 40%. Barr announces his preferred running mate: Steve Kubby. Explains that this will show the world that he is now sincerely opposed to the War on Drugs. Wins narrowly on third ballot.

MARY RUWART – Emerges on the first ballot as the preferred candidate of the “hard line” Libertarians, running a close second to Barr. Fourth-place finisher Steve Kubby announces he is withdrawing and urges his supporters to switch to Ruwart. Both Barr and Ruwart gain support on the second ballot, running virtually tied at 1/3 of the votes each. The third ballot fails to decide the contest, with Barr and Ruwart now each above 40% as Root’s support collapses, going mostly to Barr, and Gravel’s former supporters going for Ruwart. On the fourth ballot, Ruwart narrowly squeaks past 50% to win the nomination.

WAYNE ROOT – Read the rest of this entry »

LP National Chair Bill Redpath will be live on the air, Monday May 12 at 9 pm Eastern (6 PM Pacific time) on the Steve Kubby radio show.

http://blogtalkradio.com/stevekubbyshow

The show is on at 9 PM Eastern and the call-in number is 646-378-1107.

Likely topic of discussion: changes at the LP HQ.

by Dr. Mary Ruwart

In just a few weeks, the Libertarian Party’s national convention delegates will choose our party’s 2008 presidential nominee, who will become our de facto leader and public face of the party for the next four years. Will we choose wisely? Will we choose someone who believes in liberty?

When I first ran as a Libertarian candidate for public office in the early 1980s, many of our positions were very unpopular. For example, our call to end the drug war was considered by many to be an endorsement of drug usage and addiction. Because we didn’t see the War on Drugs as a solution to the drug problem, people automatically assumed that we condoned the problem itself. They supported the War on Drugs because they thought that a ban on them would keep drugs out of the schools.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. The black-market profits created by drug prohibition virtually guaranteed that pushers would target our children. Although alcohol and tobacco have been consistently illegal for minors, students had a much harder time getting drinks and smokes than purchasing crack cocaine or heroin. The best reason for doing away with the War on Drugs was to protect our children, even though most Americans thought just the opposite was true. Read the rest of this entry »

From Barrett for Congress:

Two years ago, the politicians wanted Kevin Barrett fired from his teaching job. Now Barrett is turning the tables. Barrett is calling on the voters to fire the politicians, starting with his own 3rd District Representative, Ron Kind.

“The Democrats were elected in 2006 to end the war,” Barrett explains. “They failed. Ron Kind and the rest of them keep voting to throw our money into that five trillion dollar black hole in Iraq. That’s why our economy is tanking and gas prices are through the roof. It’s time to give the Democrats and the Republicans their walking papers. It’s time to fire them all.” Barrett will be running as a Libertarian and urging voters to throw all Republicans and Democrats out of office. He will be handing out copies of the new DVD Washington, You’re Fired while he campaigns.

Barrett said he was inspired to run for Congress by three people: Jesse Ventura, the maverick independent who beat the Democrats and Republicans to become Governor of Minnesota; Ron Paul, the Republican presidential candidate and defender of freedom; and above all Ed Thompson, the mayor of Tomah. “If Ed were running against me, I’d definitely vote for Ed,” Barrett admits. Read the rest of this entry »

Christine Smith discusses child pornography, the FBI, anarchism, rule of law, the future of the LP, and more. She defended Shane Cory, stating that he didn’t overstep his bounds. She also defined her view about the proper role of government and accuses Mary Ruwart of living in a fantasy world. She called Wayne Allyn Root a neocon and challenged his support of John McCain and Joe Lieberman. She mentioned Greens running under the Libertarian banner.

Listen here.

From Phillies 2008:

Libertarian Presidential candidate George Phillies proposed that the Federal government should actually do something to improve the energy price situation. “Sensible Libertarian approaches have two important features,” he said. “First, they are based on reality. Second, they do not ask the Federal government to do things it does poorly.”

“The rapid climb in energy prices has two main causes. First, petroleum production has been nearly static for several years. Second, India, China, and other places are entering the modern wealthy world; their energy demand is soaring. Read the rest of this entry »

From the Barr 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee:

Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr will hold a press conference on Monday May 12 to discuss his future plans and the 2008 election. Rep. Barr (bio here) launched an exploratory committee last month to determine whether he should file as a candidate for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination.

Who: Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr

What: press conference

When: 11:00am ET on Monday May 12, 2008

Where: Zenger Room at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC

There are still ongoing rumors and speculation that California’s American Independent Party may not be united with the rest of the Constitution Party’s decision about their presidential nominee.

Ballot Access News just reported:

However, [American Independent Party of California State Chair Ed] Noonan told me on the telephone on May 7 that he still will work to nominate Alan Keyes as the presidential candidate of the American Independent Party. Noonan feels that Keyes would run a more vigorous campaign than Baldwin will. The AIP state convention will make the decision in Sacramento in June.

H/T to Glenn Brown.

For the record, I’m still in love with Liv aka Mona aka Ron Paul Girl. While Gravel is busy chasing after Obama Girl, I’m at least getting some internet play from Ron Paul Girl. Mona still provides some linky-love to one of my websites and hasn’t dropped me as a Facebook friend (yet).

Here’s Ron Paul Girl and Obama Girl at the same time (along with some fantasy material for those of us who spend far too much time online):

Skip to the 32 minute mark.

H/T to Rolf.

From the Bob Barr 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee:

Former Congressman Bob Barr has been invited to speak at the Oxford Union at the University of Oxford, the world’s most prestigious debating forum. Several U.S. Presidents have spoken at Oxford, including former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and Richard Nixon.

The topic of the debate will be “This House Believes that 1984 has Arrived.” Barr will discuss topics for which he is well-known in the United States, such as privacy, surveillance, and government power. Barr’s debate colleagues include Lord Tom McNally, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Those opposed to Barr include Gerad Baker, Editor of the US Times, Steve Richards, Editor of Politics for the Independent, and Howard Stapleton, inventor of the [Mosquito Alarm].

The debate will be Thursday May 8th at 6:30 pm BST.

Barr, a former Member of Congress (1995-2003), also served previously as a US Attorney and with the Central Intelligence Agency. He is a lawyer and currently works with national organizations on issues related to privacy and national security.

From the Libertarian Party blog:

Wayne Allyn Root
LD ‘08: $15,764.00
Individual: $29,988.00
Candidate: $4,421.90

Daniel Imperato
LD ‘08: $10,474.00
Individual: $0.00
Candidate: $0.00

Michael Jingozian
LD ‘08: $8,490.00
Individual: $13,090.79
Candidate: $0.00

Mike Gravel*^
LD ‘08: $895.00
Individual: $447,378.97
Candidate: $0.00

by Wayne Allyn Root

Recently a controversy has arisen over statements Mary Ruwart made in her book Short Answers to the Tough Questions regarding the rights children possess. The most salient quote on this subject is found on page 43 in her book:

Children who willingly participate in sexual acts have the right to make that decision as well, even if it’s distasteful to us personally. Some children will make poor choices just as some adults do in smoking and drinking to excess; this is part of life.

And when given an opportunity to clarify her beliefs, Ms. Ruwart recently made it clear that she continues to be opposed to all age-of-consent laws, even in the case of pre-pubescent children. In a May 1, 2008 prepared statement posted on her website she states:

Dr. Ruwart did not elaborate on how predators would be prosecuted without legislation specifying age of consent. In other discussion, she explained to delegates that courts were likely to consider that pre-pubescent children had been coerced, since desire would be absent. The burden of proof would be on the pornography producer or older sex partner to show that coercion, e.g. rape, had not occurred.

One presumes that Ms. Ruwart is referring to a system of private courts in her quote, since she opposes having courts run by the state.

Ms. Ruwart readily admits to being an anarchist, and her beliefs lead her to take a position that is at odds with the vast majority of Americans, as well as with most members of the Libertarian Party.

Before I demonstrate with logic the fallacy of this position, bear with me for a moment while I speak from the heart. Read the rest of this entry »