Third Party Watch

I’ll be traveling for the next few days and won’t be able to write much here, so I thought I’d provide a quick parting thought. The current version of the Alabama Constitution still contains these words: “That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment [...]

From Phillies 2008:

Libertarian Presidential candidate George Phillies today condemned ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) export restrictions as “a highly effective American subsidy for foreign manufacturers,” and said they should be repealed.

“ITAR makes sense if you believe that America has a monopoly on high-tech engineering and research,” Phillies said, “and if you believe that foreigners [...]

The AJC’s Political Insider, John Martin at Politico, CNN’s Mark Preston, Reason’s David Weigel and others report that Bob Barr will be holding a press conference on Monday. According to Martin and Preston, inside sources have confirmed that Barr will announcing a presidential race. It’s no big secret that I’m a campaign insider, but [...]

Graphic by anonymous. All in fun, not a real dig at the Senator.

One of the recurring themes of third party politics in America seems to be the phenomenon of the “hostile takeover.” A disgruntled major party politician, an eccentric multi-millionaire, or perhaps a group of major party factional schemers decides that rather than working within the party of their putative loyalty, or perhaps forming a new party, [...]

From Phillies 2008:

Libertarian Presidential candidate George Phillies today condemned the War on Iraq as an overwhelming financial catastrophe. “We will spend three trillion dollars,” he said, “on a war without a reason. Beyond the irreparable loss, the Iraqi and American war dead, an astronomical financial loss is now being visited on the American taxpayer.

“Thanks to [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]