Third Party Watch

While I don’t like Mike Gravel’s latest YouTube as much as last night’s “power to the people vs give peace a chance,” it’s still pretty interesting—and it certainly beats current Libertarian Party Rap King Daniel Imperato’s greatest work. Here’s how Gravel transforms a composition “taken by Charles Manson as elaborate prophecy of a war [...]

Here’s an interesting note on the Fox News speculation about a possible presidential bid by Bob Barr. At this moment, there are 214 reader comments on the article. I picked a random spot in the middle of the list and have attempted to define whether the comments were negative or positive. Of [...]

Andrew Sullivan once scribed:

“The sophisticated form of anthrax delivered to Tom Daschle’s office forces us to ask a simple question. What are these people trying to do? I think they’re testing the waters. They want to know how we will respond to what is still a minor biological threat, as a softener to a major [...]

Over at The Ledger, Michael Freeman asked:

So where do supporters of Ron Paul go now?

He also noted:

So where do the Libertarians go this fall? Assuming it’s an Obama-McCain matchup, they could split, with some opting for Obama because of his opposition to the war in Iraq, or some believing McCain is more likely to [...]

The Libertarian Party has issued a statement on the news broken at Third Party Watch that former Senator Mike Gravel has joined the LP.

“I’m joining the Libertarian Party because it is a party that combines a commitment to freedom and peace that can’t be found in the two major parties that control the government and [...]

It used to be that one had the option of entering his or her political ideology (i.e. conservative, libertarian, progressive) in a Facebook profile. That option no longer exists, but one can now enter their respective political party affiliation—and there is an extensive list of parties from which one can choose. From the [...]

With the exception of presidentials, I typically don’t donate to LP political campaigns that aren’t “in it to win it.” However, campaigns with well established goals, business plans and timelines grab my attention. Here’s one I will be watching, as the goal is very concrete and should be attainable:

Mike Munger is running for [...]

Libertarian presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root sent the following article to me. I was going to quote from it, as opposed posting the entire article, but it’s not up on his website yet. As this sort of controversial article requires some contextual analysis and understanding, I’m posting the entire piece here (with [...]

Libertarian Party presidential wannabe Christine Smith was interviewed by Paul Molloy on WTAN-AM1340. For those who have listened to Libertarian presidential candidates being interviewed as often as I have, there wasn’t much significantly new. Her speaking style seems to have improved over the last few months.

I’ll highlight the portions which might be controversial, [...]

Doug Mataconis has weighed into the debate started by Brad Spangler which we’ve also entertained at this site. The topic: Should the LP stay or should it go now?

Mataconis:

A look at how the world has really worked since the Libertarian Party was formed in the early 1970s would seem to add credence to Spanlger’s [...]

This year, the Constitution Party’s national convention is scheduled for April. The Libertarian Party will convene to nominate its 2008 presidential slate in late May. The Green Party won’t choose its ticket until July.

This may not seem unusual (the Republicans and Democrats usually hold their conventions in August or even early September), but third parties [...]

This is perhaps more of a rant than news, but bear with me. October 20th I took some official campaign pictures of Socialist Party nominees Brian Moore and Stewart Alexander soon after they were nominated to be the ticket: the first official campaign photos. Sadly, I parted with my Wriststrong Wristband; handing it [...]

When looking at major party candidates, sometimes I’m torn between hoping the marginally better one wins because it would be better for the country or hoping the worst one wins because it tends to help build third parties. I’m wondering how others feel about this general issue.

First, since John McCain has pretty much wrapped [...]

With the 2008 Libertarian National Convention now appearing on the political horizon, I’d like to offer some thoughts on how we might be able to solve one of the ongoing issues of debate within the Libertarian Party.

First of all, I’d like to ask a question for the consideration of Libertarian Party activists: If you had [...]

And I always thought this would be
The land of milk and honey
Oh but I come to find out
That it’s all hate and money
And there’s a canopy of
Greed holding me down—”Tones of Home” by Blind Melon

OK, maybe not hate, money and greed, but at least a lack of basic good judgment coupled with a bad case [...]

I like this…

“O fear, anxiety and hesitation. How can I leave my dearest? We’ve been together so long! And I’m wearing his pin! Yet, now my beloved is dating someone else! I must make a break … No, I can’t, I just can’t!”

Come on, republican men and women – your steady date has betrayed you. [...]

Ballot Access News

The February 12 issue of the Columbus, Ohio Dispatch (that city’s major daily newspaper) carries this op-ed by Capital University Law Professor Mark R. Brown. Thanks to Steven Linnabary for the link.

Super Tuesday is behind us, and for many there were no surprises.

The GOP presidential candidates who stood for the Constitution, individual liberty, and a sound economy, were marginalized by the national media and the party machine.

But the machine no longer has a monopoly, and the countless millions who share our passion for liberty and limited [...]

by Chuck Baldwin

A few weeks before Super Tuesday, my friend Howard Phillips asked me who I thought the Republican Presidential nominee would be. I predicted John McCain. With the results of Super Tuesday now history, most political pundits are also predicting that the Arizona senator will gain the Republican nomination for President. And with Mitt [...]

Dear friends,

As many of you know I have been registered with the Independent American Party for several years. With mixed feelings I finally decided in December to temporarily register with the Republican Party in order to support Congressman Ron Paul’s presidential campaign. I also admit to fond feelings towards Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential bid. Though [...]

I thought this was a good chuckle.

However, for those not in Nevada, I recommend substituting such a cure for a third-party that closely resembles the IAP.

Electile Dysfunction is a newly discovered psychological disease. It is caused when an elector is unable to become aroused over any candidate running for office. Voting when one is so [...]

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina has just passed a resolution condemning the actions of the of the Libertarian National Committee when they encouraged Ron Paul to consider seeking the Libertarian Party nomination. I’ll provide the entire wording of the resolution, but interject some opinionated commentary at points.

For the purpose of disclosure, I do [...]

While, in my opinion, the verdict is still open on Ron Paul and racism, I certainly sympathize with Radley Balko when he wrote that he’s happy Ron Paul made a very strong statement on the War on Drugs—but hasn’t been satisfied with Paul’s responses so far with respect to recent allegations of racial writings (most [...]

Editorial Note: The following is a letter written by former Lago Vista (TX) City Councilman, Texas Libertarian Party Chair and Libertarian National Committee Representative Patrick Dixon. It was originally addressed to a person in a leadership position within the Ron Paul campaign, but that name has been omitted from this publication of this [...]

GOPUSA has published an article by Eric Dondero about Ron Paul:

In the Fall of ‘91 Burt Blumert, Paul’s longtime partner with his Camino Coins Gold business in Burlingame, CA and the Ron Paul Investment Letter, finally secured permission from Paul to launch an exploratory committee, and to raise money for the effort. Paul himself wanted [...]