Category Archives: Libertarian

With our second anniversary coming up later this year, the Board and senior management of Being Libertarian would like to extend a thank you to all our loyal followers who have helped make our once-humble platform a true hub for the international libertarian movement.

In light of our momentous growth and expansion, Being Libertarian will be ceasing most activity, including the posting of new images, articles, and videos across our platforms. This will, however, only be for a short period of time, as the senior management engages with one another on our path forward. The structures which were created almost two years ago are not keeping up with our growth and professionalization in all the respects they should be, so the Board is going to readjust and reconsider various elements of Being Libertarians constitution and operations.

While no new content will be created for the next while, followers of Being Libertarian on Facebook will be treated to some of our older articles and videos from our impressive archive of content. We encourage you to continue engaging, and thank you again for your continued support.

Martin van Staden is the Editor in Chief of Being Libertarian.

This post was written by Martin van Staden.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Martin van Staden is the Editor in Chief of Being Libertarian, the Legal Researcher at the Free Market Foundation, a co-founder of the RationalStandard.com, and the Southern African Academic Programs Director at Students For Liberty. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not represent any of the aforementioned organizations.

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ANNOUNCEMENT: Being Libertarian 'Going Dark' in Light of Corporate Readjustment - Being Libertarian

On Thursday, Gerry Cohen, a former special counsel for the General Assembly,made an interesting observation on Facebook: both the Wake Democratic and Republican parties missed the deadline to nominate candidates for the county Board of Elections. And that, he wrote, means that if Governor Cooper is successful in his effort to overturn a law passed last year that reconfigured the structure of election boards, the Wake board will consist of "two Libertarians and an unaffiliated voter." (The courts have so far rejected Cooper's challenge, but he is appealing.)

Here's why: the old state law allows each party chair to nominate up to three registered voters for each county board. The state board, controlled by the governor's party, then selects the members of each county board from the nominees presented by the parties but cannot appoint more than two members of the same party to the three-person board. The law also sets a deadline; this year, June 12. The Wake GOP submitted its nominations on June 19; the Democrats on July 10.

This sluggishness would be unimportant if it weren't for two key factors: the ongoing legal battle between the governor and the legislature, and the fact that, for the first time in history, the Wake County Libertarian Party submitted nominations for the Wake County Board of Electionsand managed to do it a month early.

Cohen says he'd been following this closely because he was hoping to earn a spot on the board and was surprised that the Dems missed the deadline. And since the Libertarian nominees are the only candidates who fulfill all the requirements of the old law, they might be the only candidates available for consideration. The Libertarians, thinking ahead, also nominated an unaffiliated voter, Jon Byers, for the third spot.

If Governor Cooper's legal challenge fails, the county board would consist of two members of the political party with the most registered voters and two members of the party with the second-most registered votersi.e., Democrats and Republicans. This would render the candidates put forward by the Libertarian party ineligible.

Brian Irving, chairman of the state Libertarian Party, wrote in an email that the structure put forward by the legislature would really just shut out third parties and independents more than they already are. Byers, the Libertarians' unaffiliated candidate, says he feels the representation of independent voters, who make up a third of all registered voters in Wake County, is an important step toward a democracy that reaches beyond party politics.

The state and Wake County Democratic Party offices did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the governor's office. The Wake GOP referred theINDY's request for comment to the state party, which did not respond.

This article appeared in print with the headline "Lose by Winning"

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If Roy Cooper Wins an Elections Lawsuit, Wake Libertarians Could Come Out on Top - The Independent Weekly

CEDAR RAPIDS The politics-as-usual approach to state government by Republicans and Democrats is unsustainable and hurting vulnerable Iowans, according to Jake Porter, a Libertarian who is joining the race for governor.

Were having this huge budget crisis, and I dont see other candidates proposing real changes, Porter said Tuesday.

Instead, Statehouse lawmakers and the governor are using the budget as a weapon, according to Porter, who will formally announce his candidacy on The Simon Conway Show on WHO Radio between 4 and 7 p.m. Thursday.

Theyve decided were having a budget crisis, so were going to cut the services people use most, whether its mental health services, sexual abuse hotlines, domestic abuse shelters (or) hearing aids for kids, Porter said.

Theyre not actually going after any of the waste that could easily be cut. Theyre going after the things that are going to hurt the most people, probably as an excuse to raise the sales tax next year.

Porter, 29, a Council Bluffs business consultant long active in the Libertarian Party, previously ran for secretary of state. He thinks his views and priorities are more closely aligned with voters than either the Democratic or Republican platform.

He wants to make medical cannabis available, restore voting rights for felons who have served their time, end corporate welfare, return Medicaid to its pre-privatization status and phase out the state sales tax.

He opposes corporate welfare on libertarian principles. Its wrong, Porter said, to ask Iowans to pay millions of dollars to financially sound corporations. He singled out the Research Activities Credit that refunds tax money to corporations even if they have no tax liability.

Theyve put the tax bill on the smallest Iowans and smallest companies, he said. I dont think the state should favor one business over another.

Porter called turning over Medicaid management to private companies an example of big government cronyism by former Gov. Terry Branstads administration. He would return management responsibility to the Department of Human Services and then make improvements.

The state has messed around for far too long while people who could benefit from medical cannabis have suffered, Porter said. While he would favor legalization of marijuana for recreational use, I dont think the Legislature is going to pass that.

Despite the changes the Legislature has made, current law makes it difficult, nearly impossible, for Iowans who need cannabidiol to get it, he said.

As a Libertarian, Porter said, he would have the advantage of being able to work with and around the major political parties by using the governors bully pulpit to open a dialogue with voters and pressure lawmakers to act on his priorities.

As governor, you can go around and talk about issues and you can pound the issues until (lawmakers) basically have to do something about it, he said.

Porter said his campaign website, jakeporter.org, will go live Thursday afternoon.

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Libertarian gubernatorial candidate calls for 'real changes ... - Quad City Times

The race for governor has more than two candidates, although the third man in the race is getting far less attention. Michael Pope spent some time with him on the campaign trail.

Michael Pope has this profile on Cliff Hyra, the Libertarian candidate for governor.

Outside the Clarendon Metro station in Arlington on a sweltering afternoon, a candidate for governor is struggling against the summertime heat to get the attention of voters.

Hi Im Cliff Hyra. Im the Libertarian candidate for governor of Virginia.

Oh yeah?

Yes sir. Im running for a more inclusive and innovative Virginia. I want to reform the tax and regulatory system. I want to reform the criminal justice system, and make things more fair for everybody here in Virginia."

"Thats cool, man.

Cliff Hyra will be on the ballot statewide as a candidate for governor. But you may not have heard of him. The patent attorney from Northern Virginia is running as a Libertarian, a party he describes as conservative on fiscal issues and liberal on social issues. If elected governor he says he would use the power of the office to ramp down the War on Drugs.

Thats something I could do immediately as soon as I came into office I could order law enforcement to deprioritize marijuana use. I dont want to see anybody whos arrested only for marijuna use. Its certainly a very poor use of scare resources.

He would also take aim at the criminal justice system.

The sentences that are handed down are very often disproportionate. If you look at surveys showing the levels of use between African American and other communities and then the levels of arrests are very disproportionate.

The last Libertarian candidate to run for governor was Robert Sarvis, who ran against Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli. He did better than any other third party candidate in the last 40 years. But that still wasnt enough to crack 10%.

Sarvis was out campaigning with Hyra. The problem is that we dont actually have a level playing field. We have to spend a lot of effort just to get on the ballot. Once were on the ballot, theres an effort to keep us out of the debates.

Sarvissays he should have been included in the debates. I was polling at 10%. I got 145,000 votes and I still wasnt allowed in the debates, and I think thats a tragedy.

"If this race is as close as I think it could be, then the Libertarian candidate could play the spoiler and in that case he would hurt Ed Gillespie."

So far, Hyra has yet to receive an invitation to any of the debates this year. The Virginia Bar Association will be conducting the first debate this weekend, and they wont be including Hyra because he doesnt have the necessary polling numbers and he hasnt raised enough money.

But Christopher Newport Universitys Quentin Kidd says that doesnt mean he wont have an influence over the outcome of the election.

"Remember the last time Ed Gillespie came within 17,000 votes of beating Mark Warner. If this is a 17,000 vote race then you could be in a situation where the Libertarian candidate does in fact play the spoiler.

If this race is as close as I think it could be, then the Libertarian candidate could play the spoiler and in that case he would hurt Ed Gillespie.

On some issues, Hyra and Gillespie arent all that far apart. Take the issue of expanding Medicaid.

Expansion is forever. Its almost a poison pill because once you get that expansion its really hard to roll it back."

And then there's abortion.

In general, on abortion issues I would defer to the legislature. So the exception to that would be if theres something that I feel is unconstitutional.

But then theres the controversial issues of the pipelines.

Well Im opposed to the pipelines, and Im opposed to them mainly for property rights reasons. You have the federal government, and theyre taking private property and its for the benefit of a private company, Dominion Power.

Back on the campaign trail in Clarendon, Hyra is making an elevator pitch at the top of an escalator.

I think its very unfortunate some of the rhetoric that weve seen recently thats been very discouraging to people who want to visit here from overseas. But I think they are a wonderful asset, and I hope that we can reverse the trend in that respect."

Thats cool, man.

OK, very nice meeting you.

I really hope you make it.

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Meet Your Libertarian Candidate for Governor, Cliff Hyra - WVTF

By KEVIN LANDRIGAN New Hampshire Union Leader July 18. 2017 10:34PM State Senate District 16 special election When: Tuesday, July 25.

Where: The district includes Manchester Wards 1,2 and 12, and the towns of Bow, Candia, Dunbarton and Hooksett.

Who: Republican David Boutin of Hooksett, Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh of Manchester, and Libertarian Justin Dubrow of Dunbarton.

Since Novembers election, three members of the 400-member New Hampshire House of Representatives two Republicans and one Democrat have switched to become Libertarian.

I suspect we will see more Libertarian switches, said Dubrow, a 38-year-old computer engineer.

Libertarians won automatic status on the ballot by getting at least 4 percent of the vote in the race for U.S. Senate last fall.

Dubrow moved to New Hampshire from Massachusetts nearly 10 years ago but not as a follower of the Free State Project, a national call by the Libertarian Party for like-minded citizens to move here and make the Granite State a major political beachhead for the cause.

In his only other elective office experience, Dubrow ran as a Republican in a 2010 primary for state representative and lost.

He and his wife, Becky, have two daughters, Cassiopia, 6, and Callista, who is 15 months old.

Dubrow faces two better-known and more well-financed opponents in this State Senate District 16 race that voters will decide next Tuesday.

Republican nominee David Boutin held the seat for eight years but decided not to run in 2016. Manchester Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh is the Democratic nominee in District 16, which includes Manchester Wards 1, 2 and 12 along with the towns of Hooksett, Bow, Candia and Dunbarton.

Dubrow is best known among political activists as a gun rights supporter and he applauded the Republican-led Legislature last spring for making New Hampshire one of a small number of states that let people carry a concealed gun without a permit.

We finally passed constitutional carry that needed to be passed for many years, Dubrow said. We would have passed in 2010 if not for Senator Boutin back then.

At that time, Boutin served on a House-Senate conference committee trying to resolve differences between competing versions of the concealed carry bill, but negotiators failed to reach an agreement.

Some gun advocates blame Boutin for the collapse; Boutin insists he wanted to reach a deal and that pro-gun groups have given him good grades for his voting record on the issue.

Dubrow faulted lawmakers for passing a two-year state budget that increased spending from state revenues by nearly 10 percent.

I would definitely say that any increase in spending is bad. It was a lot more than I think it needed to be, Dubrow said.

Dubrow agrees with the Libertarian Partys support for abortion rights.

From a government point of view, I dont think it is the governments role to regulate them. From a personal point of view, I hope there comes a day when we dont need abortions, Dubrow said.

Dubrows views on drugs is consistent with the Libertarian Partys approach.

He believes New Hampshire should start reform by decriminalizing possession of all drugs.

If users are non-violent, they have a medical problem; they dont have a criminal problem, Dubrow began. Lets look at the cost of people losing their lives through criminal convictions. I believe decriminalization is a good step and legalization is a laudable long-term goal.

As for fighting the opioid epidemic, Dubrow said he believes lawmakers from all three parties would work together to expand access to drug treatment and more prevention programs.

On Northern Pass, Dubrow said he doesnt favor letting Eversource acquire private properties by eminent domain if lands are needed for right-of-way along the electricity transmission project.

We need to make sure there is no environmental impact from this project but we do have a serious problem with generation in New Hampshire, Dubrow said. We definitely need to look into whatever options we have to lower our high electric rates.

Dubrow said he converted his home energy use to solar four years ago.

Renewable energy has a place in the market but I dont support government mandates like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Dubrow said.

On health care reform, Dubrow said the federal Affordable Care Act is not sustainable and New Hampshire and other states should be able to pursue deregulation efforts on their own.

Dubrow said he likes the suggestion of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. to make sure all Americans have catastrophic care coverage, which can be much more affordable than the mandated set of benefits contained in Obamacare.

klandrigan@unionleader.com

State Government State

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Dist. 16: Libertarian Senate candidate says his party is growing converts - The Union Leader

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NorthJersey Published 4:42 p.m. ET July 18, 2017 | Updated 4:42 p.m. ET July 18, 2017

Peter Rohrman(Photo: Mitsu Yasukawa/ Staff Photographer)

Regarding Residents invite gubernatorial hopefuls (Page A4, July 14):

Is there any reason why this story did not mention the Libertarian Party candidate Peter Rohrman for governor, who is on the ballot, in your voting block article today? Is there a reason why the media continually give plenty of free press to the Democrat and Republican candidates and yet rarely mentions any other choices on the ballot? The Record should be informing readers about all the choices on the ballot for governor, not just those from the two parties that have created all of the problems our state currently faces?

Please provide information on the real choices for governor in New Jersey, not just the two disaster parties.

Mike Mazzeo

Waldwick, July 14

Read or Share this story: https://njersy.co/2vfSiXm

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Letter: Give Libertarian candidates more coverage - NorthJersey.com

Being Libertarian

Red Dirt Liberty Report: A Message to the Left Being Libertarian My hope is that a leftist somewhere, somehow, accidentally wandered into a column written for a libertarian publication. And, further, I hope that leftist can open his or her mind long enough to hear some similarities in beliefs. (I know. You, the ...

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Red Dirt Liberty Report: A Message to the Left - Being Libertarian

Local Libertarians join petition opposing Orleans Parish traffic cameras Mid-City Messenger Nearly a year after the Orleans Parish Libertarian Party first launched opposition to the city's plan to double traffic cameras, the group is still finding avenues to remove them. One of those avenues, by way of petition, is gaining steam. The Orleans ...

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Local Libertarians join petition opposing Orleans Parish traffic cameras - Mid-City Messenger

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Thoreau Best Fits With Libertarian Ideas Wall Street Journal (subscription) Thoreau Best Fits With Libertarian Ideas. Crispin Sartwell notes that the traditional, left/right paradigm has no place for political philosopher Henry David Thoreau. July 18, 2017 12:17 p.m. ET. Save Article. Sign In to Save Subscribe to WSJ. Text ...

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Thoreau Best Fits With Libertarian Ideas - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Brian Early bearly@seacoastonline.com @briantemprano

DOVER Another Ward 1 resident has declared his candidacy to fill the state representative seat that was vacated last month with a resignation.

Brian Shields, an active member of the Libertarian Party, announced his intention to file for the special election as a Libertarian to fill the seat held by Isaac Epstein before he resigned last month.

Im looking forward to this election, Shields said in a statement. Ward 1 hasnt had a real choice for a representative in quite a few years. I am ready to get out there, shake some hands, meet new people and talk about what the people of Dover need from their representation in Concord.

Shields said he became inspired to run for the seat from the passion of the three elected members of House of Representatives who recently switched to the Libertarian Party. Shields was the communication director for the House Libertarian Caucus.

How can you not want to be a part of legislation that will change lives for the better? Shields said in a press release. The ability to vote on bills that will give people more choice in how to live their lives, save them from higher taxes, and protect their civil liberties? Who doesnt want to be a part of that?

Shields, 37, is currently a student at Southern New Hampshire University working to obtain a communications degree. He also works as an in-store representative for News America Marketing and is a member of the membership committee for the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire and is the vice chair Libertarian Party of Seacoast New Hampshire, a local LPNH affiliate covering Rockingham and Strafford counties. The state's Libertarian Party achieved ballot access in 2016 when gubernatorial candidate Max Abramson achieved more than 4 percent of the total vote.

Shields joins Casey Conley, who announced his intention to run for the seat as a Democrat.

Dover City Manager Michael Joyal said in an email on Monday that the City Council will vote a resolution next week to petition the governor and executive council to hold a special election in the fall to fill the vacancy. With the approval of the governor and council, Joyal said the filing dates for interested candidates would be between Aug. 7-11. If there is more a primary is needed, a primary will occur on Oct. 3, and the general election will then occur on Nov. 21. If not, the general election will be held on Oct. 3, he said.

Ward 1 is comprised part of downtown north of the Cocheco River and runs north to Glendale Avenue and east to the Rollinsford border. It includes neighborhoods off Broadway, Central Avenue and Sixth Street.

The rest is here:

Brian Shields announces run for state rep seat - Foster's Daily Democrat