Category Archives: Libertarian

On Fridays St. Louis on the Air, Robb Cunningham, the Libertarian candidate for mayor of St. Louis, joined host Don Marsh to discuss his platform ahead of the general municipal election on April 4.

Cunningham makes his living as a saxophonist and considers himself a "rock n' roll Libertarian."

We spoke with Republican candidate Andrew Jones on March 27 and with Democratic candidate Lyda Krewson on March 22. In addition to our conversation with Cunningham on Friday, well also hear from the Green candidate for mayor and two independent candidates for mayor.

Robb Cunningham, the Libertarian candidate for mayor of St. Louis, joined St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh to discuss his platform.

On what "rock n' roll Libertarian" means:

"The rock n' roll part is that I'm willing to work and compromise. I'm not the smartest Libertarian, I'm not the richest Libertarian, I'm not the most politically-educated Libertarian. I consider myself a 'rock n' roll politician' in that I want to get things done and I want to get things done well. The Libertarian message and Libertarian philosophy works. That's the bottom line."

On his platform:

"My lead issue is racial trust. The fact white people are afraid of black people and black people are afraid of white people is just a generalization but unfortunately it is mostly true. The word racism means something different to black people than white people. ... We're going to have a conversation, we're going to get people together, we're going to make it big. We're going to have everyone in St. Louis invited to come in, black people and white people, talking about serious issues: racism, reparations issues, all these things that get people divided and get people heated up. It won't cost that much. We'll bring them into City Hall."

On poverty and violent crime:

"The whole idea of poverty is that we have to bring in jobs. Jobs don't come to St. Louis because of violent crime. Until we get violent crime together, we're not going to be able to talk about the jobs situation. This is one of my more controversial issues: I want to work with the gangs. The gangs aren't all bad. These aren't the guys making armed robberies in the Central West End to get $10 off somebody, but these guys know who these guys are, though. And these guys have more respect for these gangs than they do for the police or the government. If we can bring in the jobs after we bring down violent crime, bring down the murder rate, bringing the gangs to be involved and then we take the slack off possible drug sales. Get violence centered on and get off the drugs.

"We're not going to be chasing down or asking people to snitch about drug sales. If they can have drug sales from where we can bring down the murder rate, that causes murder. Whenever we start trying to get drug sales and getting people to snitch, that's where murders are coming from."

If you want to find out more about Cunningham's platform for mayor, you can find information here:https://www.facebook.com/RobbLibertarian/

St. Louis on the Airbrings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air hostDon Marshand producersMary Edwards,Alex HeuerandKelly Moffittgive you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.

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Q&A with Robb Cunningham, the Libertarian candidate for mayor of St. Louis - St. Louis Public Radio

Being Libertarian

Maxime Bernier: is he the only true libertarian candidate? Being Libertarian To be sure, O'Leary is no Joe Clark, but neither is he a libertarian, let alone conservative. He described himself as an expansionist conservative, when speaking to John Ivison, Ottawa bureau chief for the National Post, judging from O'Leary's stated ... and more »

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Maxime Bernier: is he the only true libertarian candidate? - Being Libertarian

Being Libertarian

Shortcuts & Delusions: There Will Be Partisanship - Being Libertarian Being Libertarian If you follow cinema and politics as closely as I do, you should be able to see the analogies and allegories, the figurative dancing upon the literal, contained ... and more »

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Shortcuts & Delusions: There Will Be Partisanship - Being Libertarian - Being Libertarian

Libertarian Stevan Porter is launching a bid to unseat five-term Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-11th District.

Porter, a 48-year-old Herndon resident, announced March 23 that he plans to vie for the Libertarian nomination to challenge Connolly in the 2018 midterm elections. Connollys district covers most of Fairfax County, Fairfax City and some sections of eastern Prince William County.

The current two-party system has polarized our country to the point that meaningful progress is virtually impossible, Porter said in a statement. I will work respectfully with everyone for the good of all of us rather than simply doing what is expedient to keep my party in power.

Connolly ran unopposed in 2016, but Porter is now the second person with plans to challenge him next year Woodbridge resident Jeff Dove announced in Feburary that hed be seeking the Republican nomination.

In a release, Porter says he decided to run because he believes in smaller, more localized government; promoting individual liberty; and defending the equality of all people.

He also believes the nations $20 trillion debt represents one of the greatest threats facing our country today, and he worries that neither of the major parties has taken the necessary steps to reduce it.

Although their spending priorities vary, both Republicans and Democrats continue to embrace big government and deficit-enabled spending, Porter said. We will not be able to reverse our financial course overnight, but we must begin by taking a careful look at where we can responsibly reduce the scope and associated costs of federal programs. The current approaches of raising the debt limit or blindly slashing budgets through sequestration are not viable solutions.

Porter will have an uphill battle in defeating Connolly, however. The Democrat hasnt faced a competitive race since 2010, winning in 2014 by roughly 17 points and scoring a 25-point victory in 2012.

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Libertarian Stevan Porter running in 11th District congressional race - Inside NoVA

Over the weekend, Colorados Libertarian Party, which saw its membership swell in the run-up to the presidential election, rallied for its state convention.

This years theme was Liberty City if you could start from scratch, how would you create your Libertarian utopia? and took place at the Westin in Westminster.

The states third largest political party had a good year in 2016, seeing its membership crack more than 1 percent of registered voters statewide as Coloradans looked for candidates and affiliation outside the two major parties.

Because of that, the Libertarians 2016 U.S. Senate nominee, Lily Tang Williams, was allowed to participate in the first general election debate, held in Grand Junction by the West Slope business group Club 20.

On Election Day, the Libertarian presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, snagged 5.18 percent in Colorado with 144,121 votes one of his best showings of the cycle in a swing state.

Since the election, though, membership in the state party here has actually dipped. By November 1, 2016, the party counted 43,511 members in its ranks. As of the beginning of this month it had 43,441, according to the Secretary of States office.

That said, We had probably the best convention we ever had, says Castle Rock real estate broker Wayne Harlos, who was elected chair of the state party this weekend. We had more participation in this off-year convention than we had last year in an election year.

Harlos attributes the turnout to the conventions content and promotion. Seminars included Tactics for Defending Your Business from the Regulations, The Failed War on Drugs, Liberty and the African American, and When Helping is Hurting: Prostitution. Speakers included former Libertarian presidential candidate Steve Kerbel and Libertarian Nebraska Sen. Laura Ebke.

As for leadership changes, the party and Colorado lost two of its most prominent figures. Its former chairman, Jay North, is moving out of state, Harlos said.

And Williams, a Chinese immigrant who crisscrossed the state in 2016 as the partys fiery U.S. Senate candidate, is leaving Colorado for New Hampshire. She has joined the Free State Project, she says, which is a political migration movement urging 20,000 Libertarian-minded people to flock to the Granite State.

I think maybe I could be more effective here, she told The Colorado Independent from New Hampshire, saying it can be hard to compete in a state as populous and politically diverse as Colorado. (Williams earned 3.62 percent of the vote in the 2016 U.S. Senate election, with 99,277 voters casting ballots for her in the race.)

I know the Libertarian Party is doing great in Colorado, she said. They have a new board and are showing strong leadership. I think they will do great things.

Unlike neighboring Nebraska, Colorados state legislature doesnt have any Libertarians. But the party does count Beau Woodcock, the mayor of Milliken, in its ranks.

The national Libertarian Party was founded in Colorado Springs in the early 1970s.

Photoof Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson campaigning for president in Colorado by Corey Hutchins

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Colorado's new Libertarian Party chair: 'Probably the best convention we ever had' - The Colorado Independent

Nebraska's growing ranks of Libertarian voters could see more of their candidates on local ballots if a proposal that is working its way through the Legislature succeeds.

The bill would allow any political party with 10,000 or more registered voters to remain recognized in the state, regardless of how its candidates perform in statewide elections.

In recent years, Libertarians have been forced to run "sacrificial lamb" candidates for statewide offices in hopes of securing 5 percent of the vote, the minimum threshold for the party to maintain its officially recognized status.

"If this passes, that whole sacrificial lamb mentality goes away and we can focus on growing the party," said Gene Siadek of Omaha, treasurer of the Libertarian Party of Nebraska. "We can maybe focus on elections that might be more winnable for us."

Sponsored by Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete, the proposal (LB34) received first-round approval Wednesday on a 30-0 vote.

The change would apply to any third party that qualifies, but so far the Libertarians are the only ones who come close.

Their party has hit some major milestones in the past year, including Ebke's decision to ditch the GOP and register as a Libertarian. She became the state's highest-ranking Libertarian elected officeholder and the only Libertarian in the officially nonpartisan Legislature.

Last fall, the party topped 10,000 registrants for the first time, which Siadek attributed in part to Ebke's switch and also to Donald Trump securing the Republican presidential nomination.

And this year, the party submitted its first financial statement to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission after exceeding $5,000 in donations for the first time.

"We're creating kind of a foothold," Siadek said.

The Libertarian Party has lost and restored its official status at least twice over the years, most recently in 2010. Under state law, the only way a party can regain the right to register voters and put candidates on the ballot is to gather thousands of petition signatures.

The threat of losing certification again has compelled Libertarians such as Mike Knebel of Bellevue to run long-shot campaigns for statewide offices such as treasurer or secretary of state every four years.

Knebel, a former chairman of the state Libertarian Party, spent much of his own time and money campaigning for state treasurer in 2014. He lost, but managed to get enough votes to protect the party's status until at least 2018.

He says he would have preferred to focus his energy on a more winnable local race, such as city council or school board.

"Now we can really focus on a lot of the local candidates and the local issues," he said.

Ebke's proposal met no opposition from the state's two major political parties during a public hearing March 9. Members of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee voted 7-0 to advance it to the full Legislature.

"I think it's valuable for the citizens of Nebraska to have more options than the two major parties," said Sen. John Murante of Gretna, the committee's chairman.

Ebke said the change would allow Libertarians to "build from the ground up," but sees little threat to Republican domination in statewide politics.

"Nebraska is a red state, and it'll probably be a red state for a long, long time."

Link:

Libertarians see proposal as chance to continue growing party - Lincoln Journal Star

The Liberty Conservative

ANTIFA Terrorists Force Libertarian Festival To Move To Undisclosed Location The Liberty Conservative Terror threats from ANTIFA leftists had put the Mid-Atlantic Liberty Festival in jeopardy after the original event hosts canceled, but organizers have confirmed that the event will take place at the same time and date but at an undisclosed location ...

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ANTIFA Terrorists Force Libertarian Festival To Move To Undisclosed Location - The Liberty Conservative

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Libertarian News | A libertarian news aggregation service.

The Libertarian Republic

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Fractions of Factions- The Libertarian Resistance - The Libertarian Republic

Terror threats from ANTIFA leftists have put next weekends Mid-Atlantic Liberty Festival in jeopardy. After left-libertarians released a call to arms vowing resistance, bomb threats were allegedly called in to the Hilton in Harrisburg, who were forced to cancel the event.

To me, it is horrifying that in the United States a fringe group can get away with its threats of violence, but such is the world in which we live, event organizer Steve Scheetz said in a public Facebook post explaining the situation.

The entire controversy arose after a debate was scheduled between former Libertarian Party Senate hopeful Augustus Invictus and Will Coley of Muslims for Liberty on the issue of border security. ANTIFA-aligned left-libertarians took umbrage with the fact that Invictus, who they allege to be a fascist without any clear evidence, was allowed to speak at the event. Instead of finding a like-minded group that doesnt respect the values of free speech and free expression, they declared war against the event instead.

But not every libertarian is outraged at these leftist terror threats. Some have even applauded or excused these leftist terror tactics because of their disdain for Invictus.

Maybe you guys can feature Isis next time. You can have a peaceful exchange of ideas about crucifying children for not fasting during Ramadan, left-libertarian Brandon Bitros stated in an apparent open justification of the terrorist threats committed by ANTIFA.

Invite fascists, deal with Antifa, left-libertarian Leslee Ann Petersen said in a smug response. Libertarian Party Chairman Nicholas Sarwark chimed in with no condemnation of the terrorist threats, only to echo Petersens sentiments in an apparent indication that ANTIFAs threats were justified or at least understandable.

Event organizers are scrambling to find another venue right now. With only seven days before the event is scheduled, it remains to be seen if it will be postponed or canceled.

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ANTIFA Terror Threats Cause Venue To Drop Libertarian Festival; Event Now In Jeopardy - The Liberty Conservative